Netflix Just Added A Criminally Underrated Thriller (With a Legendary Downer Ending You Can’t Ignore)

Gerard Butler is now a well-known and successful action movie star. He’s become famous for films like 300, Geostorm, Greenland, and London Has Fallen, consistently delivering exciting, popular movies that do well in theaters. While one film in his collection didn’t receive great reviews initially – even though it earned good money – it’s now considered one of his strongest works. And you can currently watch it on Netflix.

First released in 2009, Law Abiding Citizen is likely Gerard Butler’s most intense film. He portrays Clyde Shelton, an engineer who witnesses the horrific attack and murder of his wife and daughter. Feeling let down when the legal system offers the killer a lenient plea bargain, Clyde decides to seek revenge and deliver the justice he believes he deserves. The film also features Jamie Foxx, Viola Davis, Regina Hall, and others. While critics found the movie excessively violent and its storyline confusing and improbable, audiences had a different opinion. They enjoyed the film’s surprising action and plot twists, along with the compelling and nuanced performances from Butler and Foxx, who play a victim seeking retribution and the prosecutor who failed him, respectively.

Law Abiding Citizen Is a Fascinating Commentary on the Nature of Justice And a Flawed System

Although Law Abiding Citizen has common action thriller elements-like intense, violent scenes as the main character pursues his own brand of justice-what makes it different is the lack of clear heroes or villains. Gerard Butler’s character, Clyde, is complex; his increasingly hostile behavior stems from deep trauma and a genuine injustice, making him a victim of a broken system as much as an opponent. Similarly, Jamie Foxx’s Prosecutor Nick Rice exists in a moral gray area. Initially focused on winning cases rather than true justice, his views shift as Clyde’s revenge unfolds and exposes the flaws in a system that prioritizes statistics over fairness and balance.

Although the story of Law Abiding Citizen follows a familiar revenge-driven action thriller formula, it stands out because of its focus on two well-developed characters. Both characters are motivated by a desire to protect their families, which encourages viewers to consider deeper questions about the nature of justice and the limits people will push to achieve it. It’s not just a typical action movie, and that’s a key reason why it continues to be so popular. It prompts a lot of thought and questions about what justice really means and how far one would go to get it.

Law Abiding Citizen is now streaming on Netflix.

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2025-10-04 01:10