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LAW ABIDING CITIZENMovie Reviews
Thriller about a man who decides to take matters into his own hands when the men who murdered his wife and daughter are set free. Cast:Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney, Leslie BibbDirector:F. Gary GrayRelease Date:October 16, 2009DVD Release:February 16, 2010From:Overture FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr 48 min
Law Abiding Citizen played to poor reviews. • Steven Rea wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...unrelentingly grim, unintentionally funny." • Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "I've grown tired of Butler's mush-mouthed bravura..." • And Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...particularly toxic because it's scented with phony importance." More Reviews Below...
Law Abiding Citizen Positive Reviews (33 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: FAIR(cg) "...how quickly I've grown tired of Gerard Butler's mush-mouthed bravura... I hope that Jamie Foxx, who looks bored, holds his slumming down to this one film."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 10/16/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: POOR(cg) "...you know the second you hear a ringing cell phone or see a character climb into a car that something is going to get blowed up real good."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 286 words, 10/15/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "Deep within 'Law Abiding Citizen' lurks a thought-provoking movie. But most of what we see on the screen is implausible, superficial and only marginally involving."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 491 words, 10/16/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "...wears its preposterousness with a certain pride. It's about the cat-and-mouse game between two very smart guys, and it's perfectly happy to be as dumb as it wants."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 627 words, 10/16/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...such a lazy action-drama underachiever, it seems unfair to target stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler for bringing their C game."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 10/16/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a taut thriller about a serial killer in reverse: He's already in prison when he commits all but one of his many murders..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 468 words, 10/15/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: POOR "The film's greatest sin isn't its cynical moral posturing but its complete failure to engage audiences on even a visceral level.... an exercise in tedium."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 554 words, 10/16/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...the movie at least revels in the preposterous -- a daring, rather than boring, variety of awfulness -- and keeps the howlers coming."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 572 words, 10/16/09
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...smells a bit musty... in an era when the debate has shifted from too little state vigilance to too damn much, this thing seems almost quaint."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 574 words, 10/16/09
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...the justice system's rotten, so let's blow up, then gut, then roast the whole sumbitch... 'Saw' with a conscience is not what the world needs."(See all of Robert Wilonsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/14/09
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "You've gotta love an action pic that features Gerard Butler going on about 'von Clausewitz' and 'total fucking war'.... it's great B-movie fun."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 194 words, 10/15/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...the premise isn't necessarily a lame one; lots of films have explored the failures of justice ('Death Wish') and the snapping points of decent citizens ('Falling Down')."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 594 words, 10/16/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "As a social statement, it's a flawed attempt at holding the legal system accountable for its shortcomings. As a movie, it's a ridiculous execution of a misguided concept."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 10/16/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...fuses 'Death Wish' vigilante vengeance with the mad-genius-behind-bars puppet-mastery of Hannibal Lecter... It's a wild concept."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 616 words, 10/16/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: POOR(cg) "Like a lot of action-movie directors, Gray lacks the imagination to view the art of cat-and-mouse as more than a chance to play with state-of-the-art war technology."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 799 words, 10/16/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...runs into the dreaded Third Act Troubles: Never all that plausible to begin with, the plot becomes completely untethered from reality."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 661 words, 10/16/09
Rick Bentley, Sacramento Bee: POOR(cg) "Director F. Gary Gray's pacing is so slow it feels like 10 years have passed. His shot selection looks like a cut-and-paste section from 'Movie Making for Dummies.' "(See all of Rick Bentley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 422 words, 10/16/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...the justice system's rotten, so let's blow up, then gut, then roast the whole sumbitch... 'Saw' with a conscience is not what the world needs."(See all of Robert Wilonsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/14/09
Shaula Clark, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "If you can avoid breathing in the stench of its synthetic pseudo-morals (e.g., the 'Fuck his civil rights' scene), this film's a treat..."(See all of Shaula Clark's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 156 words, 10/15/09
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "You've gotta love an action pic that features Gerard Butler going on about 'von Clausewitz' and 'total fucking war'.... it's great B-movie fun."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 194 words, 10/15/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "...wears its preposterousness with a certain pride. It's about the cat-and-mouse game between two very smart guys, and it's perfectly happy to be as dumb as it wants."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 627 words, 10/16/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: POOR "The film's greatest sin isn't its cynical moral posturing but its complete failure to engage audiences on even a visceral level.... an exercise in tedium."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 554 words, 10/16/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...it's Gerard Butler's juicy performance as a grieving father turned mass-murdering psycho genius that powers this self-serious pulp entertainment."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 859 words, 10/16/09
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...filmmakers F. Gary Gray and writer Kurt Wimmer to indulge in calculated genre mischief that mixes horror elements with a suspense thriller."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 10/15/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: POOR "The film's greatest sin isn't its cynical moral posturing but its complete failure to engage audiences on even a visceral level.... an exercise in tedium."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 554 words, 10/16/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "...wears its preposterousness with a certain pride. It's about the cat-and-mouse game between two very smart guys, and it's perfectly happy to be as dumb as it wants."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 627 words, 10/16/09
20.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Law Abiding Citizen's reviews are separated by an average 20.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Law Abiding Citizen (33 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Law Abiding Citizen's reviews cover 53.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 15,192 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 460 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 6.4 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Law Abiding Citizen's reviews on average broke 6.4 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Law Abiding Citizen's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Law Abiding Citizen (33 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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