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Rating: Country: USA Release Date: October 16, 2009 Distributor: Overture Films Director: · F. Gary Gray Cast: · Jamie Foxx · Gerard Butler · Bruce McGill · Leslie Bibb · Colm Meaney · Gregory Itzin · Regina Hall Related Sites: · Visit the official movie website. Grade: C-

Suspense films, especially smartly crafted ones, are a joy to watch. When the hero isn't quite so heroic, and the bad guy not quite so bad, and the film closes on a moment that doesn't leave things nice and tidy, that is powerful cinema.

"Law Abiding Citizen" tries to be that film, but ends up being too clever for its own good.

The film opens with a violent break-in of Clyde Shelton's (Gerard Butler) house, during which his wife and daughter meet a gruesome fate. The Philadelphia District Attorney's office sends their hotshot prosecutor, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), in to close the case. He strikes a deal with one suspect to plead guilty to a lesser charge in order to get the death penalty for the other suspect. Clyde is the last to find out and it breaks him to see his family's memory reduced to a plea bargain.

Fast forward ten years, and Nick Rice is an even bigger player in the Philadelphia legal system, and more wrapped up in himself at the expense of his family. He attends the execution of the suspect he charged in the Shelton murders. That's when things begin the slow spiral into chaos. The convict doesn't go down quietly, as the lethal injection gives him something less than a swift and painless death. Soon thereafter, the dirt-bag who copped the plea winds up dismembered. The trail swiftly leads to Shelton, who begins playing a somewhat sly game of cat and mouse with his captors. He systematically begins to eliminate anyone connected to his family's case -- while in prison.

The problem is that director F. Gary Gray ("The Negotiator," "The Italian Job") makes things too tidy. Some things are better left vague -- the audience is (mostly) smarter than most directors seem to believe. I can understand and appreciate a sense of justice not done, or revenge. But the movie slides into a feeling of "suicide by cop," because you realize probably sooner than you'd like that there's no way Butler is going to get away clean. He gets his licks in, but they cease to be clever when you start to expect them. There was a very exciting moment with the presiding judge that I thought could have used a tiny bit of explanation, but after that the folks in my advance screening started to whisper, "Here it comes," just before the next gunshot or explosion. By the time the twist is revealed, I no longer sympathized with Clyde Shelton's pain. I also didn't feel any better towards Nick Rice, who is so self-absorbed even those closest to him are stunned by his stony demeanor.

The cast is certainly capable. Joining Foxx and Butler are some outstanding supporting actors, including "Star Trek" universe alumnus Colm Meaney, the always under appreciated Bruce McGill, and 24 favorite Gregory Itzin, and for the most part everyone does a good job -- though towards the end you have to question Warden Iger's (Itzin) intelligence, because the twist is so ludicrous that it defies plausibility. That's certainly not Gregory Itzin's fault; screenwriter Kurt Wimmer ("Street Kings," "The Recruit") just doesn't give him much to work with. The final scene leaves a lot to be desired, showing Rice experiencing a weak epiphany about what is really important. It's a shame to waste the talent they have on a movie that becomes so contrived towards the end that you just don't care about any of them.

Apathy is not powerful cinema.