Tag Archives: Gerard Butler

Law Abiding Citizen (DVD)

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I’m glad to see Gerard Butler making more action oriented movies. After starring in a few yawn inducing chick flicks and a some mediocre kiddie movies, it looks like King Leonidas is starting to return to form. After watching the trailers for Law Abiding Citizen, I knew I had to see it. I wasn’t sure if it would be a good movie or not, but the film is clearly built on the exchanges between Jamie Foxx and Butler, which looked more than intense enough to capture my attention.

Make no mistake, Foxx and Butler are what make this movie work. Form the beginning, the plot seems like a standard revenge flick. Butler plays Clyde Shelton, whose wife and child are beaten and murdered in front of him by a group of men while his home was being broken into. Foxx is the attorney prosecuting the case, Nick Rice, who winds up cutting a deal with the leader of the group in exchange for his testimony against another, less involved group member. Shelton of course, sees Rice as corrupt and vows to have his revenge on not only Rice, but the entire judicial system.

After murdering the gang leader responsible for the death of his family, Shelton is arrested and placed in jail. However, he still continues to target and kill anyone involved with his case. It is up to Rice to figure out a way to stop him before it is too late.

The plot of the film is actually pretty good and will keep most people guessing for most of the movie. About two thirds of the way into the film, there is a huge plot twist that feels like it was lifted straight out of a cartoon. The twist is so obvious and almost insulting. Any other movie would have been destroyed by this revealation. It is a testament to the excellent acting of Foxx and Butler, however, that this movie survives. The interplay between the two actors and the tension generated between them in each scene is clearly the driving force of this film.

I know that not everyone will appreciate this movie, but it is fairly entertaining throughout. Up until the big revealation near the end, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what would happen next. This movie is definitely worth renting, although not quite as good as the expectations I had for it.

Gamer (DVD)

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When I first heard of the premise for Gamer, it almost resulted in an instant facepalm. It seemed like Running Man meets Matrix meets a bunch of bad ideas. Throw a role to a token rapper (in this case Cris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges) and you’ve got another cheesy, hot off the press generic actioner…..right? At least that is what I thought initially. Now that I decided to bite the bullet and watch the movie, I must say that now I am a believer. Gamer is actually a solid film.

The premise behind Gamer is that in the near future, humans can exert mind control over other humans. The catch is that this whole process is voluntary, or at least it is supposed to be. Multiplayer Online Role Playing games are being played utilizing real people called “actors.” Actors undergo treatment to have their minds altered in ordered for them to be controlled. They then rent themselves out to an anonymous user who pays a fee to contol the actor as their in game avatar. The first game, titled “Society” is like a SIMS using real people. Its success led to the release of another game called “Slayers” in which the avatars are player controlled, death row inmates who are pit against one another with the hopes of being released after surviving their 30th match. There are a few more layers to this story, but that is pretty much the gist of it all.

The film was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the same guys responsible for the Crank movies with Jason Statham. Gamer show a bit of an improvement in their style. the camera and cuts are not as sporadic and seizure inducing as they were in the Crank films. There are just enough snappy edits to give the film a real ‘digital’ feel. You get the impression that you are receiving a feed of the movie and that helps with the immersion factor as it plays in perfectly to this world themed on connectivity.

Gerard Butler gives a solid portrayal of death row inmate Kable Killer. Watching Butler, you really get the impression that this guy is a lethal killing machine as he dispatches with wave after wave of enemies..like he was in a videogame almost! Michael C. Hall is decent as Castle, the main villain responsible for creating this mind control system. The film also features an appearance by the awesome Terry Crews, who many will recognize from White Chicks, The Longest Yard, and a number of other comedies. It is good to see him in a physical role like this as he is obviously built like a linebacker and just looks vicious. Sadly, his role here is a bit wasted as I thought his character had so much more potential in this film. There are other actors in this movie, but the film never really stops to focus on them at all. Besides that, there really isn’t much acting going on, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in movies like this.

Gamer is a really good film, but not great. It doesn’t break into any new territory that we haven’t seen before, but it is worth watching for its stylized brutality alone. Action fans who aren’t looking to get too deep into a movie’s plot will surely like this film. Overall this movie is well worth renting as it should keep you entertained for its entire hour running time.

Law Abiding Citizen (Theaters)

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There were no clear cut winners by the end of this film. No good guys or bad guys or real resolution by its closing credits. Law Abiding Citizen digs deep into the mind of a man who has lost everything and has nothing left to lose. Although highly implausible, this film definitely questions our justice system and gives you a closer look at the ugly truths of a judicial system which is far from perfect.

Both Jamie Foxx and Gerald Butler were excellent in their casted roles. In fact, during the entire film I was actually uncertain as to who I would cheer for. Foxx takes on the role of prosecution attorney Nick Rice, who’s client Clyde Shelton (Gerald Butler), just lost his entire family in a robbery gone bad. Rice’s decision to short change Shelton becomes a life changing one, and as the film progresses, the decision made directly affects Rice’s life and the lives of everyone around him.

Gerald Butler was great in 300, fantastic in RocknRolla, and a devil in Dracula 2000. Yet despite all his creditable roles, this was perhaps his finest performance of his career thus far. Although he was portrayed as a loving father and husband at the films opening, the changes made by the loss of family and the betrayal of his country transforms him into this beast of a man, who will stop it nothing until his vision of final justice is realized. Yet, despite his extremely cruel and deliberate acts of violence, the hints of pain and anguish he experiences is enough to sympathize for his character when you put yourself in his shoes even for a few moments.

The film was not free from flaws however. Although well casted and fairly intelligent, there was much to be desired at its climax and ending. I’m really not sure if I can elaborate without giving too much away, but I will say that the mystery shrouding Butlers character was erased almost immediately in the last thirty minutes or so.

Overall, this film was an enjoyable one. Despite its mediocre ending which lowered its value on my five star ranking, I’d still recommend it to anyone into action/thriller type films. It will not disappoint.