LAW ABIDING crap?

I have the same problem with the firstSaw movie (re-watch the scenes with the supposed killer, and you will see what I mean), as I what I would argue is the fundamental flaw with how Gerard Butler is perceived in the first trailer for the upcoming revenge thriller Law Abiding Citizen. And no, it's not just that awful and unnecessary American accent. Why hasn't Hollywood made peace with the truth fact that the yanks love Scots. After all Sean Connery never had any trouble.

Anyway, if we are to believe that Butler is really a good man at heart who in Bruce Wayne style is out to get revenge on those who killed his family and made him "lose everything" (is it just me, or does everyone else switch off immediately after hearing that cliche?) then why does he take pleasure out of what he would foresee to be forced killings? Why does he enjoy them, why does he smirk his way through the film or pat the guy he is about to painfully and brutally murder in a sinisterly comical fashion? Why? I know I get it. The justice system has screwed him over, so kind in the fashion of The Joker or The Comedian in Watchmen he wants to show how justice is one big joke. I understand that. But for me, the film loses all credibility when it percieves Butler as a happy criminal. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see him not enjoy what he believes he has to carry out? Or is the big ending going to be that he was a bad guy all along with dozens of criminal connections (which got his family killed in the first place?), but isn't that so obvious (especially when you mention he was a fomrer spy) that we don't need to sit through nearly two hours of cliched action to get to that point? Anyways, always great to see Colm Meaney in a supporting role. I flipped out for him in this but Jamie Foxx looks severly mis-cast, he's phoning this one for sure. F. Gary Gray, a mid-level action director (The Italian Job remake, A Man Apart) helms from a Kurt Wimmer script, after Frank Darabont bailed. It's out Oct 2009 (U.S.) and Nov. 6th (U.K.)
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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.