Remember those films in the ‘70s and ‘80s wherein tough guys like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris knocked heads in without a shade of remorse?  Well, Law Abiding Citizen, featuring Gerard Butler in his most viscerally satisfying film since 300, is just that type of movie. It’s meat and potatoes butt kicking, thrown in with a little Hannibal Lecter like cunning, which makes Clyde Shelton (Butler) such an intriguing villain.

Mentally and emotionally unhinged by the murders of his wife and daughter, Shelton suffers the final cut of all when his attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx, rebounding after the disappointing The Soloist) cuts a deal with the murderers.

Eventually Shelton winds up in prison after he admits to killing his family’s slayers, leaving Rice to believe his sociopathic client is permanently contained.  However, Shelton is determined to fix the justice system even if it means dispatching with one lawyer, one cop, even one judge, at a time.

Director F. Gary Gray, whose last effort Be Cool was a huge disappointment (the tepid sequel to Get Shorty), is in fine form here, as the Shelton and Rice cat and mouse game resembles the Kevin Spacey/Samuel L. Jackson chess match of his best film, The Negotiator.  Credit goes to Gray for not PG-13-ing the violence (the kills in Law Abiding Citizen makes it a strong R) or turning the picture into some preachy morality play.

The movie’s main draw is the sheer unadulterated popcorn factor; Shelton killing his targets while imprisoned is oh too fun to watch (plus some of the murders are just downright inventive). Foxx unfortunately doesn’t do much with his role, as he mainly acts downright shocked, and, since he plays a lawyer, a bit arrogant throughout the entire film.  Law Abiding Citizen belongs to Gerard Butler, who brings out the appropriate rage and psychotic menace in Shelton; it’s a scenery chewing role that would impress even King Leonidas.

Law Abiding Citizen really doesn’t break new ground cinematically, it’s intent is to entertain and occasionally shock its captive audience.  And on that level, Law Abiding Citizen doesn’t disappoint.