Law Abiding Citizen - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Law Abiding Citizen: Steelbook Edition



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
In 2018, during the early stages of the 4K UHD format's development, Lionsgate released a 4K UHD set for the 2009 film Law Abiding Citizen, complementing the Starz/Anchor Bay Blu-ray that had been available since 2010. Sadly, back then, I wasn’t able to review the film, set it on my list of stuff to buy one day, and promptly forgot about ever picking it up. Circle forward six and a half years later and Lionsgate re-releases the 4K set, this time in an Amazon exclusive steelbook, which I have the pleasure of saying is one of the better looking steelbooks in recent history (while I’m still never a fan of the over/under disc retention method of steelbooks, I do love that this one comes with one of those plastic protective slip covers on it to protect the metal from damage).

I remember going to see this in the theaters back in 2009, and came away thinking it was a load of fun to watch. Little did I know back then, but the rest of the internet and home theater community seemed to hate the film, and I was left wondering why. Sure, the last 20 minutes get out of hand a bit, but the clever take on the “who is the real monster?” genre led to a fun and interesting film. One that actually had the audience bandying back and forth over who the real hero of the story was. Gerard Butler was fantastic as the semi-villain of the film, and back in 2009, Jamie Foxx was still considered a leading man. Revisiting the film some 15 years later, I still believe my initial take on the flick holds true. It’s a highly underrated thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep you satiated, while allowing a little bit of leeway with the moral quandary of “how far will one go to enact justice, and is it really justice?”.

One of my favorite reviews back in 2010 mentioned that Law Abiding Citizen was akin to crossing Saw with Prison Break. And yeah, I can’t deny that comparison. The film plays fast and loose with the typical prison break intellectual machinations, with the violence and brutality of Jigsaw crafting violent puzzles for his victims to solve. Average Joe Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) watches his family get slaughtered by a pair of home invaders in the opening moments of the film. Having survived his ordeal, Clyde is unprepared for watching arrogant prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) fritter away any chance at a conviction for both men involved, instead watching his lawyer make a deal behind his back in order to protect his 96% conviction rate.

Ten years later and the single convicted home invader is sentenced to death for his crimes, but amidst the lethal injection ceremony, something goes wrong. The medication that is meant to sedate is gone from the mix, and a long warning is left on the medication bottle. As Nick Rice looks into it more, they find the butchered body of the other home invader in an abandoned warehouse, and all clues point back towards Clyde as being the likely suspect. Thinking they have Clyde dead to rights, Nick sets out to prosecute the family man, only to find out that in the last 10 years, Clyde has been making plays and plans that make it nearly impossible to convict him. Now it’s a game of cat and mouse as Nick tries his best to foil the vengeful father’s plans without falling victim to them as well.

As I said, I think that Law Abiding Citizen is an underrated picture. It wasn’t spectacular, but the film is thrilling and intense. With Gerard Butler playing a fantastic, sympathetic villain. While I’d like to say that the film is more intelligent than it really is, I have to admit that he BECOMES the villain even though he never started that way. The film presses hard into the same moral quandaries that made Saw so much fun in the first couple of films. Clyde is savage, brutal, and commits illegal acts. But at the same time, the very primal sympathies that every person has deep within them want to like what he’s doing, despite it all. It’s that same raw, primal nature that appeals to the superhero genre, thriving for as long as it has. Clyde is a vigilante, filled with rage, intelligence, and a means to avenge his family’s murder. But on the flip side, the same can be said for Nick as well. While he may be an arrogant douche who was more interested in winning than actual justice, he is a family man like Clyde. He has a wife, a daughter, and a legacy to protect, much like Clyde himself. And now the same man who was wronged is now becoming the very villain that he set out to eliminate. It’s a fascinating conundrum, and one that plays out until the final 20 minutes of the film when things get a bit TOO silly.




Rating:

Rated R for strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language




4K Video: Video:

Like many of Lionsgate’s early 4K UHD discs, Law Abiding Citizen was struck using an existing 2K master and given an upscale to 4K for the release. Shot entirely on film, Law Abiding Citizen looks good most of the time, with solid grain structure and a thick, heavy, blue/gray color grading that almost makes the film look monochromatic. Compared against the Blu-ray, we’re not going to see massive upticks in clarity, but the differences are definitely there. Fabric textures look more detailed and nuanced, as do facial details, where I swear I can see more razor burn on Butler’s face. The blue/gray color grading saps a lot of the really “spicy” elements of HDR and Dolby Vision, but the deep shadows and grim prison walls do benefit from it, that’s for sure. So while it may not be a massive upgrade, the 4K UHD certainly looks good and edges out the 15-year-old Blu-ray for sure.







Audio:

The original 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track got pretty good reviews back in 2010, but it was never a flashy track. It just was simply a solid thriller, mix with a few stand-out moments. That same “non-flashy” mix is present in the new Atmos track as well. It’s just slightly expanded and amplified with new surround channels. The track is quite pleasing, with great front room presence, and a nice sense of foreboding ambiance with the added height channels and rears. The score flows smoothly with great fidelity, while LFE response is moderate throughout, except for those stand-out scenes mentioned above (like the gun battle between the home invader and the cops, or the roaring flames near the end). Honestly, the most telling part of this mix is that it seems to be so much lighter and more agile in how it changes up the directionality of the mix. You can sense where things are coming from a little better, and it just seems a bit more flexible in how sounds shift around the room. All in all, a great sounding upgrade.







Extras:

• "The Justice of Law Abiding Citizen" Featurette
• "Law in Black and White: Behind the Scenes" Featurette
• "Preliminary Arguments: The Visual Effects of Law Abiding Citizen" Featurettes
• The Verdict: Winning Trailer Mash-Up
• Theatrical Trailer
• Audio Commentary with Producers Lucas Foster and Alan Siegel

Final Score: ​

Despite having a rather mediocre ending, I still enjoy Law Abiding Citizen a good deal more than other people seemed to have over the years. The film is tense, filled with some nasty, gory action, and both Foxx and Butler play well off each other. The 4K UHD disc is a bit noisy at times, and was forged during the teething pains of the format, so it falls into that “that looks pretty good, but not great” category for the 2160p upgrade. The Atmos track is a nice addition that edges out the old TrueHD track on the 2010 disc, and I can’t complain about the steelbook packaging. For those of you who have already picked up the 4K UHD disc from 2018, I’d simply suggest waiting it out, cuz everything on the disc is the same, only the packaging has changed. IF you haven’t gotten either version, this definitely is a contender as the steelbook packaging is rather classy, and the price is competitive. My ending recommendation for this set will fall right into that “fun watch” category with good video, great audio, and a fun story.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Written by: Kurt Wimmer
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 109 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 20th, 2025

Recommendation: Fun Watch