Film: Law Abiding Citizen

Gerard Butler takes on "The System" after the murder of his wife and daughter.

Other reviews have heaped praise on this one but unfortunately I can't do that.

What starts out as a very entertaining and serious drama with shocks and speeches (see the courtroom scene) that make you really get behind this guy descends into an almost Pink Panther (see ridiculous disguises) type unbelievable adventure.

Don't get me wrong, this is very enjoyable in parts and, if you can ignore Butler's dodgy accent, the performances are pretty good.

Excellent first half let down by a script that doesn't quite know where to go and a rather silly anti-climactic ending.

Rick's Rating: 51%

Film : Gamer

Gerard Butler and Michael C Hall star in this futuristic tale of a Death Row inmate attempting to win his freedom by surviving a deadly video game.

This has all been done better before in the likes of The Running Man and even former wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s The Condemned is a much more satisfying experience.

There are a few half decent action scenes but the characters are so poorly developed that you don’t really care enough to bother who survives and who doesn’t. I think I was supposed to be shocked by one scene in particular where someone’s head gets blown off but I’m afraid I was just disappointed that they had went for shocks over story.

Michael C Hall, excellent in the TV show Dexter, turns in a dire performance as the main bad guy which even includes a ridiculous song and dance routine.

Redeeming feature – Nice to see Gerard Butler in an action role again following his spate of romantic comedies after 300. He looks like he could have made a decent Snake Plissken after all, pity that didn’t work out.

Rick’s Rating : 29%