...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Law Abiding Citizen

684 statements
135 feature instances
56 referencing feature instances

Law Abiding Citizen	type	TVTItem
Law Abiding Citizen	label	Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen	page	LawAbidingCitizen
Law Abiding Citizen	comment	Law Abiding Citizen is a 2009 crime film directed by F. Gary Gray and starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx as people on opposing sides of a justice system gone wrong.Clyde Shelton (Butler), a talented engineer and family man, watches his life fall apart before his eyes when thugs Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte) and Rupert Ames (Josh Stewart) break into his house, which results in the death of his wife and child right in front of him. Prosecutor Nick Rice (Foxx) only has circumstantial evidence on Darby, who committed the murders, so, in order to maintain his high conviction rate, Rice gives Darby a sweet plea bargain in exchange for testimony against the less-guilty Ames (who receives the death penalty) â€“ against Clyde's wishes.Ten years later, Ames's execution goes awry and the police find Darby dead. Rice has Shelton arrested for the acts, and, to Rice's surprise, Shelton comes clean and admits to the killings. But he isn't done, not by a long shot, and he gives Rice an ultimatum: fix the system that destroyed his life, or he destroys everything. To back up his threat, several officials involved in Ames' and Darby's trial are killed — despite the fact that Shelton is still in custody. Rice begins to realize there is more to Shelton that meets the eye, and resolves to stop whatever plan Shelton has set in motion. But Shelton is a man who has lost everything dear to him, meaning he has nothing to lose...and his sights aren't just set on avenging his wife and child, but bringing down the entire system that robbed him of justice.
Law Abiding Citizen	fetched	2024-03-19T04:45:26Z
Law Abiding Citizen	parsed	2024-03-19T04:45:26Z
Law Abiding Citizen	processingComment	Dropped link to AvertedTrope: Not a Feature - IGNORE
Law Abiding Citizen	isPartOf	DBTropes
Law Abiding Citizen / int_112daba0	type	Retired Badass
Law Abiding Citizen / int_112daba0	comment	Retired Badass: Cylde, he was a former "brain" for an unknown government agency, performing untraceable (and virtually impossible) assassinations. Also a Gadgeteer Genius (the assassination the contact provides as an example of Clyde's intelligence is the creation of a tie that strangles whoever wears it, used to kill a man with absurd amounts of security).
Law Abiding Citizen / int_112daba0	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_112daba0	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_112daba0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1237828f	type	Anyone Can Die
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1237828f	comment	Anyone Can Die: Nearly half the main cast dies by the end, including Shelton.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1237828f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1237828f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_1237828f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_143939c1	type	Trailers Always Spoil
Law Abiding Citizen / int_143939c1	comment	Trailers Always Spoil: Clyde's past as a government weapon designer and "executive action" mastermind isn't revealed for over half the movie. The reveal itself is in the trailer, along with the Judge's execution, the mass car bombing, the drone attack in the cemetery, and Clyde's napalm-induced end.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_143939c1	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_143939c1	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_143939c1
Law Abiding Citizen / int_18d15922	type	Title Drop
Law Abiding Citizen / int_18d15922	comment	Clyde usually upholds his end of bargains (as long as the other side complies down to the minute), gives hints as to what he's going to do, and confesses when he's ready to. It's conspicuously averted when he tells the judge he's a law-abiding citizen, though (in other words, he tells the truth everywhere except in court).
Law Abiding Citizen / int_18d15922	featureApplicability	-1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_18d15922	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_18d15922
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b06aa41	type	Villains Never Lie
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b06aa41	comment	Villains Never Lie: Clyde usually upholds his end of bargains (as long as the other side complies down to the minute), gives hints as to what he's going to do, and confesses when he's ready to. It's conspicuously averted when he tells the judge he's a law-abiding citizen, though (in other words, he tells the truth everywhere except in court). Clyde invokes this trope during the scene where he tortures and dismembers Darby. Pointing out he didnâ€™t lie when he told Darby he wanted to keep him out of prison. In Clyde's eyes, the justice system already had its chance. He opted to just kill Darby instead. Darby, on the other hand, averts this trope; he outright lies and frames the murders he committed on Ames so that he could get off with a lighter sentence. Everyone sees through this too, though they lacked evidence to the contrary.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b06aa41	featureApplicability	-1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b06aa41	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b06aa41
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b44c21	type	GrayAndGreyMorality
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b44c21	comment	Gray-and-Grey Morality: Let's see. He's a Well-Intentioned Extremist, willing to kill anyone to make his rather simplistic political statements. They're the forces of justice, who start out incompetent and unable to put away the bad guys, and wind up violating civil rights at a blink of a eye and staging vigilante executions.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b44c21	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b44c21	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b44c21
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b4e322c	type	Mr. Fanservice
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b4e322c	comment	Mr. Fanservice: Clyde, due to being played by Gerard Butler. He strips down to his birthday suit when SWAT raids his house to make absolutely sure that they can't consider him a hostile suspect (and gives the camera a very long look of his naked butt as well).
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b4e322c	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b4e322c	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_1b4e322c
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1ba17583	type	The Ghost
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1ba17583	comment	The Ghost: We never see Sarah's boyfriend, Chester.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1ba17583	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1ba17583	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_1ba17583
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1d18887f	type	Pay Evil unto Evil
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1d18887f	comment	Pay Evil unto Evil: Clyde dismembering Darby for killing his family.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1d18887f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_1d18887f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_1d18887f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_21e5b9c7	type	Failed a Spot Check
Law Abiding Citizen / int_21e5b9c7	comment	Failed a Spot Check: No one in the prison thinks to install a camera in Clyde's cell, or post a guard outside even as his murder spree continues. None of the cops or bodyguards in the funeral procession spot the machine-gun toting robot until it opens fire.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_21e5b9c7	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_21e5b9c7	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_21e5b9c7
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2317bc85	type	Tampering with Food and Drink
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2317bc85	comment	Tampering with Food and Drink: Clyde's first victim has the chemicals in his lethal injection switched so he'll die a painful death.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2317bc85	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2317bc85	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_2317bc85
Law Abiding Citizen / int_237404cc	type	Ironic Echo
Law Abiding Citizen / int_237404cc	comment	Ironic Echo: Clyde deliberately repeats Darby's catch phrase "You Can't Fight Fate" just before dismembering him alive. Another one to Nick, "It's not what you know; it's what you can prove in court".
Law Abiding Citizen / int_237404cc	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_237404cc	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_237404cc
Law Abiding Citizen / int_23e32a30	type	Genre Deconstruction
Law Abiding Citizen / int_23e32a30	comment	Genre Deconstruction: Whether intentionally or not, it's basically a movie about a Super Villain who suffered great personal tragedy and is now trying to bring down the justice system that failed him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_23e32a30	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_23e32a30	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_23e32a30
Law Abiding Citizen / int_27f10418	type	Impersonating an Officer
Law Abiding Citizen / int_27f10418	comment	Impersonating an Officer: The tasered officer in the police car Darby steals turns out to be Clyde in disguise. The officer he's impersonating is in the trunk.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_27f10418	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_27f10418	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_27f10418
Law Abiding Citizen / int_292d57cd	type	Crusading Widow
Law Abiding Citizen / int_292d57cd	comment	Crusading Widow: Clyde lost his wife and daughter to an assault early on and spends the rest of the movie going after the killers.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_292d57cd	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_292d57cd	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_292d57cd
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2ae29c0d	type	The Dreaded
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2ae29c0d	comment	The Dreaded: Clyde. Even the people who worked with him before the movie started are outright terrified of his ability to kill people without getting anywhere near them, and one of his former colleagues straight up says that if he wants anyone else dead, the only way to prevent it will be to kill him first. Nick eventually realizes that's the only way to stop him and plants a bomb in his cell to trick Shelton into blowing himself up.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2ae29c0d	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2ae29c0d	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_2ae29c0d
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2be271c7	type	Hollywood Hacking
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2be271c7	comment	Hollywood Hacking: Implied, during one of this confessions, Shelton claims he killed Ames by hacking into the shipping company's server so the package containing Ames' lethal injection would be sent to him first. Clyde also describes this process as "easy."
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2be271c7	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2be271c7	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_2be271c7
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2c1f1138	type	He Who Fights Monsters
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2c1f1138	comment	He Who Fights Monsters: Clyde. From family man (that had a pretty horrendous past, but that's something he'd retired from) to criminal mastermind that organizes one of the worst In-Universe terrorist sprees on American soil.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2c1f1138	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2c1f1138	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_2c1f1138
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2d4fa515	type	Ax-Crazy
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2d4fa515	comment	Ax-Crazy: Clarence Darby enjoys murder and rape as demonstrated when he does it to Shelton's family.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2d4fa515	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2d4fa515	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_2d4fa515
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2e8441c9	type	The Bad Guy Wins
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2e8441c9	comment	The Bad Guy Wins: Clyde is tricked into blowing himself up, but to do so, Nick has to trick him into killing himself via placing the bomb inside his cell, essentially committing vigilante justice just like Clyde did and proving that the system's flaws mean the only way to effectively stop criminals is to work outside it. Basically, even though he didn't intend to die, Clyde proves every point he wanted to make.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2e8441c9	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_2e8441c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_2e8441c9
Law Abiding Citizen / int_319e4a2f	type	Even Evil Has Standards
Law Abiding Citizen / int_319e4a2f	comment	Downplayed with Ames â€” yes, he helped Darby rob the Sheltons, but Ames invoked Even Evil Has Standards against harming them, even trying to stop Darby.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_319e4a2f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_319e4a2f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_319e4a2f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_322d19f4	type	Abandoned Warehouse
Law Abiding Citizen / int_322d19f4	comment	Abandoned Warehouse: Clyde liquidates his assets and buys a large number of abandoned factories so he can carry out his plans undisturbed.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_322d19f4	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_322d19f4	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_322d19f4
Law Abiding Citizen / int_326a44a1	type	Create Your Own Villain
Law Abiding Citizen / int_326a44a1	comment	Create Your Own Villain: Nick giving the killer a plea bargain triggers the widowed Clyde's descent into villainy.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_326a44a1	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_326a44a1	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_326a44a1
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3322dd48	type	Hollywood Law
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3322dd48	comment	Hollywood Law: Ames must have had one bad defense attorney if he's put to death purely on the say-so of his partner, on the question of which one of them was a murderer, a partner who is implied to have a much longer and nastier criminal record to boot. Apparently he never thought to call the husband as a witness either. And the prosecution are the only ones who even remotely care about his opinion as well, and still dismiss it. The reason he's sentenced and his partner is effectively let off is a piece of evidence was contaminated by a CSU during the investigation, and all the admissible evidence is suppressed under Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine. The problem with this is, Fruit of the Poisonous Tree only applies to evidence collected through rights violations, and more often than not it only applies to any confession made by the defendant. A piece of evidence contaminated during investigation of the crime scene isn't applicable. They should have been able to get both intruders convicted based on Clyde's testimony alone, even if the DNA evidence was contaminated. Ames seemed more likely to have rolled than Darby anyway, since he apparently didn't participate in the actual murders/rapes (though he would still be on the hook due to the Felony Murder rule) and appeared upset by them (though whoever rolls on their accomplice first often gets the deal). Nick claims Clyde's testimony would not be reliable because he blacked out, even though that was after he clearly saw their faces and saw Darby rape and kill his wife and carry his daughter off. That alone should have been enough. There is also the matter of the plea deal Darby makes. If he testified against Ames he would only have to plead guilty to murder in the third degree. In real life, no such deal would ever be allowed to be accepted, as just by admitting that he was there with Ames, Darby would effectively be admitting to guilt of the Felony Murder rule, which dictates anyone involved in a felony in which a death occurred is automatically guilty of first degree murder (unlike involuntary manslaughter, which covers misdemeanors). This means that just by proving that they were both present at the home invasion, Darby and Ames would have been found guilty of first degree murder. Neither would have been allowed to plead guilty to anything less than first degree murder, even though Ames was only guilty of attempted theft. While the City and County of Philadelphia are consolidated, which therefore gives the Mayor powers ordinarily wielded by the commissioners of other Pennsylvania counties, the District Attorney's office is independent. District attorneys in Pennsylvania are elected county officials, and the Assistant District Attorneys like Nick are county employees. The mayor of Philadelphia has no authority to fire an ADA, or promote an ADA to the position of county District Attorney.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3322dd48	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3322dd48	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_3322dd48
Law Abiding Citizen / int_33c2b1e2	type	Best Served Cold
Law Abiding Citizen / int_33c2b1e2	comment	Best Served Cold: Clyde spends ten years plotting against the entire justice system.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_33c2b1e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_33c2b1e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_33c2b1e2
Law Abiding Citizen / int_34dcfc96	type	Kick the Dog
Law Abiding Citizen / int_34dcfc96	comment	Kick the Dog: Whenever Clarence Darby is onscreen, expect him to do a lot of this. Having your home being invaded is bad, and crippling you is worse, but the ultimate nightmare is when he rapes and murders your wife, then murders your daughter in front of you. Then, a killer gets off with a light sentence just to make sure the prosecution can get the other guy.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_34dcfc96	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_34dcfc96	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_34dcfc96
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35543514	type	Just Eat Gilligan
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35543514	comment	Just Eat Gilligan: The CIA agent that meets with Nick and Cantrell points it out in the simplest fashion possible: as long as Clyde is alive, he's a threat to everybody, and they should just walk into his cell and shoot him dead ASAP. By the time Nick goes around to pull an act in the spirit of the tip (the napalm bomb switcheroo) and decides to no longer give a damn about the legal repercussions, the body count at Clyde's hands is pretty extensive.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35543514	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35543514	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_35543514
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35b241c0	type	Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35b241c0	comment	Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: A couple times, Gerard Butler falls into a little of his native Scottish. "What about my iPod?"
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35b241c0	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_35b241c0	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_35b241c0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_38d02d44	type	Batman Gambit
Law Abiding Citizen / int_38d02d44	comment	Batman Gambit: Clyde plans and executes a very successful one. It still fails in the end, though.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_38d02d44	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_38d02d44	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_38d02d44
Law Abiding Citizen / int_396e1c2a	type	Face Death with Dignity
Law Abiding Citizen / int_396e1c2a	comment	Face Death with Dignity: Clyde. When it's made clear that he's been murdered by Nick planting the bomb in his cell, he just sits down on his cot and keeps fidgeting with his daughter's bracelet as the whole cell becomes a flaming inferno.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_396e1c2a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_396e1c2a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_396e1c2a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3a1c2171	type	The Man Behind the Man
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3a1c2171	comment	The Man Behind the Man: Who's Clyde's partner? Turns out it's Clyde.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3a1c2171	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3a1c2171	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_3a1c2171
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3cb68bd3	type	Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3cb68bd3	comment	Clyde asks his cellmate if he's about to threaten him unless he gets some of the steak and eggs meal that's just been delivered to his cell. The inmate gives a Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon threat, so Clyde calmly tells the man he's welcome to join him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3cb68bd3	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3cb68bd3	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_3cb68bd3
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3eb0f889	type	Pun-Based Title
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3eb0f889	comment	Pun-Based Title: The dash is missing from "Law-Abiding" to show that it's the law abiding the citizen, not the other way around.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3eb0f889	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3eb0f889	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_3eb0f889
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3ec7c277	type	Every Car Is a Pinto
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3ec7c277	comment	Every Car Is a Pinto: The film averts this trope â€“ even after taking several seconds of heavy machine gun fire, a van fails to explode. At least until Clyde nails it with a rocket.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3ec7c277	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3ec7c277	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_3ec7c277
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3fca462c	type	Deus ex Machina
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3fca462c	comment	Deus ex machina: Rice and the Justice System spend most of the movie without a clue of how Clyde is carrying out his plans until Sarah's boyfriend Chester, who we've only met through a couple emails, sends Rice critical information about Clyde's finances. We never learn how or why he would have this information.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3fca462c	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_3fca462c	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_3fca462c
Law Abiding Citizen / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
Law Abiding Citizen / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: Clyde's Roaring Rampage of Revenge is stopped by Nick, who learns his lesson about making deals with criminals and finally attends his daughter's concert. However, a lot of innocent people are dead and Clyde's death is treated sympathetically. Even Nick learning not to make deals with Clyde, or other criminals, was actually one of Clyde's goals, and he only wins by murdering Clyde himself.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_40cc0c7e	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_40cc0c7e
Law Abiding Citizen / int_440d1d0b	type	Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!
Law Abiding Citizen / int_440d1d0b	comment	Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: After Nick is sworn in as DA following the death of his mentor, he decides to forego protocol in finding evidence of Shelton's crimes.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_440d1d0b	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_440d1d0b	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_440d1d0b
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49cca1f3	type	Villain-by-Proxy Fallacy
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49cca1f3	comment	Villain-by-Proxy Fallacy: Clyde exacts brutal revenge against both of the burglars who were there when his family were killed, even though only one of them carried out the killings, and launches a campaign of terror aimed at bringing down the Justice Department to punish them for the miscarriage of justice that allowed the murderer to get a lesser sentence.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49cca1f3	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49cca1f3	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_49cca1f3
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49f20c6a	type	Gory Discretion Shot
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49f20c6a	comment	Gory Discretion Shot: The camera cuts away as Clyde begins his work on Darby, at least, in the theatrical version. The Director's Cut doesn't cut away...
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49f20c6a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_49f20c6a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_49f20c6a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4aa24ad9	type	I Have a Family
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4aa24ad9	comment	I Have a Family: Subverted. Darby is about to execute the police officer whose car he stole. The man says, "What about my wife, my little girl? I'll never see them again!" Darby is unimpressedâ€¦ until he realizes the cop is Clyde in disguise.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4aa24ad9	featureApplicability	-0.3
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4aa24ad9	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_4aa24ad9
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4d92da97	type	Get into Jail Free
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4d92da97	comment	Get into Jail Free: Clyde's plan depends on allowing himself to be arrested so he'll be Beneath Suspicion as his planned killing spree continues. The plot provides a Red Herring or two about other people working alongside him to execute the plan, as he's considered a "brain" (gadget man and planner) by the CIA, but it turns out that, yeah, it's him all along â€” he made an escape tunnel on his cell.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4d92da97	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_4d92da97	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_4d92da97
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50b05d30	type	Disproportionate Retribution
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50b05d30	comment	Disproportionate Retribution: This film could have had this trope name for its title. Clyde watches the murder of his wife and child, and Rice cuts a deal (against Clyde's wishes) that sends the accomplice to death row and the real killer back to the streets. Ten years later, Clyde gets his revenge (including a bonus punishment for the already-condemned man), then tries to destroy the entire US legal system, all while leaving Nick alive so he can witness the devastating consequences of the unjustifiable decision he made. He also kills a lot of people who had little to nothing to do with the deal, including Nick's assistant.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50b05d30	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50b05d30	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_50b05d30
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50f66629	type	Crazy-Prepared
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50f66629	comment	Clyde dies via his own bomb, courtesy of Nick's own Crazy-Prepared moment.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50f66629	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_50f66629	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_50f66629
Law Abiding Citizen / int_553c2ade	type	Sympathetic Villain, Despicable Villain
Law Abiding Citizen / int_553c2ade	comment	Sympathetic Villain, Despicable Villain: Clarence Darby breaks into the home of Clyde Shelton, raping and murdering his wife and daughter, and escapes justice through inadmissible evidence and bureaucratic prosecutor Nick Rice offering a plea bargain. This leads Shelton to murder Darby in revenge before embarking on a Rage Against the Legal System murder spree aimed at everyone he holds responsible for getting Off on a Technicality.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_553c2ade	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_553c2ade	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_553c2ade
Law Abiding Citizen / int_55bf1a48	type	At Least I Admit It
Law Abiding Citizen / int_55bf1a48	comment	At Least I Admit It: Clyde doesn't try to pretend he's not a murderer and seems to be aware of his own hypocrisy, and uses it to try to prove his point about the corruption of the justice system.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_55bf1a48	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_55bf1a48	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_55bf1a48
Law Abiding Citizen / int_56e8b9a6	type	Rage Against the Legal System
Law Abiding Citizen / int_56e8b9a6	comment	Rage Against the Legal System: Clyde's reason for his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_56e8b9a6	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_56e8b9a6	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_56e8b9a6
Law Abiding Citizen / int_582f5a70	type	This Is the Part Where...
Law Abiding Citizen / int_582f5a70	comment	This Is the Part Where...: Nick says to Cantrell; "Is this the bit where you tell some old fable or wise tale?" Cantrell does. Clyde asks his cellmate if he's about to threaten him unless he gets some of the steak and eggs meal that's just been delivered to his cell. The inmate gives a Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon threat, so Clyde calmly tells the man he's welcome to join him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_582f5a70	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_582f5a70	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_582f5a70
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5af55436	type	Forced to Watch
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5af55436	comment	Forced to Watch: Darby to Clyde, although he probably wasn't intending it. Clyde does this to Darby by suspending a mirror over Darby during his torture and cutting off his eyelids. Clyde's attacks in the second half of the film are specifically designed and timed so that Nick is present to witness them, but survives to watch his friends and colleagues murdered one by one right in front of him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5af55436	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5af55436	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_5af55436
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bc36262	type	Backwards-Firing Gun
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bc36262	comment	Backwards-Firing Gun: When Darby realises the 'police officer' is Clyde, he pulls the trigger on the Glock he took off his gunbelt. The Glock is not only unloaded, but pulling the trigger releases needles in the grip, injecting Darby with a paralysing neurotoxin.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bc36262	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bc36262	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bc36262
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bdf025f	type	Instant Sedation
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bdf025f	comment	Instant Sedation: Instant paralysis, but close enough.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bdf025f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bdf025f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_5bdf025f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5e04ab60	type	No Mercy for Murderers
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5e04ab60	comment	No Mercy for Murderers: Clyde's Rage Against the Legal System is an effort to get Nick to invoke this trope. After his family's killer is able to get away with raping and murdering his wife and daughter, Clyde kills the murderer and his accomplice before targeting everyone he blames for the Miscarriage of Justice, either by killing them or those they care about. Nick does eventually catch on to what Clyde is trying to do, and ultimately tricks him into blowing himself up with his own bomb.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5e04ab60	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5e04ab60	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_5e04ab60
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5fcb9ad1	type	Time Skip
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5fcb9ad1	comment	Time Skip: After the sentencing of Darby, cut to 10 years later.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5fcb9ad1	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_5fcb9ad1	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_5fcb9ad1
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60194b82	type	Spanner in the Works
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60194b82	comment	Spanner in the Works: Clyde kills Nick's staff, including his blonde understudy. Said blonde's boyfriend happened to have access to critical information that he wasn't willing to risk his job overâ€¦ until his girlfriend was killed.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60194b82	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60194b82	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_60194b82
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60adc384	type	You Taught Me That
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60adc384	comment	You Taught Me That: At the end, Clyde is finally cornered by Nick, a prosecutor who is responsible for starting the whole thing by making a deal with a murderer. When Clyde tries to negotiate, Nick says he doesn't make deals with murderers anymore and references this trope. Clyde is very proud that Nick finally is behaving the way Clyde always wanted him to, even calm and at peace, staring at his dead daughter's jewellery as he is blown up by his own bomb, which Nick tricked him into using on himself.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60adc384	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_60adc384	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_60adc384
Law Abiding Citizen / int_648fe274	type	But for Me, It Was Tuesday
Law Abiding Citizen / int_648fe274	comment	But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Nick has trouble recalling Darby's name despite his misdeeds.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_648fe274	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_648fe274	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_648fe274
Law Abiding Citizen / int_650a309b	type	Forgot About His Powers
Law Abiding Citizen / int_650a309b	comment	Forgot About His Powers: Clyde â€“ ordinary suburban homeowner, described as "a tinkerer", but turns out to be a genius in defence and violence whose abilities border on the fantastic. But he didn't bother to protect his own home from an intruder with a baseball bat. And why? Because he works best when he has prep time, not when he's surprised by said thug.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_650a309b	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_650a309b	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_650a309b
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6b983bf7	type	Unstoppable Rage
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6b983bf7	comment	Unstoppable Rage: Clyde. A character who knew him before the film mentions the only way to stop him would be to shoot him in the head because 'If Clyde wants you dead, you're dead.'
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6b983bf7	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6b983bf7	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_6b983bf7
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6e287af	type	Janitor Impersonation Infiltration
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6e287af	comment	Janitor Impersonation Infiltration: Clyde plants a bomb in City Hall by smuggling it through security in his cleaning supplies.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6e287af	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_6e287af	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_6e287af
Law Abiding Citizen / int_708cabf8	type	Sleeping Dummy
Law Abiding Citizen / int_708cabf8	comment	Sleeping Dummy: Clyde uses a simple pillows under the sheet trick to hide the fact that he's not in his cell. Justified as the cell is dark and in solitary, so no one goes in to check.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_708cabf8	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_708cabf8	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_708cabf8
Law Abiding Citizen / int_723be11b	type	Villain Has a Point
Law Abiding Citizen / int_723be11b	comment	Villain Has a Point: Despite the radical actions he takes, Clyde ultimately does have good reasons to be disillusioned by the justice system and to be angry at Nick and associates. After all, the murderer of his wife and child did get off what is practically a slap on the wrist and on deal that was made primarily because Nick feared that his near perfect prosecution record would be broken. Had there been actual justice, the entire plot of the film very likely wouldn't have happened in the first place. In the end, Nick is only able to stop him by extrajudicially killing him via tricking him into blowing himself up, proving the exact point Clyde wanted him to learn.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_723be11b	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_723be11b	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_723be11b
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7241785e	type	You Can't Fight Fate
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7241785e	comment	You Can't Fight Fate: Darby's Catchphrase. Inverted in that it's simply his justification for doing whatever he wants, no matter how depraved. He comes to regret it when Clyde repeats it back to him, just before starting to work on him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7241785e	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7241785e	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7241785e
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7276d0de	type	Mugging the Monster
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7276d0de	comment	Mugging the Monster: Ames and Darby just happen to rob the home of a retired CIA assassination expert.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7276d0de	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7276d0de	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7276d0de
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7286e96d	type	Idiot Ball
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7286e96d	comment	Idiot Ball: The whole plot could have been avoided if Nick had refused Darby's deal, and instead made a similar deal with Ames. Likewise, the authorities could have easily solved the mystery of how Clyde was committing murders while incarcerated by simply assigning guards to watch him 24/7 or by installing a camera in his cell, but no one even considers doing this.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7286e96d	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7286e96d	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7286e96d
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7464705c	type	Arc Words
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7464705c	comment	Arc Words: "You can't fight fate."
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7464705c	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7464705c	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7464705c
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7b6e47a5	type	Armor-Piercing Question
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7b6e47a5	comment	Armor-Piercing Question: Armor-Piercing Response:
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7b6e47a5	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7b6e47a5	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7b6e47a5
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7bfa91bf	type	Failure Gambit
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7bfa91bf	comment	Failure Gambit: Clyde Shelton confesses to a murder because he wants to be imprisoned, as that becomes key in his plan, while ironically giving him more freedom than he would have had otherwise. Though it's not explicitly noted, Clyde's main goal was to teach Nick a lesson about dealing with criminals and proving a point that the justice system was broken.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7bfa91bf	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7bfa91bf	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7bfa91bf
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7ec94d53	type	Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7ec94d53	comment	Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Clyde eventually tries to destroy the entire justice department of Philadelphia, because they failed to properly punish the slayers of his family.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7ec94d53	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_7ec94d53	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_7ec94d53
Law Abiding Citizen / int_808cbaeb	type	Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
Law Abiding Citizen / int_808cbaeb	comment	Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Clyde concluding an insulting rant against Judge Burch by saying, "And I bet you take it up the ass, bitch!"
Law Abiding Citizen / int_808cbaeb	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_808cbaeb	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_808cbaeb
Law Abiding Citizen / int_82785455	type	Plea Bargain
Law Abiding Citizen / int_82785455	comment	Plea Bargain: A plea bargain given to the wrong party (the actual killer, who sold his patsy down the river) is the motive for Clyde to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_82785455	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_82785455	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_82785455
Law Abiding Citizen / int_86b21114	type	Badass Boast
Law Abiding Citizen / int_86b21114	comment	Badass Boast: "I'm gonna pull the whole thing down. I'm gonna bring the whole fuckin' diseased, corrupt temple down on your head. It's gonna be biblical." Earlier â€“ "And if we don't?" "Then I kill everyone."
Law Abiding Citizen / int_86b21114	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_86b21114	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_86b21114
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8a30b162	type	ImprovisedWeaponUser
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8a30b162	comment	Improvised Weapon User: Clyde shivs his cellmate with the bone from a T-bone steak.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8a30b162	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8a30b162	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_8a30b162
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8ed5c6e4	type	Asshole Victim
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8ed5c6e4	comment	Asshole Victim: No one feels sorry for Darby when Shelton kills him. Pretty much the whole plot of the movie. Downplayed with Ames â€” yes, he helped Darby rob the Sheltons, but Ames invoked Even Evil Has Standards against harming them, even trying to stop Darby.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8ed5c6e4	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_8ed5c6e4	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_8ed5c6e4
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d44f44	type	Karmic Death
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d44f44	comment	The judge: one can argue that worrying more about a cellphone ringing, when one just witnessed, as a judge, to a rapist and murderer (by proxy, in this case) getting only three years, is already a great example of the messed up priorities of the people working for the legal system (and Clyde seems to be of that advice, and kills her when she replies to the phone, as a karmic retribution). But, more specifically, when the judge admits that Clyde has a perfectly lawful point about the right to be be released on bail, but then negates this right because Clyde insults her (instead of granting the rightful bail and condemning him for the offenses to the court), it is clear that the judge puts the law behind her own ego.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d44f44	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d44f44	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d44f44
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d60f4a	type	And Some Other Stuff
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d60f4a	comment	And Some Other Stuff: No one's specific about what chemical Clyde used to make the lethal injection more painful (although the Body Horror that it creates implies that it's some sort of acid).
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d60f4a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d60f4a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_90d60f4a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90e31482	type	Laser-Guided Karma
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90e31482	comment	Laser-Guided Karma: Less than 10 seconds after displaying flagrant contempt for duty, the rules, and even the Constitution itself a gun goes off directly in the judge's ear. Shelton himself gets a dose of this, as his termination of the understudy in the car bomb spree leads directly to the understudy's boyfriend risking his job to give Nick vital information, and Nick being willing to rig Clyde's super-napalm bomb to the underside of the prison cot. Though that information was sent to Sarah's email address, implying it had been sent before he knew she'd been killed. Ironically, this contempt for the Constitutional rights of the accused, putting stopping them ahead of the rules, is similar to what Clyde appeared to be trying to encourage. That, or simply trying to make Nick care about actually doing his job.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90e31482	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_90e31482	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_90e31482
Law Abiding Citizen / int_95dd3f2a	type	Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!
Law Abiding Citizen / int_95dd3f2a	comment	Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Potentially Clyde's motive (well, it's either that or he's genuinely an Omnicidal Maniac). Particularly suggested by this exchange:
Law Abiding Citizen / int_95dd3f2a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_95dd3f2a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_95dd3f2a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_986dad9a	type	Killer Robot
Law Abiding Citizen / int_986dad9a	comment	Killer Robot: Clyde uses a heavily modified bomb-disposal robot to kill Jonas at the graveyard.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_986dad9a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_986dad9a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_986dad9a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_987be393	type	Gambit Roulette
Law Abiding Citizen / int_987be393	comment	Gambit Roulette: Clyde is at times just impossibly good at guessing exactly what everyone is going to do. At least partially Justified given that heâ€™s implied to have spent years studying at he legal system so he can manipulate it to his benefit.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_987be393	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_987be393	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_987be393
Law Abiding Citizen / int_9f1b0b39	type	Counting Bullets
Law Abiding Citizen / int_9f1b0b39	comment	Counting Bullets: Darby empties his revolver at the police cars pulling up at his door. As he's escaping across the rooftops, the mysterious voice on the phone tells him to wipe the gun for prints and toss it.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_9f1b0b39	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_9f1b0b39	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_9f1b0b39
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a0db7803	type	It's Personal
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a0db7803	comment	It's Personal: Once Nick's understudy is killed, Nick is ready to go to war to take Clyde down.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a0db7803	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a0db7803	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_a0db7803
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a3a4a800	type	Too Clever by Half
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a3a4a800	comment	Clyde, of course. He does want revenge, but also wants both to teach Nick that he shouldn't make deals with criminals and to destroy the legal system. If he tried to accomplish that same result by hiding somewhere and leaving messages for Nick on the corpses, though, given his skills, he would have had better chances to survive 'til the end and to succeed. But, of course, he is too smart to make the obvious choice. Moreover, wanting to teach a lesson to Nick, he ends up killing a lot of people, even at least one who actually shows remorse for that deal with Darby, leaving alive and unscratched (and even promoted to District Attorney) Nick, the man responsible for that deal, and his family.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a3a4a800	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a3a4a800	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_a3a4a800
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a4c37cbe	type	Mood Whiplash
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a4c37cbe	comment	Mood Whiplash: Clyde switching between his distraught Vigilante Man act to his much more confident and spiteful real personality during Nick's interrogation right after his "confession".
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a4c37cbe	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a4c37cbe	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_a4c37cbe
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a6cbef9a	type	Joker Immunity
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a6cbef9a	comment	Joker Immunity: A major point of the movie â€” the legal system is tied up in tons of red tape and thus no matter what they do, they can't get rid of Shelton or even move him somewhere secure, so he is continually able to commit murders with relative impunity.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a6cbef9a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a6cbef9a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_a6cbef9a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: Nick Rice is this, as his desire to have a spotless conviction record was the last push that drove Shelton into madness and thus indirectly responsible for all the deaths, including the innocent ones, but gets to walk away unharmed when people far less guilty died. There is also the napalm bomb trick at the end â€” even with extensive evidence about Clyde being the man responsible for the attack, Nick did enter Clyde's "base" without a legal warrant (though exigent circumstances or probable cause would apply) and allowed the man to die, even tricking him into activating the device that killed him. The last scene is him calmly enjoying his daughter's cello recital that same night, with no telling of how his decision to "fuck [Sheldon's] civil rights" will fly with the Pennsylvania governor and the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree articles. The jerkass Warden who delays Shelton's catered lunch and causes Bill Reynolds' death is never targeted by Clyde. Likely justified as Clyde wanted Bill Reynolds dead and the Warden had nothing to do with his family's killer getting away. Plus, Clyde was trolling the Warden so he'd get himself locked up in solitary, which is exactly where he wanted to be.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_a70223
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a8a04f6f	type	And I Must Scream
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a8a04f6f	comment	And I Must Scream: Clyde injects Darby with a paralyzing neurotoxin that keeps him helpless but fully conscious and entirely capable of feeling everything Clyde does to him. He also goes to great lengths to ensure that Darby stays alive and conscious as long as possible; he places tourniquets on Darby's arms and legs so he doesn't bleed out, administers a saline drip so he doesn't die of dehydration, injects him with adrenaline so he doesn't pass out, and inserts a mouthpiece to prevent him choking on his own tongue.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a8a04f6f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_a8a04f6f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_a8a04f6f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_abc60c5d	type	Harmful to Minors
Law Abiding Citizen / int_abc60c5d	comment	Harmful to Minors: Rice's daughter puts on what she thinks is a DVD of her cello recital, but it's actually a DVD of Shelton torturing Darby to death.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_abc60c5d	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_abc60c5d	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_abc60c5d
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ac09dc0f	type	Alas, Poor Villain
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ac09dc0f	comment	Alas, Poor Villain: Clyde dying by his own bomb and decides to Face Death with Dignity while he stares at his deceased daughterâ€™s home-made bracelet.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ac09dc0f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ac09dc0f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_ac09dc0f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_aca32000	type	Armor-Piercing Response
Law Abiding Citizen / int_aca32000	comment	Armor-Piercing Response:
Law Abiding Citizen / int_aca32000	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_aca32000	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_aca32000
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ace24b2c	type	Halfway Plot Switch
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ace24b2c	comment	Halfway Plot Switch: Played with: while regular "revenge" movie structure would have Darby survive for a long(er) time because of sheer luck, Magnificent Bastard Hidden Depths, or being connected to a bigger criminal conspiracy of some type, he (and Ames) dies very early and the movie instead focuses on Clyde's progression into an In-Universe Real Life "super-villain", mustache-twirling included.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ace24b2c	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ace24b2c	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_ace24b2c
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ad1db87c	type	Oh, Crap!
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ad1db87c	comment	Oh, Crap!: Clyde's reaction to the revelation that the bomb had been moved to his cell. Averted seconds later, when he resigns himself to his fate, and utterly keeps his calm even with super napalm filling his cell.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ad1db87c	featureApplicability	-1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ad1db87c	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_ad1db87c
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b0c4bf9b	type	Luxury Prison Suite
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b0c4bf9b	comment	Luxury Prison Suite: Clyde insists a special mattress and a porterhouse steak be placed in his cell in exchange for his confession. The other inmates all shout with rage when they see these delivered, and the warden pointedly says he'd hate to be the only one who has something in a wing full of the Have-Nots.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b0c4bf9b	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b0c4bf9b	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_b0c4bf9b
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b1346878	type	Fate Worse than Death
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b1346878	comment	Fate Worse than Death: What Clyde tried to put Darby through. He even gives Darby a dose of adrenaline to prevent him from passing out, and tourniquets his limbs to prevent him from bleeding to death prematurely.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b1346878	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b1346878	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_b1346878
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b6aad019	type	Snuff Film
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b6aad019	comment	Snuff Film: Shelton makes a video recording of him torturing and killing Darby, then has a copy sent to Nick's house. Unfortunately, Nick's daughter, Denise, ends up watching it when she mistakenly believes it to be a copy of her cello recital.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b6aad019	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b6aad019	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_b6aad019
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b707726f	type	Hypocritical Humor
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b707726f	comment	Hypocritical Humor: Nick keeps leaving his cell phone on while in court with a certain judge. While in a meeting with her later, her cell rings, and he calls her on it. Turns out there's a bomb in the phone.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b707726f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_b707726f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_b707726f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bb18a227	type	It's All About Me
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bb18a227	comment	Nick Rice: He starts debating with his boss about his almost spotless record of convictions (95%? Actually it's 96%!) and it is clear that the main reason for the deal which lets Darby free with a bit more than a slap on the wrist, ignoring Clyde's pleas, is to keep that record safe because it's all about him and that record. This decision is the start of everything. Then he goes on proving to be The Unapologetic, boasting that he made the right choice, even when, later, his own pupil shows doubts and regrets, saying that she was working as a prosecutor, not for a stupid record.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bb18a227	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bb18a227	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_bb18a227
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bcd5bc72	type	Handshake of Doom
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bcd5bc72	comment	Handshake of Doom: Shelton glimpses Darby and Rice shaking hands outside of court, which convinces him that a Miscarriage of Justice has taken place and inspires him to begin a destructive campaign of terror to bring the entire justice system down.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bcd5bc72	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bcd5bc72	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_bcd5bc72
Law Abiding Citizen / int_beb9a361	type	Anti-Hero
Law Abiding Citizen / int_beb9a361	comment	Anti-Hero: Nick doesn't care nearly as much about justice as he does about his conviction rate. His flaws and mistakes may have created the villain â€“ but he still tries to protect the innocent as best as he can.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_beb9a361	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_beb9a361	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_beb9a361
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bebf0356	type	Mission Control
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bebf0356	comment	Mission Control: Clyde pulls a dark version of this trope on Darby, helping him to evade the police and providing an escape vehicle, but only so he'll walk right into his clutches.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bebf0356	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_bebf0356	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_bebf0356
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c32ff031	type	Xanatos Gambit
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c32ff031	comment	Of course, even that is a part of Clyde's ultimate Xanatos Gambit. His complete plan revolves around either killing everyone involved not only in the crime that killed his family but also in what he sees as a corrupt or incompetent legal system that had failed him and his dead family, or he manages to make that legal system reform itself in order to effectively stop him, which would fix the flaws in the system that he blames for what happened.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c32ff031	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c32ff031	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c32ff031
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c39846a3	type	Pride
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c39846a3	comment	Pride: The whole movie has plenty of prideful characters, and one might argue that pride is the true antagonist in the movie. Nick Rice: He starts debating with his boss about his almost spotless record of convictions (95%? Actually it's 96%!) and it is clear that the main reason for the deal which lets Darby free with a bit more than a slap on the wrist, ignoring Clyde's pleas, is to keep that record safe because it's all about him and that record. This decision is the start of everything. Then he goes on proving to be The Unapologetic, boasting that he made the right choice, even when, later, his own pupil shows doubts and regrets, saying that she was working as a prosecutor, not for a stupid record. The judge: one can argue that worrying more about a cellphone ringing, when one just witnessed, as a judge, to a rapist and murderer (by proxy, in this case) getting only three years, is already a great example of the messed up priorities of the people working for the legal system (and Clyde seems to be of that advice, and kills her when she replies to the phone, as a karmic retribution). But, more specifically, when the judge admits that Clyde has a perfectly lawful point about the right to be be released on bail, but then negates this right because Clyde insults her (instead of granting the rightful bail and condemning him for the offenses to the court), it is clear that the judge puts the law behind her own ego. The prison warden: even when hurried by Nick, who points out that the time granted by Clyde in their deal is almost over, the warden makes a point about being the boss there, delaying the delivery of the lunch, making arguably useless double checks, etc.. It's that delay that costs the life of the attorney, as Nick points out when they find the body. Clyde, of course. He does want revenge, but also wants both to teach Nick that he shouldn't make deals with criminals and to destroy the legal system. If he tried to accomplish that same result by hiding somewhere and leaving messages for Nick on the corpses, though, given his skills, he would have had better chances to survive 'til the end and to succeed. But, of course, he is too smart to make the obvious choice. Moreover, wanting to teach a lesson to Nick, he ends up killing a lot of people, even at least one who actually shows remorse for that deal with Darby, leaving alive and unscratched (and even promoted to District Attorney) Nick, the man responsible for that deal, and his family.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c39846a3	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c39846a3	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c39846a3
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c6846f0f	type	Bad with the Bone
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c6846f0f	comment	Bad with the Bone: Clyde shanks his cellmate with the bone from his T-bone steak.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c6846f0f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c6846f0f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c6846f0f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: Clyde's "biblical" threat to "pull this [...] temple down on all your heads" is a reference to Samson. Who killed himself in the process, incidentally.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c75df49a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c868a42a	type	Freudian Excuse
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c868a42a	comment	Freudian Excuse: Clyde became what he is now after his wife and daughter had been savagely killed by Darby.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c868a42a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c868a42a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c868a42a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c913ec99	type	Felony Murder
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c913ec99	comment	Nick claims Clyde's testimony would not be reliable because he blacked out, even though that was after he clearly saw their faces and saw Darby rape and kill his wife and carry his daughter off. That alone should have been enough. There is also the matter of the plea deal Darby makes. If he testified against Ames he would only have to plead guilty to murder in the third degree. In real life, no such deal would ever be allowed to be accepted, as just by admitting that he was there with Ames, Darby would effectively be admitting to guilt of the Felony Murder rule, which dictates anyone involved in a felony in which a death occurred is automatically guilty of first degree murder (unlike involuntary manslaughter, which covers misdemeanors). This means that just by proving that they were both present at the home invasion, Darby and Ames would have been found guilty of first degree murder. Neither would have been allowed to plead guilty to anything less than first degree murder, even though Ames was only guilty of attempted theft.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c913ec99	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c913ec99	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c913ec99
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c9981efb	type	The Engineer
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c9981efb	comment	The Engineer: Clyde himself obviously, and he's an extraordinarily magnificent one at that.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c9981efb	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_c9981efb	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_c9981efb
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ceec4df5	type	Roaring Rampage of Revenge
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ceec4df5	comment	Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Guess who. It's quite the body count at the end for Clyde.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ceec4df5	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ceec4df5	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_ceec4df5
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d001c42c	type	Anti-Villain
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d001c42c	comment	Anti-Villain: Clyde.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d001c42c	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d001c42c	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d001c42c
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d028e0da	type	An Arm and a Leg
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d028e0da	comment	An Arm and a Leg: Clyde cuts off Darby's fingers, limbs, penis, and head in succession during his killing.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d028e0da	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d028e0da	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d028e0da
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d397657d	type	Hoist by His Own Petard
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d397657d	comment	Shelton himself gets a dose of this, as his termination of the understudy in the car bomb spree leads directly to the understudy's boyfriend risking his job to give Nick vital information, and Nick being willing to rig Clyde's super-napalm bomb to the underside of the prison cot. Though that information was sent to Sarah's email address, implying it had been sent before he knew she'd been killed.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d397657d	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d397657d	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d397657d
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d39e327f	type	What the Hell, Hero?
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d39e327f	comment	What the Hell, Hero?: The entire point of the movie. Clyde is doing this to the entire Justice system, and especially to the prosecutor, Nick, who gave his wife's killer a plea deal to keep up his own conviction record. "Fuck [my] Civil Rights." Everyone in the courtroom is looking at Clyde like he's crazy.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d39e327f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d39e327f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d39e327f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d4690452	type	ArtisticLicenceBiology
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d4690452	comment	Artistic Licence â€“ Biology: The poison Clyde uses to paralyze Darby â€” tetrodotoxin â€” is real.note As noted by Clyde, it's found in the liver of the Caribbean puffer fish. Only problem is it paralyzes all non-cardiac muscles, including the diaphragm. Without artificial respiration, Darby would've asphyxiated pretty quickly.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d4690452	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d4690452	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d4690452
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ecbd57	type	You're Insane!
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ecbd57	comment	You're Insane!: When Clyde deliberately blows his chance at bail with his Motive Rant, Nick asks him if he's trying for an insanity plea. Other characters speculate that he's gone insane, though if that's the case, it doesn't affect Clyde's ability to plan and execute his crimes.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ecbd57	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ecbd57	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ecbd57
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ff49ab	type	Put Them All Out of My Misery
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ff49ab	comment	Put Them All Out of My Misery: Clyde Shelton seeks revenge not only on the man who destroyed his family, but on the entire system that failed to adequately punish him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ff49ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ff49ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_d7ff49ab
Law Abiding Citizen / int_da31de41	type	Do You Trust Me?
Law Abiding Citizen / int_da31de41	comment	Do You Trust Me?: Nick asks this of Clyde before revealing that the DA's office struck a plea bargain with the killer.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_da31de41	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_da31de41	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_da31de41
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbca2c99	type	Red Herring
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbca2c99	comment	Red Herring: Nick's understudy is a minor one â€” around the time Clyde starts amping up his attacks, she starts questioning Nick about whether or not he's in the right, and around the time they start questioning whether he has an accomplice inside their system, we learn more about her mysterious boyfriend who never shows his face and "isn't ready" to meet Nick â€” the audience is briefly led to believe that she may be working with Shelton, and the boyfriend stuff was just another trick of his. When she dies, that part of the audience who believed that may even think Shelton pulled a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on her. Roger Ebert also thought this about Colm Meaney's character. Also, Nick has a wife and daughter just like Clyde used to. Especially after his daughter gets the DVD in the mail, it's implied Clyde might go after them so Nick will know how it feels to lose them. He never does.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbca2c99	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbca2c99	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbca2c99
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbed9cf7	type	I Was Never Here
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbed9cf7	comment	I Was Never Here: The CIA assassin who meets with Nick and Cantrell opens by saying that this meeting isn't taking place. Also when Nick sees the final email sent to Sarah by her mysterious boyfriend, the subject of the email says, "You didn't get this from me".
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbed9cf7	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbed9cf7	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_dbed9cf7
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dcaa8b35	type	Locked Room Mystery
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dcaa8b35	comment	Locked Room Mystery: Inverted; Clyde is somehow able to orchestrate elaborate murders while locked in solitary confinement.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dcaa8b35	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_dcaa8b35	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_dcaa8b35
Law Abiding Citizen / int_df04109a	type	Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All
Law Abiding Citizen / int_df04109a	comment	Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Clyde still commits murders, even in jail. Turns out getting sent to solitary confinement was part of his plan, since part of the preparations he made before getting arrested included digging a secret tunnel accessible from there.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_df04109a	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_df04109a	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_df04109a
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e2023325	type	StrawmanPolitical
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e2023325	comment	Strawman Political: Although it shows up the dark side of vigilantism, the movie strongly suggests that the justice system is incapable of dealing with violent criminals, and "proves" this with some questionable logic; "Plea bargains are bad, because here are some arbitrarily bad plea bargains for no adequately explained reason." "The exclusionary rule is bad, because it got DNA evidence deemed inadmissible when there was no explanation as to what was illegal about how it was obtained." "The presumption of innocence is bad, because this guy who we, the audience, know committed a crime is being granted bail before his trial." Not caring about doing your job where you are supposed to care more about other people than yourself is going to land you in trouble.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e2023325	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e2023325	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_e2023325
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e482cfa7	type	To the Pain
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e482cfa7	comment	To the Pain: Clyde goes into great detail about everything he's doing and is about to do to Darby.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e482cfa7	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e482cfa7	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_e482cfa7
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e542d889	type	Gorn
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e542d889	comment	Gorn: Boy howdy...
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e542d889	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e542d889	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_e542d889
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e5fd8bc2	type	Hate Sink
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e5fd8bc2	comment	Whenever Clarence Darby is onscreen, expect him to do a lot of this.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e5fd8bc2	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e5fd8bc2	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_e5fd8bc2
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e9e35e8f	type	Exact Words
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e9e35e8f	comment	Exact Words: Clyde, to Darby: "I want to keep you out of prison." He didn't say what he wanted to do to him instead. When Nick first interrogates Clyde, Clyde makes sure to word all of his responses in such a way that Nick doesn't get a confession. Before he sets off his final bomb, Nick warns Clyde that "He'll have to live with the decision for the rest of his life." Nick is carrying a pistol and implying that he'll shoot Clyde if he triggers the bomb Clyde triggers it anyway, so Nick seals the cell door and says;
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e9e35e8f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_e9e35e8f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_e9e35e8f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eadc018f	type	Pinball Protagonist
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eadc018f	comment	Pinball Protagonist: Nick doesn't really do anything until the end of the film. The plot is mostly driven forward through Clyde's actions instead. Nick spends most of the movie trying to keep up with him.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eadc018f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eadc018f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_eadc018f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eaf5a1ac	type	Groin Attack
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eaf5a1ac	comment	Groin Attack: Offscreen, but... When Darby, or what's left of him, is later found, there is blood spatter on the waist of his shirt that looks like it came from his groin. And later when Nick tells Clyde he needs specifics about Darby's murder:
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eaf5a1ac	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eaf5a1ac	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_eaf5a1ac
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eb8ec7c8	type	Jerkass
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eb8ec7c8	comment	Jerkass: Nick Rice starts out as this, doing a very dumb legal move for (at least partially) the sake of getting more political power. By the time the Time Skip occurs, he's even more of a jerk, but the rampage moulds him into the kind of jerk Clyde wants â€” which is someone who will do whatever it takes to keep criminals down and out.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eb8ec7c8	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eb8ec7c8	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_eb8ec7c8
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eefce6c6	type	Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eefce6c6	comment	Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts: The movie runs on this trope. Even when it's explicitly shown and mentioned that Clyde took all of ten years to put every single thing in place, the whole situation is a Gambit Pileup that keeps rolling perfectly for Clyde.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eefce6c6	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_eefce6c6	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_eefce6c6
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f0c4ce7d	type	The Lost Lenore
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f0c4ce7d	comment	The Lost Lenore: Clyde's wife, for whose killer Clyde plots a particularly Karmic Death. For an added bonus, his child is murdered too.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f0c4ce7d	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f0c4ce7d	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_f0c4ce7d
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f511ea9b	type	Product Placement
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f511ea9b	comment	Product Placement: Nick's understudy uses a Mac (apparently running Windows), and in one scene the staff prominently rolls in large amounts of Pepsi and Dunkin' Donuts. Every car is a Chevrolet.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f511ea9b	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f511ea9b	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_f511ea9b
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f70bcdc3	type	External Combustion
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f70bcdc3	comment	External Combustion: Clyde plants remote-control car bombs inside the gas tanks, where a search won't find them. The protagonist is Forced to Watch as the woman he mentored struggles to escape from a vehicle with sabotaged locks as the other cars explode one by one, before her car also blows up.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f70bcdc3	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f70bcdc3	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_f70bcdc3
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f8f71b5f	type	Buried Alive
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f8f71b5f	comment	Buried Alive: Clyde buries Darby's defense attorney with a tank of oxygen and an IV feed until a specific time. Nick arrives to the location eight minutes late.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f8f71b5f	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_f8f71b5f	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_f8f71b5f
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fccd06b6	type	Beware the Nice Ones
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fccd06b6	comment	Beware the Nice Ones: Clyde.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fccd06b6	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fccd06b6	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_fccd06b6
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fd4f8299	type	Well-Intentioned Extremist
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fd4f8299	comment	Well-Intentioned Extremist: Clyde Shelton watched his wife and daughter get brutally murdered before his eyes, then watched the thug who did it get off with a slap on the wrist. His solution to this is to take his anger out on the justice system that let this happen... by killing everyone associated with it.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fd4f8299	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_fd4f8299	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_fd4f8299
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ff7f34c5	type	Pet the Dog
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ff7f34c5	comment	Pet the Dog: During Clyde's plan to trap and kill Darby, it was revealed that he kidnapped a police officer by placing him in the back of his police car with a bag on his head and handcuffs on his wrists, as Clyde only needed the officer's identity and car as part of his plan. Following Darby's death, Clyde willingly spares the officer's life by handing him over the keys to free him and thanking him for the car, assuring that what he did was nothing personal.
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ff7f34c5	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_ff7f34c5	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_ff7f34c5
Law Abiding Citizen / int_name	type	ItemName
Law Abiding Citizen / int_name	comment
Law Abiding Citizen / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Law Abiding Citizen / int_name
Law Abiding Citizen / int_name	itemName	Law Abiding Citizen

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	A Fool for a Client / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Abandoned Warehouse / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Backwards-Firing Gun / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Bad with the Bone / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Best Served Cold / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Buried Alive / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Cacophony Cover-Up / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Cardboard Prison / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Cold-Blooded Torture / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Counting Bullets / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Crusading Widow / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Crusading Widower / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Do You Trust Me? / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Edible Bludgeon / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	External Combustion / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Failure Gambit / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Faux Symbolism / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Get into Jail Free / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Give Me a Reason / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Handshake of Doom / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Harmful to Minors / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	I Have a Family / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Inherent in the System / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Instant Sedation / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	It Works Better with Bullets / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Jammed Seatbelts / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Justified Criminal / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Killer Outfit / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Locked Room Mystery / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Luxury Prison Suite / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Murder by Remote Control Vehicle / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Must Let Them Get Away / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	No Mercy for Murderers / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Ominous Legal Phrase Title / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Persecuting Prosecutor / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Play-Along Prisoner / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Plea Bargain / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Prison Films / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Psychological Thriller / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Put Them All Out of My Misery / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Rage Against the Legal System / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Sacrificial Lamb / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Sleeping Dummy / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Sympathetic Villain, Despicable Villain / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	The Judge / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	To the Pain / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Torture Porn / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Unflinching Walk / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Vigilante Execution / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Vigilante Man / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	Villain-by-Proxy Fallacy / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	You Taught Me That / int_749752a
Law Abiding Citizen	hasFeature	You're Insane! / int_749752a

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.