Netflix fans are raving over one of the ‘greatest films ever made’ despite its surprisingly low Rotten Tomatoes score-Joel Harley-Entertainment – Metro

Gerard Butler stars in Law Abiding Citizen (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

Film fans have been raving at the addition of the explosive 2009 action thriller Law Abiding Citizen to Netflix.

Starring P.S I Love You hunk Gerard Butler and Collateral star Jamie Foxx, the film follows vengeful family man Clyde Shelton (Butler) as he seeks revenge for the brutal murder of his family.

Holding District Attorney Nick Rice (Foxx) responsible for their killer getting away with the crime, Clyde sets about enacting his bloody revenge upon the whole bloody system.

Its all-star cast also includes Viola Davis as the mayor of Philadelphia, Jurassic World star Leslie Bibb as Nick’s assistant, and Star Trek actor Colm Meaney as one of the homicide detectives Clyde holds responsible for his family’s death.

Directed by F. Gary Gray from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, the film was a violent subversion of the revenge thriller, and one of the subgenre’s most underrated entries – in spite of what some may deem to be excessive brutality and questionable politics.

With the film recently having been added to Netflix, fans have been discovering – or rediscovering – a cult classic.

Jamie Foxx also stars as D.A Nick Price (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

Writing on the social media platform X, viewers heaped praise upon the film.

‘Law abiding citizen really is a great movie!’ exclaimed the 0nlyskye.

‘Law Abiding Citizen is a top 10 movie of all time,’ agreed 1Ro_Ro.

‘Best revenge movie in my opinion is law abiding citizen,’ wrote gringoinmiami.

Meanwhile, tbymp described it as ‘the craziest movie I ever saw,’ while rayaryanne called it ‘the best movie ever made.’

Contrary to the title, Clyde is not a nice man (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

Critics, however, weren’t quite so sure when the film was first released in 2009, with some describing it as ‘unnecessarily violent’ and ‘full of plot holes.’

Indeed, the disconnect between critics and fans is clear – with the film’s 26% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes at odds with its 75% approval rating from fans.

Wherever you might put it, Metro.co.uk included it among our 13 most shocking revenge films on Netflix, with writer Steve Charnock describing it as ‘much better than it looks.’

Stars Jamie and Gerard will reunite for the upcoming comedy basketball film All-Star Weekend, directed by Foxx himself.

Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler will reunite under friendlier circumstances in 2025 (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

In the 2025 film – which also stars Robert Downey Jr, Benicio Del Toro and Eva Longoria – Gerard plays a Russian drug dealer.

Recalling how he came to appear in the film for Jamie, the Olympus Has Fallen star said: ‘He has this crew of comedy writers and he calls me up, three days before and he goes, “Gerry, man you gotta help me out, I’ll DJ at your birthday, I’ll wash dishes, I’ll cook your food but you gotta help me out”.

‘So he asked me to play this crazy, psychotic Russian drug dealer. So in three days I learned to put on this Russian accent, well, some might call it a Russian accent, and turn up with pages of dialogue and improvise everything.

‘But I had such a blast because he makes that whole situation on that set incredibly fun. It could have been a nightmare but he’s always thinking, “try this, do this”, very appreciative. He’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, Jamie Foxx. In every way, as a charitable soul, in terms of his talent in so many different areas. He’s quite the guy.’

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