‘Citizen’ retreats from reality

"Law Abiding Citizen" was filmed in Philadelphia, and that's great for the local economy, but not so great for local moviegoers.

Philadelphians will be scratching their heads at the movie's Bizarro World version of our city - like the gigantic prison that has been digitally installed next to City Hall, where the Ben Franklin Parkway should be.

And apparently it's the only jail in town. Everybody goes there. And the same judge presides over all trials. The movie also commences with the lethal injection of a guy who goes from convicted to dead in record time, although Pennsylvania hasn't executed a prisoner in 10 years.

These are a few of the specific departures from reality. The movie is also generally ludicrous - somebody has given "Law Abiding Citizen" a lethal injection of absurdity. Although I have to say, as ridiculous movies go, this one has its moments.

Most have something to do with Gerard Butler, playing an apparently normal suburban guy, but fear not - he fulfills his contractual obligation to parade naked in front of the camera, his "300" abs on full display.

He's Clyde Shelton, a father/husband waiting for a pizza delivery when two home invaders burst into his house, leading to brutal assaults on Clyde and family.

Clyde survives to watch one of the perpetrators get by with a lenient sentence, causing dad to morph into a combination of Jason Bourne, Hannibal Lecter and the torturer/manipulator from the "Saw" movies.

Clyde declares vengeance on the city's entire criminal justice system, and he especially wants to taunt the politically ambitious assistant D.A. (Jamie Foxx) who cut a soft deal with one of the killers.

The movie's pulpy premise has Clyde conniving to be thrown in prison, where he's somehow able to orchestrate all sorts of organized mayhem on the outside - bombings, murders, remote control assassination.

The latter has become something of a specialty for our city. In "Shooter," remember, somebody engineered the remote-controlled assassination of a visiting dignitary. We're the City of Brotherly Love and Remote Controlled Assassination (see also "Winter Kills.")

Butler has great fun with his evil genius role - he rants, raves and kills with the smirk and confidence of King Leonidas. Foxx on the other hand, is the meek, gray mouse to Butler's flamboyant cat, and it's with some consternation that you notice, about halfway through the movie, that you're kind of rooting for Clyde to lay waste to our entire city.

Crazy as the movie is, I'll admit that I was never bored, and got a hearty laugh out of the movie's ultimate rug-pulling act, one that turns a famous movie twist completely on its ear.