First Hit: There is a point to this film and it’s that the justice system is broken.
Gerard Butler plays Clyde Shelton an inventor of sorts who answers the door one evening only to be accosted by two thugs who stab him and let him watch as they kill and rape his wife and then kill their daughter.
Clyde survives the stabbing and is ready for a trial to convict the killers. The DA, Nick Rice (played by Jamie Foxx), decides that what's best is to make a deal so that there isn’t a trial and Rice gets the conviction. Clyde is angry and very unhappy about the deal because the guy who didn't stab him or kill his wife and daughter is going to get the death penalty and the one who did all the damage will only spend a few years in jail.
Clyde despises the thought that his family died and that both these guys aren't going to suffer for their misdeeds. He's also very upset at the judicial system, especially Rice, because they are more interested in their conviction rate than going to trial and getting the decision right. Clyde disappears for 10 years and when he reappears it is through his manipulation and killing of both the criminals.
The guy in prison dies a horrible death through manipulation of the drugs used in the death chamber while the other prisoner dies after Clyde cuts him into 27 pieces. The police find Clyde and he goes to prison.
However, other people in the justice system who were part of his family's case start dying and they know Clyde is doing it from solitary confinement. Rice and his boss learn that Clyde was once part of the government’s secret kill squad and has some very specialized skills. Clyde’s point is that he wants Nick to learn that dealing justice to keep his conviction rate up is not justice. Nick finally gets it and Clyde gets his own justice served by his own hand.
Butler is good as the protagonist but when we learn how he managed to create all the deaths, it didn't feel believable. Foxx was OK and embodied the non-caring and deal making of our judicial system adequately. The film moved right along and the direction and delivery of the story was pretty good as there never was a boring moment.
Overall: The film was entertaining to watch although a bit unbelievable.