Monday Morning Quarterback Part I

By BOP Staff

October 19, 2009

Uh, Titans? Hello? Anyone?

New at BOP:
Share & Save
Digg Button  
Print this column

Reagen Sulewski: This had to be the most ridiculous premise for a film in ages - and maybe that's the point. It went so over the top that audiences were left thinking, "well, OK, let's see how they pull this off." I'm a bit flabbergasted that this is worth $20 million plus.

Tony Kollath: I'm not saying that the name of this movie sucks, but the title writing team that came up with "Law Abiding Citizen" thinks that the guys that did "Love Happens" are geniuses.

Jason Lee: Color me stunned that this movie opened over $20 million. It boggles the mind to think about how much money and time was siphoned off by this film from hard working Americans this weekend.




Advertisement



Max Braden: Last year, Max Payne opened this weekend to $17.6 million, and Gamer opened to just over half that. I think a contrast between those two and Law Abiding Citizen is that LAB doesn't go for the sci-fi angle. Both it and Taken are revenge action pieces, but they also share a realism (not in plot, but just environment) that I think appeals to audiences. I'd attribute it to Jason Bourne and the reboot of Bond away from the sci-fi gadgets to something grittier.

Sean Collier: Something about the plot just resonated with crowds - when I went in for my Friday morning radio reviews gig, I was stunned to find that the hosts wanted to hear about Law Abiding Citizen over Where the Wild Things Are. Maybe the pairing had something to do with it as well - while Butler and Foxx have both failed to draw in audiences all on their own, perhaps the combination had some casual fans intrigued.

George Rose: I think people want Butler and Foxx to succeed. I know I sure do. Their problems seem to be more with the roles they chose, not their ability to act or connect with an audience. Butler's Gamer and Foxx's The Soloist both looked like easy paychecks taken without much attention paid to the script. I've been excited about Law Abiding Citizen since the first trailer. I wanted to see it even after all the negative reviews came in. I like the actors and this is their first film in quite some time that looks tolerable. Given the rarity of such a film on their resumes, "tolerable" quickly becomes "must-see". Better this than Stealth 2.


Continued:       1       2       3

     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.