"Mature Content Warning!" |
“ | ln my experience, Nick, lessons not learned in blood are soon forgotten. | „ |
~ Clyde Shelton. |
Clyde Alexander Shelton is the titular main antagonist in the 2009 thriller film Law Abiding Citizen. He is a former family man who murdered several "evil" police officers and criminals in an attempt to get rid of the justice system's corruption.
He was portrayed by Gerard Butler.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
- He has a tragic backstory. His wife and young daughter were raped and murdered during a home invasion, and he hated the law for letting the true culprit (Clarence Darby) escaping conviction despite being a witness to what really happened.
- He smoothly planned all of his moves throughout the movie, and everything he does has a point. That's even pointed out by a CIA agent in-universe.
- He makes everyone assume that he has a partner helping him outside of prison when he's really working alone and moving through tunnels underneath solitary confinement.
- It's hard to mourn several of his victims (i.e. Darby and Judge Laura Burch) due to how corrupt, hypocritical and/or immoral they were.
- While it is an act at some points, he does come off as genuinely affable as he's honest at all times. He also makes some pretty good points about how broken the justice system is.
- Once he realizes he's about to die due to Nick hiding the bomb for City Hall under the bed in his cell, he simply sits down and looks at his daughter's bracelet instead of begging for mercy, waiting for the end.
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- Most of his victims (i.e. his cellmate, Darby’s lawyer; Bill Reynolds, Ames, Sarah and Cantrell) were undeserving of death.
- He tries to bomb City Hall and everyone within it.
- He inadvertently traumatized Nick's young daughter with the video he sent to his address of him torturing Darby to death.
External Links[]
- Clyde Shelton on the Villains Wiki.
- Clyde Shelton on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki.