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| “ | I'm just getting started. I'm gonna pull the whole thing down. I'm going to bring the whole f-cking diseased corrupt temple down on your head. It's going to be biblical. | „ |
| ~ Clyde's most famous quote. |
| “ | Sit down, 'cause you're gonna be busy. | „ |
| ~ Clyde to Nick Rice. |
| “ | Nick Rice: I had to call his wife and tell her that her husband had been buried alive. Clyde Shelton: Well, justice should be harsh, Nick...especially for those who denied it to others. |
„ |
| ~ Clyde to Nick Rice. |
| “ | ln my experience, Nick, lessons not learned in blood are soon forgotten. | „ |
| ~ Clyde Shelton |
Clyde Alexander Shelton is the titular main antagonist of 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 is the archenemy of Nick Rice.[1][2]
He was portrayed by Gerard Butler, who also portrayed Set in Gods of Egypt, The Phantom of the Opera in the 2004 film adaptation, Count Dracula in Dracula 2000 and Attila in the 2001 miniseries of the same name.
Biography[]
Clyde Shelton was an engineer, inventor, and former contractor for the Department of Defense. He was also a family man, married and had a daughter, both of whom he loved deeply. However, his perfect life was tragically cut short when a criminal named Clarence Darby and his accomplice Rupert Ames broke into Shelton's house, restrained him, and murdered his wife and daughter in front of his eyes. Though the two were caught, prosecutor Nick Rice (the protagonist of the film) was forced to make a deal with Darby; let Darby off with only a few years of prison time while Ames was to be executed, since the evidence is not strong enough to make a full conviction against Darby and that Rice doesn't want to risk lowering his 96% conviction rate if he loses. Shelton blamed Rice for his family's killer escaping justice, and began planning gruesome revenge against him and the entire justice system.
Ten years later, he kidnapped and savagely murdered Darby and sabotaged Ames' execution to make his quick and painless death much longer and more excruciating. Although he was caught and arrested, still managed to murder the entire police team responsible for Darby's commuted sentence, all from within his jail cell. After the loss of many of Rice's associates (including his closest friend Sarah Lowell), Rice beat Shelton, who furiously pointed out that he wouldn't have gone mad if Rice tried to convict Darby in the first place. However, Rice in return pointed out that even if he did try to, they still would have lost and Darby might have gone free. Shelton countered that Rice only cared about his conviction rate back then and that if Rice tried to do his job properly and failed at convicting Darby and Ames he would’ve accepted it.
With only Rice remaining after several more of his aides (including District Attorney Jonas Cantrell) are killed by a drone built by Shelton, the latter attempted to finish his master plan by using a secret tunnel to get into his base and plant a bomb in City Hall, hoping to kill the Mayor, her aides and everyone else in the building. However, Rice (who becomes the new District Attorney) later figured out that Shelton had deliberately got himself to be put into solitary confinement so that he can sneak out to his lair, which may explain how he had committed the murders.
After secretly returning to his cell, Shelton is surprised to see Rice waiting for him, having found out about his plan. Rice then told Shelton about how the effects of one's decisions that will affect the lives of others. At that point, Shelton offered to strike another deal, but Rice refused and states that he'll never make deals with murderers again, complimenting Clyde for teaching him that. Rice warned him to not do anything he will regret, but Shelton's cell phone is ready to be dialed to activate the City Hall bomb. When Shelton dialed the phone, Rice left immediately. Shelton ultimately realized too late that Rice has moved the bomb to his cell, which is now sealed. Despite realizing that he lost, Shelton took solace in the fact that he finally taught Rice a lesson never to make deals with criminals anymore as he embraced his daughter's bracelet, accepting his fate as he perished to his death in the explosion.
Personality[]
The loss of Shelton's family deeply traumatized him and changed him for the worse. His moral compass becomes increasingly skewed, as he resorts to acts of brutal violence and manipulation.
His actions throughout the movie are driven by a sense of anger and grief, which have consumed him to the point where he becomes morally ambiguous in his methods. He repeatedly tried to justify his actions by condemning Nick and the justice system as a whole. Ultimately, Shelton's grief and need for vengeance consumed him, turning him into a cold-hearted tactician with moral ambiguity.
Clyde's specialty was low-impact kinetic operations for the Department of Defense (DoD), which is how he demonstrates acute senses of intelligence, resourcefulness, tactics, and control, outsmarting the Philadelphia police department numerous times, and planning violent attacks.
Trivia[]
- Law Abiding Citizen was released theatrically in North America on October 16, 2009.
- The film was nominated for a Saturn Award as the Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film of the year, but lost to Inglourious Basterds.
- The film also garnered NAACP Image Awards nominations for both Jamie Foxx (Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture) and F. Gary Gray (Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture).
Quotes[]
- Jonas Cantrell: We're meeting with someone.
- Nick Rice: Who could it be?
- Jonas Cantrell: Someone who does really nasty shit so we can live the American dream.
- [Cantrell and Rice meet CIA agent]
- Bray: So Clyde finally lost it? Someone must have really pissed him off.
- Nick Rice: You worked with Shelton, right?
- Bray: Okay, first of all, I've never been here and we've never talked.
- Jonas Cantrell: Tell us what we're dealing with. Shelton was a spy?
- Bray: Look, spies are a dime a dozen. I'm a spy. Clyde is a brain. He's a think tank-type guy. His specialty was low-impact kinetic operations.
- Nick Rice: That's a hell of a fancy way to say that he kills people.
- Bray: We kill people. He figured out how to do it without ever being in the same room. It was his gift, and he was the best. One time, we're tasking this tricky target. I mean, we're usin' cruise missiles and Predators, and we even had a B-2 Bomber flatten this guy's villa with JDAM. Alright, we're burnin' up millions in ordnance and we're gettin' nowhere with this guy. So we call Clyde, and we ask him to solve our problem. Clyde develops a Kevlar thread with a high-tech ratchet made of carbon fiber. Put it in a necktie. Two days later, Mrs. Bad Guy comes home, finds Mr. Bad Guy dead on the bathroom tile, choked to death. What I'm sayin' is, just assume that this guy can hear and see everything that you're doing.
- Nick Rice: No. We got him locked away; maximum security.
- Bray: He's in jail, it's because he wants to be in jail. He's a born tactician. Every move that he makes, it means something. That cellmate that he killed, what, you think that was random? No. That's a pawn being moved off the board. If I were you, I'd be lookin' for the next piece. Anybody who had anything to do with that case, he's gonna be comin' after you.
- Nick Rice: So what are you sayin'? You sayin' we can't stop him?
- Bray: Walk into his cell, and put a bullet in his head. Aside from that, no, you can't stop him. If Clyde wants you dead, you're dead.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The original script had Clyde succeed in his plans and escape, however, it was changed to have him outwitted, which also has him accept his imminent death.
External Links[]
- Clyde Shelton on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki.