The explosive ending of Law Abiding Citizen explained how Clyde was stopped from causing more problems, but it was also confusing for many viewers. The revenge movie genre rose sharply in popularity following the success of 1974's Death Wish, and has continued all these years later. 2009's Law Abiding Citizen is one of the more intriguing vigilante efforts and stars Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. The movie centers on Butler's Clyde, who saw his wife and daughter being murdered in front of him, but after the system lets their killer off lightly, he swears epic revenge.

Law Abiding Citizen poses interesting questions about the justice system and toys with audience sympathies. Given all he's suffered, it's hard not to root for Butler's character, but he gradually becomes so monstrous that viewers later side with Foxx's Rice instead. That said, Rice decided to be lenient with the killer of Clyde's family, which partly led to the whole mess. Clyde's campaign begins with him torturing and murdering said killer, but despite being arrested, he's somehow able to target and kill other victims like a judge or Rice's assistant, Sarah.

What Happened In The Law Abiding Citizen Ending

Nick Had No Choice But To End Clyde's Reign Of Terror

Law Abiding Citizen reveals Clyde worked for the CIA for a time and is an expert at being able to engineer and commit elaborate murders. Rice realizes that it must have been his design if Clyde had been sent to solitary confinement. He and Detective Dunnigan (Colm Meaney, Con Air) discover Clyde owns a property near the prison he's being held in and find a tunnel that runs underneath it, which he constructed over the years. Clyde had been sneaking out to commit the murders personally before heading back to his cell.

Rice and Dunnigan learn he's going to target city hall and find a bomb he's planted there to target the mayor. Law Abiding Citizen ends with Rice turning the tables and meeting Clyde in his cell. Rice makes one last plea for Clyde to stop what he's doing and surrender, insisting that if he dials the suitcase bomb, he'll regret it for the rest of his life. He also states he doesn't make deals with murderers anymore, which Clyde is happy to hear.

Clyde stares at a bracelet his daughter gave him before her death as the bomb explodes.

He apologizes and dials the bomb, only for Rice to lock his cell and reveal Clyde is now locked inside with the bomb. Clyde stares at a bracelet his daughter gave him before her death as the bomb explodes, and the movie ends with Rice attending his own daughter's music performance.

The Real Meaning Of The Law Abiding Citizen Ending

Clyde Became As Monstrous As The Men He Hunted

In many vigilante revenge movies, the wronged people go after others responsible for their pain. However, what Clyde did went above and beyond that, and he crossed a line to where he became a monster as well. Clyde wasn't merely willing to hurt those who let a murderer get off with a lighter sentence, but he was willing to hurt anyone who was standing in the way as well. Collateral damage was of no concern to Clyde, and he was just as bad as the original killer.

Clyde could no longer be viewed as a hero at all anymore.

Clyde could no longer be viewed as a hero at all anymore, even if he was justified in the start. However, there was one more thing about the ending that struck home. Nick is ultimately responsible for Clyde's anger when he makes a deal with a killer. By the end, Nick says he no longer makes deals with killers, including Clyde, but ultimately, he crosses a line. When Nick puts the bomb in Clyde's cell, he effectively kills him, and Nick has now crossed over and become the same monster he tried to stop.

How The Law Abiding Citizen Ending Was Received

Critics Panned The Film, But Audiences Were More Accepting

Law Abiding Citizen is a movie that critics panned, but audiences didn't mind as much. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics have it ranked at 26% rotten, while the Popcornmeter has the audience score at a respectable 75%. However, many audience loved the film, the acting, and the story, but the ending was lacking. One audience member wrote, "Gerard Butler played a really good guy, bad guy who went off the deep end in this movie! The ending really failed in making this a far better movie."

With that said, not all audience liked the Law Abiding Citizen ending. In a Reddit thread titled "The ending of Law Abiding Citizen sucked," the OP wrote, "I forgot how good this was. Gerard Butler getting revenge for his wife and daughter dying in front of him I think would mess up anyone. And then it hit me how bad the ending was for this movie. So I turn it off ... right after he destroys Jamie Foxx lawyer friends." Most of the responses agreed, showing how polarizing the ending was.

Critics loathed most of the movie, with the majority giving it a poor score and scathing reviews. In his review for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers wrote, "Director F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job) keeps splashing the screen with gore so the out-for-blood crowd will lap it up. But, jeez, did the “surprise” climax have to be this eye-rollingly stupid?" Roger Ebert gave the movie a rare positive review, with three out of four stars. He wrote:

"The explanation of Clyde's methods is preposterous, but it comes late enough that F. Gary Gray, the director, is first able to generate considerable suspense and a sense of dread."

Law Abiding Citizen Almost Had A Different Ending

Nick Does Not Get His Happy Ending In The Original Version

The Law Abiding Citizen ending was almost very different. While it is the one area that critics and audience agreed fell short, there was almost an ending that might have brought them all together. The film's main theme was the failure of the justice system and how it broke down a good man, which resulted in him doing very bad things. Even when he was originally the victim, his punishment was worse than those who committed the original crimes, which was not a good message to send in the end.

It seems that Law Abiding Citizen went through several versions before F. Gary Gray decided on this ending (via What Culture). There were rumors that Jamie Foxx demanded this new ending, where his character kills Clyde to save the people at city hall. That is not true, but there was a different ending where Nick killed Clyde in hand-to-hand combat. This ends with Nick being arrested for murder and making a deal with the DA, which means he has become the new Clyde. It eliminates Nick's happy ending and still makes him the new killer.