Actor Gerard Butler has become known as the king of so-bad-they’re-good action flicks – the kind where you turn off your brain and enjoy the ride. Not that there is anything wrong with such movies, the creatives who make them, or the audience that loves them. We love a thrill ride that requires minimal mental dexterity as much as the next guy. In fact, we’re recommending fans of such cinema check out one such movie starring Mr. Butler, that is red hot on Netflix right now.

Released in 2009, “Law Abiding Citizen” stars Butler as a man whose family is murdered and the killer goes free because of shady legal maneuvering. So he decides to go the vigilante route — not only against the people directly responsible for the original crime, but also the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) who deliberately allowed the criminals to cut the deal that got them off. 

Unfortunately, such miscarriages of justice are far too common in the real world. But make no mistake –  a complex drama about America’s flawed legal system, this is not. “Law Abiding Citizen” is not based on a true story, and it’s all the better for it, as proven by its current ranking among the 10 most-watched films on Netflix (via FlixPatrol). 

“Law Abiding Citizen,” unsurprisingly, didn’t impress critics upon release. But it was never trying to — this was a movie made for moviegoers, and such audiences appreciated it for what it was. Case in point, the film’s 75% audience rating versus its 26% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. When it previously hit Netflix last December, fans flocked to social media to shower “Law Abiding Citizen” with gushing praise and encourage others to check it out for themselves. With the recent numbers the film has 9racked up on the streamer, it seems this tactic worked. 

In fact, the cult classic status of “Law Abiding Citizen” — the first feature film Butler himself ever served as a producer on – has grown so much that in 2022 there was a sequel officially announced to be in development. That’s pretty impressive for a movie that had been released over a decade earlier and wasn’t exactly a massive hit at the box office. 

Given the way “Law Abiding Citizen” ended, obviously not all of the key cast members have the option to return for another installment if it is indeed still in the works. But we won’t say who in case you haven’t seen the original yet.