Some say the noblest revenge is to forgive those who dare mistreat you. Gerard Butler isn't buying that one in "Law Abiding Citizen."

This taut thriller from American director F. Gary Gray ("The Italian Job") instantly slaps moviegoers with one message: This is not your ordinary payback tale. Not by a long shot.

Think of Daniel Craig's James Bond meets Charles Bronson in "Death Wish." That barely covers the pyrotechnic payback Butler exacts in this flick -- and his revenge is fast, furious and nicely chilled.

In the film's first moments a heinous home invasion takes place, one that leaves audiences wincing. Clyde Shelton, Butler's outraged anti-hero, sees his wife and young daughter brutally murdered by two thugs.

Surviving the attack, this good family man puts his trust in hotshot Philadelphia prosecutor, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx). Sadly, this wronged "Ordinary Joe" gets screwed by the legal system and the D.A.

"It's not what you know. It's what you can prove," Nick tells his client, unmoved by Clyde's horror when a plea bargain sets the guilty parties free.

The story picks up a decade later, when mild-mannered Clyde emerges as an Einstein of annihilation. Equipped with 1,001 high-tech gizmos, he infiltrates death row and kills. He saws people up and blows Nick's colleagues to smithereens.

Clyde's a killer committed to justice, not vengeance. That's the difference, so he tells us, between him and the people he slaughters.

How Clyde kills nobody knows. Most of this bloodbath happens when Clyde is in jail.

But, throughout this taut ride Butler and Foxx blur the lines between hero and victim.

Revenge nothing new to Hollywood

That all too human need for payback has driven such films as "Ben-Hur," "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Kill Bill," "Pulp Fiction" and many others.

Also, much like Robert Mitchum in the 1962 classic "Cape Fear," Clyde presents a compelling blend of film noir malevolence and the cracked remnants of a once whole human being.

Yet, the real difference between Clyde and all that's come before rests in the mammoth, subversive scale of his vengeance.

Does he care if he dies? No.

Does he regret executing a judge with a cell phone, gunning down half the District Attorney's office or throwing all of Philly into a tizzy? Not in the least.

Butler, to his credit, wisely plays Clyde with exemplary logic and methodical calm. That steadiness jangles our nerves all the more when the carnage begins.

Foxx coasts a little too much on his slick demeanour and expensive suits, leaving his character wanting for more emotional depth.

"Law Abiding Citizen" won't win an Oscar. But, this psychological thriller about negotiating the law does keep us guessing.

Clyde's quest for justice makes us think about who wields the real hand of justice in today's world. That alone plays into the current climate of Wall Street crooks, government insiders, etc. who know the legal system and work it good.

Finally, it makes this writer think of the wise words of Confucius: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Two and a half out stars of four.