The content of this film starring Gerald Butler is simple, but it is very attractive. I read it without stopping. Although the plot is not complicated, the meaning I want to express is profound, just like Bai Juyi's poems are all in vernacular, but the artistic conception is very high.
The protagonist's desire for revenge was released after dismembering the principal offender, and all subsequent actions stemmed from his anger and hatred for the old and flawed judicial system, and also aimed at achieving a more far-reaching goal. ...
He spent 10 years planning revenge plans and studying the judicial system, so that he could talk to Nick in the confession room without leaving any loopholes and even be his own defense lawyer. He already knew that Nick was not on the evil side as he saw. But he knew that in the face of the dilapidated judicial system, Nick dared not take risks even if he knew the facts and the truth in his heart. In the end, he chose to compromise between the settlement rate and justice.
The hero also knows that he can't subvert the whole system by himself, so he chooses to create a person who can defend justice by himself. Nick didn't, but he knew Nick wanted to. So he killed the judge and the mayor's attorney general. In this way, Nick can naturally upgrade to a higher level politically and gain a certain leading position in the judiciary. He made deals with Nick again and again, which made Nick realize again and again that making deals with criminals would only make tragedies happen again and again.
Killing innocent people is not what the hero wants. However, angry and desperate, he believes that a series of bloody lessons are needed to guide this prosecutor named Nick to the real road of justice. In the film, if I remember correctly, the hero showed deep guilt at least twice after killing.
As mentioned above, if the hero just wants simple revenge, it doesn't take so long to plan. With his ability, he doesn't even need to go to prison. The police can wait for him and try those he thinks are guilty one by one without evidence. But why did he choose Nick as the center to implement such a huge plan? If he regards Nick as an accomplice of the criminal, why not put Nick in the first few steps of the plan and kill him? Yes, the hero is waiting for Nick's last words, "I won't deal with murderers again". So that when he finally saw the bomb he made, he didn't have much surprise and fear, but only showed remorse and relief. He has made up his mind to die, asking only an honest prosecutor to stand up and defend justice.
The ending is perfect. After the death of the hero's wife and children, he left the world with only despair and hatred, but with his own death, he gained the people's hope for justice. ...
At the end of the film, Ted presses the initiation key, and the moment when napalm explodes, it is like a phoenix nirvana, which sublimates the theme again. Everyone succumbs to the old system, so this system will devour you, and it can only be changed through struggle.
Good actor, good script, good director ... very good film!