Question: When Clyde is about to die from the bomb, why didn't he just end the call on the phone he was calling from? He could have probably cancelled the detonation.
Phaneron
29th Jan 2011
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
27th Dec 2021
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: Why didn't Nick and his cop buddy lock down the warehouse after they discovered the tunnel to the prison? They could have waited for Clyde to return to nab him and shut him down.
Answer: Clyde was already in the process of bombing City Hall when they discovered his warehouse. They deduced that if Clyde realises they are onto him, then he will detonate the bomb early, so they decide to let Clyde return to his cell and trap him while he is under the impression that his plan is going to go off without a hitch.
21st Sep 2020
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: I never saw it from the beginning. Does it actually show the home invasion, or is he just telling us about what happened?
Answer: The theater version shows the wife's rape and murder, but not the daughter's. When the little girl interrupts her mother's rape, Darby smiles and laughs as he tells Clyde and Ames, "I'll take care of her, kids like me." He then picks her up and carries her into another room as Clyde's wife stares at Clyde as she dies and that's when Clyde blacks out.
21st Sep 2020
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
10th Jan 2020
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
7th Sep 2017
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: What body parts did Clyde cut from Darby? Clyde only mentioned three or four pieces, but cops on the scene say that Darby was found in about 25 different pieces.
Answer: He took his fingers off with bolt cutters, and his toes with tin snips. His head was on a table, and after dismemberment of his limbs, there's your 25 pieces.
1st Aug 2017
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: Why did Darby rape and kill Clyde's wife and daughter? Seems pointless, given that Darby and Ames were only there to rob the house.
1st Aug 2017
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: Clyde says to Darby, "Now, what we don't want is you swallowing your tongue, so bear with me" and then inserts some kind of mouthpiece into Darby's mouth. What does it do, and why does he not want Darby swallowing his tongue?
Chosen answer: The devices he places in Darby's mouth is to keep his tongue in place. He doesn't want Darby to swallow his tongue (i.e. choke) because he wants him to be awake and alert for the duration of his torture. This is also why he gives him an adrenaline IV to keep him from passing out as well as tourniquets for his severed limbs to prevent him from bleeding to death.
20th Nov 2015
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: I never really understood what the motive was when Clyde murdered his cellmate. Why did he do it? What did this act have to do with the plot of this movie?
Answer: To make sure he was placed in solitary confinement. The warehouse that he owned and operated out of that was next to the prison also had a tunnel connected to every cell in the solitary wing. Clyde needed to be in one of the solitary cells so he could leave the prison whenever he needed to unnoticed, which also served to make it look like he had an accomplice on the outside.
When Nick is talking to a spook later in the movie, he is quoted as telling Nick: "That cell-mate that he killed, you think that was random? No. That's a pawn being moved off the board. Anyone who had anything to do with that case, he's gonna be coming after you." Just as all deaths played roles in Clydes game, as the audience we are led to believe this inmate played a role, but were never given any resolution as to what significance it was. Not a big deal in grand scheme of things, but unexplained.
I don't know if you just didn't read the answer thoroughly or if you didn't pay close attention to the movie, but Clyde killing his cellmate was far from being unexplained. He can't leave the prison if he's in a regular cell with the general population, so he kills the cellmate in order to get placed in the solitary wing, because every solitary cell is connected to the tunnel in his warehouse that is next to the prison, which allows him to leave whenever he needs to.
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Chosen answer: Unfortunately, that wouldn't have done it. Once the phone on the bomb received the signal there was no going back.
Phixius ★
Oh, and you know this how?
Because that's generally how cellphone bombs work. Nobody's on the other end to answer it, so it's not triggered by being answered. As soon as any call signal is received, game over.
Unless I'm misremembering, when they find the bomb at city hall, the bomb expert even mentions that the bomb can't be disarmed once the call goes through.
Phaneron ★