*the links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link

I actually remember seeing trailers for Law Abiding Citizen (2009), it caught my attention as it had Gerard Butler in it. For the life of me, I could not tell you what the movie was actually about until I looked the summary up. Law Abiding Citizen tells the story of the lengths Clyde Shelton (Butler), a hitherto ordinary citizen, will go to avenge his murdered wife and daughter when the justice system fails to dispense an appropriate punishment to their killer.

After subsequently murdering the killer himself (ten years after the fact) and being locked up in prison, it turns out that Clyde formerly worked for the CIA and created highly imaginative assassination devices which make him capable of killing anyone, anywhere, at any time (even while locked up in prison). He proceeds to kill the judge, district attorney and several other people associated with the case, but the prosecuter Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) proves to be his undoing.

Behind the scenes of scoring Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

I have found two scoring sessions for this particular film. The first (above) is entitled “Methodology” while the second piece(below) is entitled “Mechanical Mind.” I actually like the second piece better because you can see more of the set-up in the recording studio. Tyler is surrounded by a bank of monitors that show the musical beat, the score and also a working print of the film (watch the monitors on the conductor’s right). There is also a large screen playing footage from the film which is occasionally reflected in the glass behind the conductor.

Scoring “Mechanical Mind” from Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

The 52-piece ensemble that Brian Tyler is conducting comes from the Hollywood Studio Symphony, an orchestra that has worked in the production of many film soundtracks (including Jurassic Park 3, The Last Samurai, Sucker Punch and The Bourne Supremacy.)

I really think you will enjoy listening to these two pieces; they are both prime examples of the fact that an average film can still contain fantastic music. Let me know what you think of the music in the comments below 🙂

You can become a patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

See also:

Film Composer Interviews A-H

Film Composer Interviews K-Z

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂