Old German proverb: Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong.

But, even when it does, it makes for great movies. Bill Devane, in 1977's "Rolling Thunder" (with a young Tommy Lee Jones) and Steve McQueen in the 1966 classic western "Nevada Smith" are a couple of my favorites.

The new Gerald Butler ("300," "Nim's Island," "Gamer") revenge flick, may not be great, but it ain't bad. Butler, himself, makes a great good guy/bad guy, as he sets out to get even -- not only with those who killed his family, but also with a justice system that he believes let him down.

He's no Charles Bronson, but, truth be told, what Bronson did with the "Death Wish" series is hard to match for any actor or movie. Bronson's Paul Kersey was a simple everyman, with no special skills or networking to exact punishment, who basically attacks similar criminals to ease his pain and suffering.

In "Law Abiding Citizen" Butler plays Clyde Shelton, apparently a retired guy who piddles around with inventing. But like Liam Neeson in last year's "Taken," there is more to Shelton than meets the eye.

Not quite as conniving as Anthony Hopkins in 2007's "Fracture," Butler and director F. Gary Gray cat-and-mouse us through one man's attempt to right all of his personal wrongs.

Where Stallone's Rambo movies used muscle and primitive survival skills to exact retribution, and Neeson used killer instinct and networking, Butler uses brains and patience. This locked-room-mystery thought process leads to suspenseful killings and preplanned atrocities that make for good visual entertainment and, with a few exceptions, a believable storyline.

The story moves at a fairly rapid pace, with a couple of "Saw"-like scenes, some cops (Jamie Fox is wasted as prosecuting attorney Nick Rice, but Colm Meaney makes for a great detective) trying to play catch-up, some killing of secondary characters and the exciting ending, that is less than.

Besides Butler's poker faced/masked-emotion portrayal of the cat and Fox's arrogant/upwardly mobile version of the mouse, we get veteran character actor Meaney, who looks like a poor man's version of Gene Hackman, but without the charm.

The always delightful television series regular Leslie Bibb ("Iron Man," "Confessions of a Shopaholic") also stars, as intelligent eye candy and possible victim-in-waiting. The girl is a very good actress, but just can't get a decent starring role anywhere.

Interesting second-tier players include a nice appearance by Christian Stolte ("Prison Break") as the killer of Shelton's family, and veteran actor Bruce McGill as Rice's boss. Gregory Itzen has a good time with his role as an arrogant, without-a-clue prison warden and rookie Charlie Edward Alston comes in as a cellmate that definitely looks the part.

If you can imagine ticking off a former killer spy with unlimited finances, resources and timeline, and you can only sit and wait for your time to come, then go see this movie.

This is a good movie for those who like a little mystery with their violence.

Billy Summers is a freelance photographer who also reviews films for the Putnam Herald. He can be reached at summers855@verizon.net.

AP Video