Entertainment

Vigilante nonsense

At last, the missing link be tween “Phantom of the Opera” and “Saw.” Welcome to the gonzo revenge saga “Law Abiding Citizen.”

As he did in the movie version of “Phantom,” Gerard Butler once again gets his underground lair on, staging a rococo series of murders in the name of vengeance for his wife’s two killers — one of whom got a three-year sentence in exchange for ratting out the other one.

Jamie Foxx — who went from little star to big star to little star in less than five years — essentially plays the straight man in this unintentional comedy routine, a flummoxed Philadelphia assistant DA named Nick. Nick’s only function is to growl and be outsmarted as evil genius Clyde (Butler), despite being locked up in prison, continues to arrange remote-controlled mayhem for everyone in the justice system. This includes lots of people who had nothing to do with the light sentencing of the guy who killed Clyde’s family.

Clyde is peeved at Nick for arranging the original plea bargain, but becoming a rampaging psychopath seems excessive. Nick’s plea deal got one killer executed. (Hurrah for that — only three people have been executed in the 31 years since the Quaker State reinstated capital punishment.) The other guy was dumped out on the street, where Clyde could make him his special guest at a “Saw”-style torture party. The movie should be over in 20 minutes, since this miscreant is the only guy with whom Clyde really has a beef.

Why does a Deep Throat character pop up so briefly to explain who Clyde is and how he thinks, only to check out of the movie?

You’d think Nick might be interested to hear more from this guy, especially as he burrows into Nick’s complicated financial records. By the way, would a DA really spend hours looking into Panamanian sub-corporations when people are getting blown to bits all over Philly? True, most of them are probably Eagles fans, so no great loss. Still, you’d think Nick would be spending a bit more time tracking the mystery accomplice outside Clyde’s prison.

Directed by F. Gary Gray (“The Italian Job”), the movie at least revels in the preposterous — a daring, rather than boring, variety of awfulness — and keeps the howlers coming.

My favorite scenes include the one where we learn that Clyde has become an expert on criminal law (close-up on a volume found in his office — about federal bankruptcy code, as if this will provide loopholes for a killin’ frenzy). Then there’s the one where witnessing an execution is described as “like watching somebody fall asleep — except for the not waking up part;” the time Clyde specifically requests a steak from Del Frisco’s only to do evil things with it (nice product plug, fellas: the Steakhouse of Psychos); and Nick’s refusal to negotiate side dishes: “F- – – you and your pommes frites!”

Looking for logic in this picture is like looking for sexy pictures in the Lands’ End winter catalog. So elaborate is the series of booby traps, so extravagant the secret chambers, so precisely timed the gizmos and so feverish Clyde’s vows to terrorize his way to justice that I kept waiting for the giant chandelier to crash on Foxx’s head.

If only Clyde and Nick could solve their dispute with show tunes. Just one big sweeping ballad, fellas: That’s all I ask of you.

kyle.smith@nypost.com