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Directed By
Jon Avnet
Written By:
Russell Gewirtz
Cast:
Carla Gugino, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, 50 Cent, Brian Dennehy, Dan Futterman, Frank John Hughes, Shirly Brener, Alan Blumenfeld, Adrian Martinez, Quinton Aaron, Edrick Browne, Tanisha Grant, Kimberly Dorsey, Richard F Law, Kimberly Magness, Harry L. Seddon, Katie Chonacas, Diego J. Martinez, Rob Dyrdek, Peter Riga, Liza Colón-Zayas, Trilby Glover, Brett Granstaff, Brian Stapf, Antonino Paone, Judy Del Giudice, Delmaine Samuel, Chris Cortez, Torrance Harvey, Peter Riga, Joey Vieira, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Les Chantery, Catie Lazarus
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Righteous Kill (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
September 14th, 2008
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I thought that any movie with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro simply could not be bad; Heat, after all, was terrific, and they both appeared together in The Godfather Part II, though never sharing scenes. In Heat, Michael Mann allowed them one climactic confrontation and placed them on opposite sides of the law. Here, in 'Righteous Kill', they are allies, veteran detectives investigating a serial killer in New York. 'Righteous Kill' is not a very good film.
Pacino and director Jon Avnet teamed up previously for the lousy 88 Minutes; De Niro has explored his comic abilities in Meet the Parents and its sequel Meet the Fockers, dabbled in horror with Hide and Seek, and got in touch with his gayer side in Stardust, as the flamboyant Captain Shakespeare. This is what De Niro has done since getting dropped by Scorsese in favor of Leo DiCaprio. He and Pacino are both obviously versatile and brilliant actors, like Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, thus putting them in the same feature is sure to grab the attention of many intrigued viewers. This is a flick that relies on the talents and popularity of its two stars to make it work; it neglects virtually everything else, including plot, which is left to wither on the vine with a series of contrived developments and so-called twists that probably will not come as a surprise to anyone.
De Niro and Pacino play characters with the stupid names of Turk and Rooster. They are well past retirement age, yet are still on active duty. It is difficult to get over how old both men look; I know they are in their sixties, but I never seemed to notice it as much before. The serial killer I mentioned earlier claims victims who are morally bankrupt, in other words, not very nice people. It does not take long for Turk to be revealed as the most likely culprit; it looks like he is confessing to the crimes, which are seen as a legitimate and noble form of vigilante justice. I will not tell you whether or not Turk is ultimately responsible, though it would hardly matter, as Avnet and screenwriter Russell Gerwitz do not keep secrets that well.
How does the possibility of Turk's guilt affect his loyal friend and partner Rooster? Rooster may willfully blind himself to the cold, hard facts of the case if they start to point back to Turk, but two younger cops, Riley and Perez (Donnie Wahlberg, John Leguizamo) have begun to suspect Turk, and try to fill in all the blanks. Rooster is more interesting than Turk, and Pacino's performance is better than De Niro's. De Niro often made me chuckle, unfortunately saddled with ludicrous dialogue that attempts to make him sound hip and tough, and apparently appealing to women, including the pretty Karen Corelli (Carla Gugino).
De Niro could be either physically exhausted, though neither he nor Pacino are required to participate in any real action scenes, or totally disinterested in the role he has been given, a role that comes perilously close to parody, and maybe Avnet should have taken that path. He and Pacino have disappointingly lackluster onscreen chemistry. The cinematography is dull and uninspired; New York has rarely looked so lifeless and generic. I don't know where most of the shooting took place, perhaps in New York itself, but it is difficult to tell.
The editing is clunky, and the pacing is uneven, with a boring first half and a slightly more exciting second half, which has run out of steam by the time the conclusion arrives. Be prepared for one of those obligatory monologues from the killer (when his identity is finally revealed), in which he describes his motives to those who may be interested, and sit in awe of what Avnet passes off as a chase sequence. Rapper 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, is awful as Spider, a high-end drug dealer. A plodding and forgettable police thriller.
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