Plot Long-time partners Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino) begin an investigation into a serial killer who’s targeting scumbags. But as the evidence begins to mount up, it becomes clear that the killer is not only a cop, but might be closer to home than anyone realises…
Review
This is it, folks - the film everyone’s been talking about. The one that reunites two of the biggest names in movies. And the question on everyone’s lips is: can Jon Avnet and Al Pacino really recapture the magic of 88 Minutes with Righteous Kill?
Well, that wouldn’t be hard, but of course, that’s not the pairing everyone’s talking about. After all, the last on-screen, same-frame pairing of Pacino and De Niro came in Michael Mann’s classic crime epic, Heat. If that was the cinematic equivalent of the Big Bang, Righteous Kill is a Large Hadron Collider, trying desperately to recreate that seminal spark. We’ll spoil the suspense: it doesn’t.
Where Heat had sprawl and ambition and was about so much more than cops ’n’ robbers, Righteous Kill is a rote and lumbering thriller that forgets to supply any thrills, and which hangs on the revelation of a twist so obvious that tension dissipates long before the so-called big reveal. And Avnet, simply put, is no Michael Mann.
There’s not a single memorable shot in the entire film, not one moment when convention doesn’t crash into cliché. If, for example, you thought the old trick where someone says, “Oh, it’s you” to an unknown assailant before being bulleted to bits had long since died, it makes an unwelcome and unwise comeback here. About three times.
Credit where it’s due, though - Avnet makes sure his cracking cast deliver, with Carla Gugino’s slinky CSI the pick of the supporting players. But this is The Al And Bobby Show, and if neither man/genius/legend (delete as applicable) particularly stretches himself here, it’s a joy to watch two masters interact over the course of a movie instead of a one-scene blow-out.
Russell Gewirtz’ script has many flaws, but its principal strength is a constant flow of wiseass dialogue for Pacino’s whip-smart Rooster and De Niro’s more stoic Turk - and, especially in the early scenes, the duo appear to be having enormous fun with pop-culture banter about The Brady Bunch and ’70s cartoon Underdog, or effortlessly conveying a lifetime of friendship wordlessly. It’s a shame, in fact, that the rest of the movie can’t match their class. Righteous Kill isn’t so much Heat as Lukewarm.
Verdict It’s a sad indictment of the lack of good scripts out there with lead roles for senior citizens that Al and Bobby had to spoil their scorecard with this workaday nonsense.
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Average user rating for Righteous Kill
RE: RE:
I've just seen this too.
To say Pacino and De Niro are the only thing going for this is an understatement. They clearly enjoy their scenes together and there are some decent moments between them, everything else is cliched at best, plain lame at worst.
In fairness I found it passable enough - it held my attention reasonably well after all - but if it wasn't for the two leads there is simply nothing that would make this film stand out, and even with them it feels like any number of gen... Read More
Reluctantly rented this last night after all of the shocking reviews and wish I hadn't. The plot was by the numbers with a predictable twist, and the script downright shocking.
I believe Heat signalled the last (hopefully not) of these great actor's truly classic films. With that film you really felt their presence on screen, building to the coffee shop scene. In Righteous Kill they seem to be enjoying their scenes together with some decent banter at times, but th... Read More
Standard by-the-numbers thriller, the biggest problem with the film was peoples expectations of seeing Heat II, it's far from that. Unfortunately. ... Read More
Standard by-the-numbers thriller, the biggest problem with the film was peoples expectations of seeing Heat II, it's far from that. Unfortunately. ... Read More
Which should you rent? "Heat" or "Righteous Kill"? Go with Heat. You'll be much more entertained. Righteous Kill does have some witty dialogue, thanks to Al Pacino. In my opinion Al can do anything... He'd make a great Richard III. hehehe Rather than dwell with what went wrong with this film, bad script, bad direction, lousy typical story, bad pacing etc Just concentrate on that it's cool to see these two guys working together on screen and not co-teaching an acting cl... Read More
Ok,lets talk about the Righteous Kill.This was a movie that was mainly about DeNiro and Pacino,the excitement and build up to this film was all about Al and Bobby doing one more flic together and to recapture the form they have both shown in their legendary moviesthat they worked on together and seperately like Heat,The Godfather, Scarface,The Score, Serpico and many more.
Maybe this movie should have had a bit more depth but the relationship that DeNiro and Pacino conveyed across the screen ... Read More
Thirteen years after Robert De Niro and Al Pacino shared the screen for the first (and so far the only) time (Heat), the time has come for a new collaboration between the two acting legends. This film might not be as strong as Heat, but it isn`t by far as bad as the reviews suspect.
De Niro and Pacino are an experienced police couple in the NYPD. When a serious killer is doing his thing, it`s their job to catch the killer. Two of their co-workers don`t trust it and start their own investig... Read More
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