Righteous KillFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Righteous Kill is a 2008 action-crime film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Donnie Wahlberg, and Curtis Jackson. The film was released in the United States on September 12, 2008.
Plot:
Two veteran New York City detectives (De Niro and Pacino) work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?
Cast:
* Robert De Niro as Detective David "Turk" Fisk
* Al Pacino as Tom "Rooster" Cowan
* Carla Gugino as Karen Kleisner
* Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Riley
* Curtis Jackson as Marcus "Spider" Smith
* Brian Dennehy as Lieutenant Hingus
* Frank John Hughes as Charles Randall
* Rob Dyrdek as Robert Milton Bradley
* John Leguizamo as Detective Perez
Production:
Righteous Kill was directed by Jon Avnet, written by Russell Gewirtz, and produced by Avi Lerner, Daniel M. Rosenberg, Boaz Davidson, Lati Grobman and Randall Emmett. The plot revolves around police investigators hunting a vigilante killer. Righteous Kill had a budget of $60,000,000 and is an independent production put together by Nu Image's Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla. The film began shooting September 2007 in New York and Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford and New Haven, Connecticut & Lawrence. It was announced that Brian Dennehy will also appear in the film, as well as Darren O (Band of Brothers), Dan Futterman, Trilby G Manda, professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. This is Pacino and DeNiro's third film to be featured in together starting with The Godfather Part II but the second film they appear in a scene(s) together since the 1995 crime drama Heat.
The script originally called for an old cop and young cop dynamic, but Robert De Niro, the first lead actor to sign on for the film, suggested Al Pacino for the part after reading the screenplay. Pacino liked the script and said he felt a connection with the troubled detective: "It's not in my guy's DNA (to retire). ...Probably, his ambition is to die on the job. Sort of like an actor." De Niro said he had wished to perform alongside Pacino in such an expanded role for some time, but said "it's easier said than done" to make it happen. He added, "I wish at times we had been more proactive, but we weren't. Life, you know?"
Reception:
Critical reaction to Righteous Kill has been mixed to negative. The film currently holds a 24% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 37 out of 100 on Metacritic.
Keith Phipps of The Onion's A.V. Club said, "The novelty of watching De Niro and Pacino team up wears off pretty quickly, [with them] trudging through a thriller that would have felt warmed over in 1988. Director Jon Avnet doesn't offer much compensation for the absent suspense." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two stars (out of four), saying: "This isn't just generic material; it's generic material with a dumb ending, and the director is a journeyman, not a craftsman. [...] Its failure to live up to even modest expectations is a blow. There's nothing righteous to be found here."
Ken Fox of TV Guide also gave Righteous Kill a score of two stars out of four, saying: "The entire movie is one big build-up to a twist that, while not exactly cheating, plays an awfully cheap trick. To get there, writer Russel Gewirtz and director John Avnet sacrifice mystery, suspense, sensible editing and everything else one expects to find in a police thriller just to keep the audience off-guard. It's not worth it, and the first real pairing of De Niro and Pacino is utterly wasted."
Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying: "By the time the movie reaches its protracted conclusion, it feels like a slog. Pacino has a few funny lines, as does Leguizamo, but not nearly enough to save the film from collapsing under the weight of its own self-righteous tedium." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave Righteous Kill one star out of four, saying: "Some people think Robert De Niro and Al Pacino would be a kick to watch just reading a phone book. Well, bring on that phone book. Righteous Kill, a.k.a. The Al and Bob Show, is a cop flick with all the drama of Law and Order: AARP."
Righteous Kill [Theatrical Release]From Overture
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unworthy of these actors' talents
You'd think that for their first real movie together - if one discounts a single scene they shared in "Heat" and non-intersecting roles in "The Godfather Part II" - cinema icons Robert De Niro and Al Pacino could have found a more worthy vehicle than "Righteous Kill," a run-of-the-mill, gimmicky thriller whose sole purpose for existence hinges on a turnabout ending that anyone with even half a brain cell or attention span can see coming a mile off.
De Niro gets to play Travis Bickle with a badge as a 30-year veteran of the NYPD who turns to vigilantism after too many of the suspects he arrests get off on technicalities. Pacino is De Niro's longtime partner who seems unaware of what his fellow officer is up to on his off hours.
De Niro and Pacino are both pros enough not to embarrass themselves unduly during the course of the film, but they are hardly helped by an implausible screenplay (Russell Gewirtz) and claustrophobic direction (Jon Avnet), not to mention ugly photography and unflattering lighting that make them look even older and more haggard than they already are (do we really need this many tight close-ups of these former matinee idols at this late stage in their careers?).
Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg round out the movie's cast, but I doubt any of them will be highlighting "Righteous Kill" on their resumes when seeking future employment.
Good Flick, but predictable
I had forgotten just how charming Al Pacino could be and how powerfully convincing both he and Robert DeNiro are as actors. That said, neither of them did much but to essentially play themselves in the film. Righteous Kill was an interesting story with a twist that was fairly predicatable. I doubt highly that unknowns could have carried the script. John Leguizamo and Donnie Walhberg added a freshness that helps to round out the overall feel of the movie.
This movie is worth seeing mostly because its always fun to see two heavy weights together, however I went during peak movie times and paid regular price and I wish I had gone during a matinee. Go see it... just don't expect a mindblowing experience.
Heat on Ice
There are movies that the critics pan but the people love. This isn't one of those. There are movies with trailers that so effectively summarize a weak story that there isn't much point in watching the film. This is one of those.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino play two grizzled veteran ("thirty plus years") NYPD detectives who are investigating a series of vigilante-style killings of "low lifes" who escaped justice. The meandering trail may lead to a rogue cop.
The story soon gets confusing. I lost interest. But De Niro and Pacino do not disappoint. They demonstrate that the fire is still burning. They perform with power and conviction. There just wasn't much to work with. This isn't Heat, the 1995 classic in which the two starred. This is Heat on Ice.
I'll give it two stars for the two stars.
Righteous Kill [Theatrical Release]
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