Two experienced New York cops, detectives Fisk and Cowen (Robert De Niro and Al Pacino), fear they put the wrong man away twenty years before when a new spate of homicides provides a connection to their case. Soon they are caught in a web of murder and paranoia as one of them struggles to hide a deadly secret.
This marks the second on screen pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino (Heat being their first in 1995, they never shared a scene in The Godfather Part II). It's a dream match up, probably more so fifteen years ago, but we'll take it anyway.
They say:
Variety: “A dream pairing that promises more than it delivers.”
Total Film: “A spotty cop procedural that serves its purpose performance wise.”
Empire: “Workaday nonsense.”
We say:
Take someone along to watch Righteous Kill that hasn't seen a De Niro or Pacino movie before and they'll be at a loss to understand what all the fuss was about. Here the old boys are coasting on such lazy performances it's a wonder they didn't just get their housekeepers to read the lines for them.
Neither actor is helped by a script that pilfers from every cop thriller cliché known to man and a director who's aiming no higher than the VHS bargain bin.
That's right, VHS, this may as well be 1989 and star Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze for all the point of De Niro and Pacino's involvement. Why on earth did these legends sign on board? Surely better scripts must get passed along the golf course? Something innovative, something worthy of their talents, something where Pacino doesn't wear a leather blazer.
The sort of macho posturing exhibited in Righteous Kill, the frenetic shooting range credit sequence, the locker room banter, the haemorrhoid inducing weightlifting scene - all this belongs back in a time when machismo meant talking about sports and riding a big shiny motorbike.
That last facet again adds to Pacino's gamut of embarrassment. His supposed lothario detective is more uncomfortable to watch than your dad dancing drunk at a wedding. Tubby De Niro is only marginally superior. Though, despite the ancient emotion lurking behind their eyes, this is no return to form for either of them.
The only interesting female character in the film, Carla Gugino, is forced to backpedal when a mild exchange with De Niro apparently denotes her deviant ways as unacceptable. She soon becomes just another boring heroine. The main plot is likewise a cop out - the brazen twist no more believable than if a Martian flew into the third act and announced himself as the killer. It's beyond stupid.
As if trying to be as dated as possible, Righteous Kill is peppered with early Tarrantino pop culture dialogue. There's a fitting exchange when the great Brian Dennehy queries just what the heck Pacino and De Niro are talking about. It's for us clearly, but we don't give a damn. We're more caught up in why De Niro is starting to model himself on Apocalypse Marlon Brando.
The film does have the odd burst of excitement - it leads from a breezy intro and doesn't dither too long on expositional details. Plus Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is so Riger mortis rigid in his delivery that anything going on around him seems energetic by comparison.
Righteous Kill will likely push sales of Heat DVDs through the roof as we all rush to remember how good De Niro and Pacino can be with the right script and the right director. This daffy police puzzle should no way represent their swan song.
CAST
Robert De Niro
Al Pacino
Carla Gugino
Donnie Wahlberg
John Leguizamo
50 Cent
DIRECTOR
Jon Avnet
TIME
101 mins
POSTED...
Sun 28 Sep at 11:47am
