Righteous KillDirected by: Jon Avnet Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Curtis Jackson (50 Cent), Carla Gugino Time: 1 hr 45 mins Rating: R
Plot: A pair of veteran New York City police detectives (De Niro and Pacino) are on the trail of a vigilante serial killer, which may turn out to be one of New York City's finest.
Who’s It For? It's hard to overlook the star power behind this film, so I won't. The names De Niro and Pacino will put people in the seats. There is violence and one blurred over rape scene.
Expectations: It's funny, I wasn't hearing any buzz, good or bad. The only thing I knew about this film was that Pacino's character was originally written for a young actor, De Niro showed it to him, and they worked it out for Pacino to come along for the ride.
SCORECARD (1-10)
Actors: Robert De Niro as Turk: It's getting to the stage where De Niro with a younger women (Gugino) just doesn't look right. And the plot line of a created serial killer is simply borrowing from the last season of "The Wire." But De Niro as a hard ass cop is still enough for me, and the banter with the psychologist is quick enough to entertain without slowing the film down. Score: 7
Al Pacino as Rooster: Just like De Niro with a younger woman, Pacino hanging out in a weight room doesn't fit. There are leaps taken with Rooster that we just don't get to see. We never get inside his mind until the end, so it's hard to really feel like we understand where he's coming from. Score: 6
Curtis Jackson as Spider: Nobody could just be called Steve, huh? Jackson is stuck playing a gangster club owner, he gets roughed up by the cops a little bit, but there is no new ground covered with a character like this. Score: 5
Talking: There are really only two moments I am taking away from the dialogue in this film. One, it's a toss away line from Donnie Wahlberg's cop who says, "Is that killing time or is he just killing time?" It's a nice play on words. The highlight conversation, and it's really over too quickly is when Turk and Rooster pontificate about the meaning of the cartoon "Underdog." Score: 6
Sights & Sounds: New York just didn't come alive, it has no flare and that falls on the shoulders of Avnet. And here's a key, unless you are as smart and intricate as a film like Usual Suspects, DO NOT use flashbacks. It just feels like you are spoon feeding a plot that wasn't too difficult to figure out in the first place. Plus, you actually hurt future conversations about the film because then people don't need to connect the dots with their friends afterward. Score: 5
OVERALL De Niro and Pacino can't be denied. They are great actors. But that doesn't mean all you have to do is put them in a film together and be done. Avnet is not Martin Scorsese, just look at his previous work which includes Fried Green Tomatoes and "The Starter Wife." The immediate confession of De Niro sets the motions in place, and everything that follows seems obvious. In fact, I could have used less "story" and more banter between the two. We've been hanging on every word De Niro and Pacino have said over the years, but with the focus on odd and again, obvious twists and turns there wasn't enough time to sit back and watch two of the greatest film actors of all time. Score: 6 out of 10