Righteous Kill (2008)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Jon Avnet

Writer (WGA):

Russell Gewirtz (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Most people respect the badge. Everybody respects the gun.

Plot:

Two veteran New York City detectives 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?

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Ex Girlfriend | Murder | Bar | New York City

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Tom 'Turk' Cowan
Al Pacino	...	David 'Rooster' Fisk
50 Cent	...	Spider (as Curtis Jackson)
Carla Gugino	...	Karen Corelli
John Leguizamo	...	Det. Simon Perez
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Det. Ted Riley
Brian Dennehy	...	Lieutenant Hingis
Trilby Glover	...	Jessica
Saidah Arrika Ekulona	...	Gwen Darvis
Alan Rosenberg	...	Stein
Sterling K. Brown	...	Rogers
Barry Primus	...	Dr. Prosky
Melissa Leo	...	Cheryl Brooks
Alan Blumenfeld	...	Martin Baum
Shirly Brener	...	Natalya

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #44434) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:16LV | Singapore:M18 | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Overture Films

Trivia:

In the first movie where Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starred together, The Godfather: Part II (1974), they both played gangsters. In their second movie Heat (1995), Pacino was a cop, and DeNiro was a gangster. In this, their third movie together, they are both cops.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning, in the shooting gallery, the first targets being winched backwards alternate between intact and bullet-ridden.

Quotes:

Turk: My name is David Fisk, detective first grade. I've been a cop in the NYPD for over thirty years, in that time I've killed 14 people.

Movie Connections:

References First Blood (1982)

Soundtrack:

Straighten Up and Fly Right

A sort of guilty pleasure, by no means bad.

FINALLY! DeNiro! Pacino! Together! For more than one scene! I couldn't wait. I'm also happy to say that, while the film won't be winning any Oscars, it isn't bad by any means, and is certainly an improvement over Pacino and director Jon Avnet's last film, 88 Minutes. Avnet is growing as a filmmaker, and has learned from past mistakes. Righteous Kill is an acceptable mystery film, and of course, features two great performances from two of the greatest of all time.

Righteous Kill, despite having the two leads that it does, is really a director's film, and Jon Avnet cloaks the film in a black blanket of mystery very well. While the main plot twist of the film (and oh, there are many of them) is sort of obvious, the fact that there's more to it than that really helps the film and saves it from oblivion.

What I liked most about the film, however, was the casting of DeNiro in a role Pacino would normally play (the hotheaded cop who just can't seem to keep his mouth shut or stop cursing), and Pacino in a role DeNiro would normally play (the reserved, yet silently intense friend). The film is split up into two parts, each showcasing the talents of one of the legends. Unfortunately, I can't really describe the performances in a deep way without coming close to spoilers, but rest assured, both are excellent. John Leguizamo is a nice addition as a hot headed detective at odds with DeNiro, and Carla Gugino as the eye candy was not a mistake by any means. I have no comment on the inclusion of 50 Cent in this film. Thankfully, he doesn't have a ton of screen time.

The script of the film, on paper, isn't really good, but there's a few techniques that really work on screen, such as the main characters' nicknames, and the feeling that almost everyone in the film is bad. I definitely like Avnet a little more now. DeNiro and Pacino share a wealth of screen time and have a lot of meat to chew on as actors, especially DeNiro, who turns up the intensity and the New York accent (it's a little stronger here than it normally is). While the film won't go down as legendary, I think every fan of both actors will be pleased and will smile at numerous moments just because these two are playing off each other so often, and so well.

My complaints lie with the emotional feel of the film, which I felt wasn't strong enough. I wanted to shed tears in the end, but for some reason, I couldn't. I won't say the acting in the climax could have been stronger, but had it been done in a different way, I might have liked it a bit more. All in all, Righteous Kill is not a bad film, as it managed to keep my attention and hold me in suspense for it's duration without making me feel frustrated. It definitely requires your full attention, and may even require a couple of viewings.