I can’t be sure if the trailer for Righteous Kill and the fact the screening for the film was held only a day-and-a-half prior to its release was supposed to lower critical expectation for the film, but it succeeded with me. All signs pointed to this latest film from director Jon Avnet to be as bad as his last (88 Minutes). Instead, it’s actually a pretty decent cop thriller that may be a little obvious to some, but still enjoyable nonetheless. It isn’t as if this is some top notch thrill ride people are going to be comparing to Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s last team up (Heat), but it is a decent enough watch that you won’t be out for blood after leaving the theaters.
In Michael Mann’s Heat the big draw was that Pacino and De Niro would be on screen together for the first time. Sure, they were both in The Godfather Part II, but not together. Heat turned out giving them one iconic scene in a roadside diner. With Righteous Kill you get one full flick, but the novelty has sort of worn off, but isn’t completely lost on the audience.
Playing detectives investigating a case of serial murders in New York City with all signs pointing to the killer being a cop the plot is quite simple and straight forward. Joining De Niro and Pacino are Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo as another detective pair that have come upon the same killer. Fingers start pointing in one particular direction, but a mystery still remains. Some quality dialogue and decent one liners keep you engaged until the end, which really could have used some tightening up and is easily the worst part of the film.
Pacino is the same Pacino we have seen for so many years and De Niro as well. However, the film plays more like a slightly above average thriller rather than a theatrical event, which is what we once came to expect when either of these two came on screen, that is before the days of Meet the Fockers. Pacino has done a pretty good job of maintaining his career, but in recent years has had a few missteps. Fortunately Righteous Kill won’t be a black mark on his resume as was 88 Minutes, a film I would prefer to forget ever existed.
The largest complaint to have with Righteous Kill, outside of the amateur editing, that made it into more of a TV thriller than a theatrical thriller, are the attempts to be cool and paint De Niro and Pacino as some sort of 65-year-old tough guys. As the opening credits play we see shots of Al and Bob doing a few bench presses, later on we see the two enjoying a little workout time in the weight room with Leguizamo and Wahlberg and there is also a scene of Bobby D going out for a jog whilst carrying around about 25 extra lbs. I know older folk do a bit of working out but it just didn’t play in this case and De Niro appeared to be struggling for breath throughout a lot of the film. Not sure if there was a point to that or what, but it just seemed odd and distracting enough to mention it.
Overall this is a decent flick. It’s not exactly worth your dollar at the theater but it won’t kill you. Personally I would recommend waiting for a rental, but Pacino and De Niro fans won’t think less of their icons after this one even though those horrible trailers led us to believe we just might.
C+
