Righteous Kill (2008)

Reel.com 7 of 10
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino--has there ever been a better acting team? For the first time since 1995's Heat, the two have leading roles in the same film, and their presence has given Righteous Kill a substantial amount of buzz. While the movie doesn't live up to the anticipation, it does pack a decent punch, thanks entirely to the leading men...First, the bad news. Righteous Kill is lucky to have De Niro and Pacino. Very lucky, indeed, because the film is greatly flawed. It feels like it was directed by a first-timer and reeks of amateurism. Jon Avnet is an experienced producer, but he's certainly not a visionary director. The movie runs 100 minutes, but Righteous Kill feels much longer because of choppy, awkward pacing. Not only does this prevent the complex themes from reaching their thought-provoking potential, but it hinders the chemistry between De Niro and Pacino, which is the film's best asset...Now the good news. Simply put, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. They save Righteous Kill from becoming another run-of-the-mill cop movie. De Niro and Pacino make it impossible to take your eyes off the screen. These guys do not act; they become the characters, capturing every nuance, every peculiarity. You can see years of regret and moral surrender in their eyes, and watching their moral transformations is cinematically priceless. Sure, both could have picked a better movie in which to reunite, but that doesn't make their pairing any less eventful. Righteous Kill may be forgettable, but their performances aren't. - Blake French
 
ReelViews 6 of 10
Righteous Kill is the third movie in which screen icons Robert De Niro and Al Pacino both appear, but only the second in which they share screen time. 13 years ago, Michael Mann scored a coup by filming the first scene with these two sitting opposite one another. Now, director Jon Avnet, rather than accepting sloppy seconds, has attempted to one-up Mann by having De Niro and Pacino share not only a handful of scenes, but pairing them on-screen for almost every scene in a 100-minute motion picture. Unfortunately, the hook of having the two Corleones together is just about the only reason to see this otherwise lackluster police thriller...One of the most apparent problems with Righteous Kill is that there's not a lot of story to begin with. We get copious amounts of dialogue between Turk and Rooster, but there's not a lot of substance in the words. The ending, which includes a revelation that I guess is supposed to be a twist (although savvy viewers will see it coming), is ludicrous, and recalls the ridiculous climax to the previous Pacino/Avnet collaboration, 88 Minutes. The film also resorts to the weariest of cliches: the bad guy holds the good guy at gun point and explains everything to him. Avnet and screenwriter Russell Gerwitz try their best at misdirection by employing as many red herrings as possible, but it's really not that difficult to guess where the movie is going. The script simply isn't smart enough to keep viewers guessing unless they're not paying attention...There's nothing righteous to be found here. - James Berardinelli