Righteous Kill

[Bourne101]

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/overture_films/righteous_kill/righteouskill_galleryposter.jpg

Directed by Jon Avnet

Written by Russell Gewirtz

Genre: Crime

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/overture_films/righteous_kill/_group_photos/al_pacino3.jpg

Tagline: Most people respect the badge. Everybody respects the gun.

Plot Outline: A pair of veteran New York City police detectives are on the trail of a vigilante serial killer. After 30 years as partners in the pressure cooker environment of the NYPD, highly decorated Detectives David Fisk and Thomas Cowan should be ready for retirement, but aren't. Before they can hang up their badges, they are called in to investigate the murder of a notorious pimp, which appears to have ties to a case they solved years before. Like the original murder, the victim is a suspected criminal whose body is found accompanied by a four line poem justifying the killing. When additional crimes take place, it becomes clear the detectives are looking for a serial killer, one who targets criminals that have fallen through the cracks of the judicial system. His mission is to do what the cops can't do on their own--take the culprits off the streets for good. The similarities between the recent killings and their earlier case raise a nagging question: Did they put the wrong man behind bars?

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/overture_films/righteous_kill/_group_photos/robert_de_niro2.jpg

Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg

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

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Doesn't look like anything special, but I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't looking forward to it.

[Frank the Tank]

Well, the trailer looked okay. The tv spots have been great but it's easy to make a tv spot great if you just include intense shots of Pacino and De Niro mixed with The Stones which it what they are doing. I'll wait for the reviews to come out before I see it. But on the other hand, the prospect of hearing De Niro call someone a "fucking mutt" on the big screen is pretty intriguing.

[scottmushroom]

the red band trailer was good.

[blankpage]

I can't really see this being anything adove "alright", so...as a film, my expectations are low. But, I'd be lying to if I said I wasn't looking forward to it. De Niro and Pacino together? Fuckin right. Terrible movie or not, I love these guys too much to not see them together on the big screen.

[SpikeDurden]

I'll admit, I'm looking forward to it. It doesn't look terribly original or inspired, but on the other hand it doesn't look bad or anything. It could be a pretty decent cop thriller made all the better by the presence of the two big guys.

[sbunn10]

I still think the trailer gives away the whole twist... but I very well may be wrong, and won't say what I think will happen again, to avoid being annoying. While I think it will be an average movie, and nothing more, I HOPE that I'm wrong, and I will probably find my way into theaters to see it. After Burn After Reading of course..

and this is completely unrelated, but I tried to post in the Politics section, and it wouldn't allow me to. Does anyone know why this would be? Pm me if you know.

[ilovemovies]

I'm pumped for this. I don't care what anyone says about their careers now, Pacino and De Niro are still more than enough of a draw for me. As far as I'm concerned they both still have it. Plus it looks like a very solid crime drama. The last crime drama I saw from director John Avnet (excluding 88 Minutes which although severely flawed I still thought was enjoyable) were the episodes of the short lived but masterful tv series Boomtown.

Don't judge Avnet from 88 Minutes. Judge him from his much more superior work on Boomtown. Plus, it reunites him with Donnie Walhberg who starred in that show.

[Strider]

Terrible movie or not, I love these guys too much to not see them together on the big screen.

I have to agree. Based on the trailer and television spots, Righteous Kill doesn't look terrible, but it does look like an incredibly mediocre, unoriginal crime film. I'll walk into this with zero expectations.

Strider

[Mr.HyDe807]

Despite the bad review on joblo, i'm still interested in checking this out for myself.

[the saw is family]

when i first saw the trailer i thought it looked OK at best. i have to say though my anticipation has been building ever since. i'm being inundated with tv spots for it and they're working. i'll see it opening weekend.

[anakinsrise]

The trailer wasnt great but the t.v spots are very good and i was looking forward to this.But i wont judge this until i see it for myself.Just hope it isnt 88 Minutes bad.

[Moviefan1234]

This looks bad, real bad. It's a shame too, they are two of the true greats.

[xseanymacx]

I'll be there opening weekend, no question about it. No WVU football next Saturday, and no work, means I'll probably spend the afternoon seeing this & Burn After Reading.

[AshleysDad]

This looks bad, real bad. It's a shame too, they are two of the true greats.

I agree. You would think after all these years of waiting they would have picked a better movie to be in together. I would like to see a movie with both of them where neither is the main character. Kinda like Deniro in Meet the Folkers.

[bigred760]

Looking forward to it.

[Max Cady]

looks like utter shit IMO

DeNiro looks way too old for me to be interested in his films anymore..

[notchreturns]

Yeah I don't think I'll bother.

Both De Niro and Pacino look like they don't even care anymore.

[xseanymacx]

looks like utter shit IMO

DeNiro looks way too old for me to be interested in his films anymore..

Says the man who thinks Jason Statham is the greatest actor of our time:rolleyes:

[thedudeman69]

Says the man who thinks Jason Statham is the greatest actor of our time:rolleyes:

Oh my god quit spewing your bias

[Ayestrain]

What's the buzz on this movie? It looks just okay from what I've seen. Will probably check it out.

Just kind of embarrassing the way they're marketing it: Bob Deniro from: Raging Bull & Goodfellas!! Al Pacino from The Godfather & Dog Day Afternoon!! No shit. I mean what moviegoers besides the 'tween set don't already know these men and their filmographies?

I guess the studios are hoping on a big opening weekend to recoup on both Deniro's and Pacino's paychecks.

[xseanymacx]

Oh my god quit spewing your bias

What?:confused:

[Max Cady]

Says the man who thinks Jason Statham is the greatest actor of our time:rolleyes:

I said "One of the greatest actors of our times".

and plenty of people agreed with me. Robert DeNiro's acting has been utter shit for the last 7 years. He is one of those actors that you look at and think "WTF happened?"

He was an amazing actor back in the day and now...you hope he's not in a any of the movies your looking foward too because his un-inspired acting wil fuck it up.

[thedudeman69]

What?:confused:

Ex. Your avatar

[xseanymacx]

Had Cady said that in any thread on a movie I was looking forward to...I would probably say it then too. His opinion is shit. Not trying to attack him but it really is. It just takes reading his posts to realize he has no idea what he is talking about 3/4 of the time.

[chasingbanky]

Had Cady said that in any thread on a movie I was looking forward to...I would probably say it then too. His opinion is shit. Not trying to attack him but it really is. It just takes reading his posts to realize he has no idea what he is talking about 3/4 of the time.

Irony...

[Robot]

Says the man who thinks Jason Statham is the greatest actor of our time:rolleyes:

In his defense, I'd watch a Jason Statham movie over anything Robert De Niro has made in the last 10 years. At least going to a Statham flick you know what to expect and get it...

[Tweek]

I'm hopping on the bandwagon. Though I'm not sure I'll be giving it a watch on the "big screen".

And Schmoes, be nice... Civil at best. :)

[DME]

The last Deniro flick that I thought was truly great was Ronin. The last Pacino movie that I even enjoyed was The Recruit, and the last one that I thought he was great in was Insomnia.

I want this movie to be good, but I don't expect it to be.

[Ayestrain]

The last Deniro flick that I thought was truly great was Ronin. The last Pacino movie that I even enjoyed was The Recruit, and the last one that I thought he was great in was Insomnia.

I want this movie to be good, but I don't expect it to be.

Agreed--though parts of Ronin bored me completely shitless, RD was good in it. Anyone remember The Score, the heist movie starring Deniro, Brando and Ed Norton? It was passable, again nothing great. Really the last movie where a Deniro performance really shook me up was probably Casino, but I do get a laugh out of Deniro in Meet The Parents / Fokkers. Nice role for him.

Seems like Pacino's in so many fucking recent movies, I've lost track. Yes, Insomnia was great and he was great in it! I also thought he was good as Roy Cohn in Angels In America. I need to see 88 Minutes but I haven't heard anything good. Will still check it out.

[electriclite]

Look the signs are clear: Once they start advertising the stars' past films and accomplishments over their new film = STINKER.

Insomnia was boring as hell: Three Academy Award winners and their resumes listed in the ad campaign.

Plus they said "the two greatest actors of our generation together at last" WTF??!! Hellooooooo! I guess I need to bring up a little movie called HEAT?

[ilovemovies]

But in Heat they only share 2 scenes together.

And I think Insomnia is a great movie. And as far as De Niro I think he gave one of his very best performances in City by the Sea. A great, underrated movie.

[Moviefan1234]

Says the man who thinks Jason Statham is the greatest actor of our time:rolleyes:

But his performance in LONDON was so good!

[Max Cady]

Agreed--though parts of Ronin bored me completely shitless, RD was good in it. Anyone remember The Score, the heist movie starring Deniro, Brando and Ed Norton? It was passable, again nothing great. Really the last movie where a Deniro performance really shook me up was probably Casino, but I do get a laugh out of Deniro in Meet The Parents / Fokkers. Nice role for him.

Seems like Pacino's in so many fucking recent movies, I've lost track. Yes, Insomnia was great and he was great in it! I also thought he was good as Roy Cohn in Angels In America. I need to see 88 Minutes but I haven't heard anything good. Will still check it out.

Deniro is as overrated as they come. The last 30 minutes of the score was great, Ed Norton put Deniro and Brando to shame in that movie. He showed what real acting was all about. Pacino is hit and miss. 88 Minutes should of been straight to TV, that movie sucked shit.

I would love to see DeNiro try and pull off a performance like Statham did in London.

[ilovemovies]

I like Statham but there is no way he'd pull off a performance like the ones he's given in City by the Sea, 15 Minutes (another underrated flick) among others.

[Moviefan1234]

I would love to see DeNiro try and pull off a performance like Statham did in London.

Dude just stop. Seriously. Your trolling is getting out of hand.

[jolanar]

I like Statham but there is no way he'd pull off a performance like the ones he's given in City by the Sea, 15 Minutes (another underrated flick) among others.

I totally agree about City by the Sea. Such an underrated movie and a great performance.

[xseanymacx]

Irony...

Clever.

[xseanymacx]

Deniro is as overrated as they come. The last 30 minutes of the score was great, Ed Norton put Deniro and Brando to shame in that movie. He showed what real acting was all about. Pacino is hit and miss. 88 Minutes should of been straight to TV, that movie sucked shit.

I would love to see DeNiro try and pull off a performance like Statham did in London.

This is just getting fucking ridiculous.

[Max Cady]

This is just getting fucking ridiculous.

Just tellin it like it is bro

[SkyNet]

just saw a sneak peak of it...

it was pretty enjoyable... nothing groundbreaking, but enjoyable. It is also pretty short... or it felt short, which can of course be a good thing.

One thing i will say though... you can see basically everything that happens in this movie from a ways away... so no real twists or surprises... but a pretty enjoyable flick all in all.

[detective mills]

I would love to see DeNiro try and pull off a performance like Statham did in London.

Well I'd sure like to see Statham pull off a performance like DeNiro did in Godfather 2, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas among others.

[bigred760]

Deniro is as overrated as they come. The last 30 minutes of the score was great, Ed Norton put Deniro and Brando to shame in that movie. He showed what real acting was all about. Pacino is hit and miss. 88 Minutes should of been straight to TV, that movie sucked shit.

I would love to see DeNiro try and pull off a performance like Statham did in London.

If you're basing your opinion on Deniro (and Brando for that matter) solely on The Score, then you're missing out on some great performances (by both actors). detective mills has already mentioned SOME of Deniro's memorable performances. Deniro has had a far more wider ranger of roles than most actors working today, including Statham. Not forgetting the nearly impossible task of following up Marlon Brando in one of the most iconic roles in movie history.

[Reigh Kaufman]

I have to say, Max, that based on all your praise of the movie 'London', as well as the scene posted in 'The Greatest Monologue of All-Time' thread, I watched the film. It was decent - and Statham surprised me, no doubt - but Robert DeNiro has acted far better than that without breaking sweat. Even late-period, phone-it-in DeNiro has produced moments of brilliance in films that absolutely don't deserve his presence.

It's a tiring game, the movie business, particularly when you are one of the best of all-time and everyone expects you to bring your A-game in every performance, but Statham has - as yet - hardly been stretched.

Watch 'Goodfellas' (not a favourite of mine, but a work I admire) and see DeNiro do nothing more sinister than watch a hood enter the bar. That is acting. When you know that someone is contained and poised at the same time, without the histrionics that, say, Pesci brought to his character - when there is no need to externalize everything - then you are watching a great performer. Statham may manage this eventually, but his perma-scowl tells me everything I need to know about him in two seonds flat.

Thanks for recommending 'London'. It was a good movie.

As for 'Righteous Kill', and despite everything I have just said, I wil catch this on DVD. It's not my kind of film, despite the stellar cast, and the trailer has left me cold.

[Powerslave]

I said it in the other threads about the movie, but this looks atrocious. Or rather, it really just looks like a painfully average, bland, formulaic, shitty cop movie, but the inclusion of DeNiro and Pacino takes that and turns it into a horribly depressing event to have to witness.

-----------------

"De Niro and Pacino's iconic acting and Avnet's stylish direction compensate for a movieish, implausible and morally debatable tale, which combines elements of the cop and serial killer genres, with a touch of Bergman's Persona thrown into the mix."
-Emmanuel Levy

I just thought that was funny.

[Max Cady]

If you're basing your opinion on Deniro (and Brando for that matter) solely on The Score, then you're missing out on some great performances (by both actors). detective mills has already mentioned SOME of Deniro's memorable performances. Deniro has had a far more wider ranger of roles than most actors working today, including Statham. Not forgetting the nearly impossible task of following up Marlon Brando in one of the most iconic roles in movie history.

They did some great stuff in the past. I'm talking about in the last 7-8 years DeNiro. He was the man before all that. But now....I'd rather see a Paul Walker movie than see DeNiro movie.

[Ayestrain]

Pretty funny Letterman Top 10 list: "Reasons Why I like Being An Actor", read by Deniro and Pacino..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/12/robert-de-niro-and-al-pac_n_125891.html

[john_rambo]

1. I don't care what people say, I can not wait to see this movie, whether i get to catch it in theatres or have to wait for the DVD.

2. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490242/ < Theres De Niro's return to his type of roles that make him de niro.

[Biggs]

Just got out of the movie, and I have to say not bad. Is it the best no, but it is a film produced and directed well enough to keep your atention through out. Yes the story and twist are a bit obivious, but there's more to this movie than that. I mean I never expected to be laughing in this film, and side splitting at that. The dialouge was great and had good classic directing, nothing too fancy or "artsy" while still helping to tell the story. All and all the movie is worth going to see for Deniro and Pacino alone, and will keep you entertained. 6/10 stars.

[chinton]

What an unrelentingly mediocre film. Its actually fairly insulting that the advertisments hype this film as an event to see two giants together except they mostly do the same thing they usually do and if they weren't this generic cop thriller would go to straight to DVD. I guess to be fair Pacino isn't yelling a lot here and De Niro occasionally gets mad but that is about it.

And what was up with the storyline De Niro sort of girlfriend. Her main characterstic was that she liked to sleep around with cops and get it really really kinky and rough. Thats essentially her entire character and frankly her first scene where De Niro acts like an intruder and drags her to the floor to have sex with her left a bad taste in her mouth. What was the point of her character?


Spoiler!!!




The ending was particuraly not well done. Not only did I predict the ending but it was badly directed and written. Why is he making De Niro confess to the camera when it doesn't mean anything. It was simply a contrived device to sell a not so surprising ending. I also didn't really buy Al Pacino's slide into seiral killer. So because he felt betrayed with De Niro planting evidence that made him into a serial killer. I didn't buy that.








Anyway forgettable film that tries to justify itself with a big event gimmick.



4/10

[anakinsrise]

Righteous Kill is definitely not as bad as Director Jon Avnet's 88 Minutes.
If written differently it could have been a lot more suspensful.
Halfway through you will likely figure out who the killer is.The ending is to drawn out especially after the "big revelation" i found myself not caring.
Still its great to see two of my favorite actors onscreen together and Deniro and Pacino,look like they are having fun.
Scale of 1-10 a 6

[visual_tension]

An underwhelming and mediocre film. It's still entertaining though. Deniro and Pacino are good and make it worth watching.

6/10

[Bourne101]

Righteous Kill - 6/10

When I first heard that De Niro and Pacino would be starring in a film together, I couldn't have been happier. Then, the trailers came out and they weren't so great. Then the reviews came out, and those weren't so great either. So, was all of that pre-trailer excitement killed by the actual film? The answer is no. Righteous Kill isn't perfect, but by no means is it a terrible film. The real problem is the story. It's a pretty basic story and that is fine, but there were just too many flaws and it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. There are many elements of the story that I did enjoy, but some just didn't work. It is a bit predictable, but it didn't have to be. The constant showing of the killings with obvious intention to not show the killer kind of made it blatantly obvious what the twist would be. But besides the fact that the story had its problems, the movie is pretty damn good. The twist, although predictable, is executed pretty well and besides the fact that I knew what was probably going to happen, I wasn't sure how it was going to be revealed, and that was done pretty well. The acting is fucking great. Pacino and De Niro nail the hell out of their roles and look like they're having an absolutely blast. Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, and Donnie Wahlberg are all good here too. 50 Cent isn't anything special, but he does what he needs to do to play the small role. What really makes this film good is the dialogue. Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man) may have had a little trouble executing the simple story and turning it into something more, but damn he can write some good dialogue. The conversations between De Niro and Pacino, De Niro and 50 Cent, Leguizamo and De Niro, etc. etc. are all brilliant and immensely entertaining and very well-written. So overall, Righteous Kill is a film with a flawed story, but is a lightening-paced, entertaining film, with very good performances and brilliant dialogue. I definitely recommend it if you're looking to kill a couple of hours.

[ilovemovies]

I agree with chinton about the ending. I don't think it was very well done either. Not only was it predictable but also incredibly hohum and lackluster. The ending is a major letdown. I don't like how it played out at all.

It's too bad because otherwise I found the movie to be pretty entertained although I wasn't a fan of how the movie was structured. It made the begining of the movie a bit confusing at times.

De Niro is great here. Pacino not so much. I mean he's fine. Even when Pacino phones it in, which quite frankly is pretty much what he's doing here, he's still utterly compelling to watch. Both of these guys are incapable of giving a bad performance. Lazy maybe, but like I said, they are so good that even in lazy mode, I like them. Carla Gugino is hot though her character was rather wierd and not especially well written. John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg are both very solid. As is 50 Cent. This is actually the first thing I've ever seen 50 Cent in and based on his work here I don't see what is so bad about him. Brian Dennehy is pretty much wasted in a nothing role.

The chemistry between De Niro and Pacino is by far the best thing about the movie. These two are just a joy to watch together on screen. I would like to see them in a great movie. You know, like Heat. They only shared 2 scenes together in that movie but imagine their great chemistry in this movie with that movie's great material. We'd be talking about one of the great crime movies of all time here. A real pleasure that I would love to see that.

Oh well. Even in a lesser movie like this, it was still pretty enjoyable. It's just a shame that the movie itself is nothing especially memorable. It's predictable, formulaic and somewhat forgettable except for the two great leads.

7/10

[Bourne101]

There were some great lines. The one where De Niro said something about 50 Cent's new teeth, and the "dick" poem were pretty brilliant.

[Danger^Cart]

3/10

Atrocious.

[Katsumoto]

3/10

Atrocious.

I gotta agree. I gave it the same rating.

Fuck is De Niro getting lazy with his choices. I'm sure he picked this one because he get's to wear a sweat suit for about half the flick.

[therealjohng]

Horrible. Easily one of the worst films I've seen this year.

[JoeChar4321]

I have to echo the "DeNiro and Pacino make it worth watching" sentiment.

However...

Too slick for its own good, this movie has to be considered a let down considering it’s the first real on screen team up of these two legends. For me, the mystery, revelations and resolution were easy to spot. A huge problem with the overall story was the painful overabundance of cliches. The acting and performances were indeed as strong as you’d expect. Pacino particularly showed flashes of his younger brilliance. Carla Gugino was stunning as usual but her character seemed forced and out of place. If you’re going to use her sexuality, at least be good enough to show the goods. If she can bare all for a glorified cartoon like Sin City, she can certainly add zest and strip down here. Wasted opportunities everywhere but I have to admit that it kept my interest all the way through. So, it’s not a total loss.

5/10

[JCPhoenix]

De Niro and Pacino feel like they are sleepwalking through this entire film. De Niro in particular seems bored as fuck through the entire movie.

This film was pretty inept. If you really think about it, there is ABSOLUTELY NO TENSION in the film. Why? Because of two reasons:

MAJOR SPOILERS
3
2
1
1. At the beginning of the film, it is basically implied that De Niro was the culprit and we are watching everything in flashback to see how he murdered each person. Unfortunately, this means the movie essentially has no villain and no conflict. You're just sitting there, watching past events that don't even matter. So if you sit through the whole movie believing that De Niro is the culprit, then you're left with the question, why the hell am I watching this? where's the story?

2. If you're not an idiot, however, it is obvious from about 5-10 minutes in where the film is going to lead and who the real culprit is going to be. So again, there is NO FUCKING TENSION to be had. NO STORY. Hell, think about it. No one does ANYTHING IN THE FUCKING FILM. No one gets anywhere. You're just bored shitless waiting for this shitfest to finish. Is there a logical build to the ending? Um no. It's just 90 minutes of crap leading up to Pacino deciding to reveal to De Niro that he is in fact the real culprit. I mean, c'mon, De Niro didn't even find anything out himself. Pacino literally just decided one day, I'm going to tell De Niro what is going on. Even a lot of bad films at least have some kind of conflict going on. For this movie, the whole thing is a jerkoff exercise designed simply for the end release - a twist that is incredibly generic, incredibly stupid, and incredibly easy to spot.

Hell, at least 88 Minutes was entertaining on a "so bad it's funny" level. This is just plain bad.

I'm feeling generous so I think a 3/10 is in order. Jon Avnet should stick to producing. We saw this in a double-header with Lakeview Terrace and I gotta say, if anyone out there is making a choice for what to see this week, go with Lakeview Terrace (surprisingly decent, 7/10) over this piece of crap, no question.

[ilovemovies]

I disagree that De Niro is sleepwalking and looks bored. Granted, this may not be one of his truly great performances, but it's a very solid performance IMO. He's definitely the best thing about the movie. That and the chemistry between De Niro and Pacino.

This is definitely one of those movies where the more I think about it, the more I think it's a pretty meh movie. I mean I don't hate this movie and I don't regret watching it. It's just nothing special and one does wish the movie were a lot better consider considering how great the chemistry is between Pacino and De Niro.


I still think Avnet is a pretty good director. Red Corner was a very good movie IMO and his tv work (namely on the short lived but brilliant Boomtown) was magnificant.

[xseanymacx]

6/10. Entertaining but nothing spectacular.

SPOILERS





I didn't look how they pretty much ripped off the HEAT ending completely (the scene in the warehouse) down to the plane sound effects overhead and the lighting. It was pretty cool though to see the roles reversed. I thought the editing definitely had its kinks and I don't like how they just assume we're all idiots and need everything spelled out for us in an EXTRA set of flashbacks. But the acting was enjoyable and it IS De Niro and Pacino.

[Cosimo]

complete trash! terribly acted with cringe inducing direction. an unwatchable tacky and boring vile film with no depth to the characters. a waste of talent from the two main stars, a definite contendor for the worst film of the year (3/10)

it's a fucking joke!

[project 86]

the problem with ending is it made no sense if the writers had made pacino have some sort of mental illness in his past that he had hidden for years then it would of made more sense you don't kill 14 people cause your mentor betrayed you lol