Review of Righteous Kill (2008) by A_Northerner — 26 Mar 2012

Spoiler alert - pairing De Niro and Pacino together does not result in a great film alone. Given the chance to star alongside each other for what, on this outcome, may well be the final time, De Niro and Pacino play a pair of veteran detectives struggling to keep up with a serial killer on the loose.

Thinking back I struggle to recall either of their characters actually doing any police work in the slightest, this falls to Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo. Both actors play their characters as nonchalant, wise-cracking smart asses.

This is a natural character for Pacino but why both need to appear so is unnecessary and just adds to the feeling that their hearts were not in this fully. That said, the story plods along until the dreadful twist at the end that left me more confused initially than anything else until I recognised how the writer had got away with it.

A cheap trick, not in league with the writers previous work (Inside Man), that leaves the viewer feeling disappointed with the previous hour and half serving no purpose but lead up to this charade. Ardent Pacino and De Niro fans may be interested but otherwise steer clear.