Righteous Kill (2008)

While it can be said that Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino have starred together in a couple movies already, (Godfather 2; Heat), it was not really alongside each other and they seldom appeared in the same frame.  That is not the case here in Righteous Kill, as you have both of them working together as police partners in a gritty drama that brings out some of the strengths in both actors; strengths developed over many years of playing in front of the camera. I personally think both of them have developed depth as they have aged and this is one of the best portrayals either has turned in.

The acting is very good and the movie would be beyond a doubt the best detective mystery in years except that it had one of the weakest stories I've seen. Either that or because I didn't read the story the direction was so lame that it played every scene wrong.  Don't get me wrong - the interaction between Pacino and DeNiro is riveting it is just the sequencing of the storytelling and the misdirection that is pretty obvious to anybody who has seen more than a couple of these detective stories.

The story goes like this:  A pair of 30-year detectives (Pacino and DeNiro) on the NYPD is on a case tracking down a serial killer who uses stolen guns from an earlier crime. The victims are all criminals who are rapists, child molesters, dealing drugs, or otherwise harming society.  To add a little spice to the story, the killer also leaves a poem with each body that has been expertly dispatched with multiple gunshot wounds at close range.  You know - a sophomoric poem, more like American Greetings verse not Shakespeare. Something like Roses are red, violets are blue ... yada yada budda bing budda boom.

These little poems, and there are a lot of them, provoke a little unintentional humor thus deflating some of the tension that the two stars generate.  One poem even is used as intentional humor, as a pair of cops stake out DeNiro - I have to admit that one had me spewing my drink because it was cute. Here it is:

You tried to set me up, you ----s
And this is how you do it
You hoped I'd get my ---- cut off
Instead you only blew it.
 
From the beginning of the movie the scene keeps cutting to a grainy black and white cell phone video of DeNiro apparently confessing his crimes, etc. This has the effect of making you know he cannot in any way shape or form be the true baddy - and you're not wrong, but it is such an amateurish touch it is unworthy of the first pairing of two great actors in many years.

The story unwinds showing flashbacks that fill in the time until we get to the payoff scene where we see how the "confession video" was made.  I don't want to spoil the movie because I think it is well worth seeing just because of the two leads, but don't feel this movie will make any top ten detective movie lists.

The Anchor Bay DVD is presented in 2.35:1 color with a running time of 103 minutes.  There are some decent extra features including a couple of featurettes about the making of the movie. OK, one of them is a bunch of self congratulatory back slapping by the minor cast and crew; the other is better showing a study of crooked cops that is pretty compelling, actually better than the main feature.

Because DeNiro and Pacino are getting old and may not appear together many more times this movie has more significance than it ought and I recommend it on that basis while cautioning it is not for the story but the interaction between the two leads, who chew the scenery.  I just hope those two go quietly and do not do hundreds of shoddy B movies like some famous actors do.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV