Jungle
Righteous Kill

Righteous Kill

Movie
Studio(s): 
Director(s): 
Genre: 
In Theatres: 
Sep 12, 2008
Grade:
C+
Running Time: 
1 Hour, 40 Minutes

It’s been a while since we’ve seen both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino share the big screen (1995 with Heat to be precise) but Righteous Kill brings the two together as fellow cops looking to catch a serial killer.  Turk and Rooster (Niro and Pacino) have been partners and practically best friends. They have solved multiple cases but they are in for a surprise when a killer starts taking out the ‘bad’ people, leaving no trace except for his calling card, a poem. As more people get killed the two, along with the help of fellow officers Riley and Perez (Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo) inch closer and closer to the truth.

If you are one who likes your movies straightforward and to the point than this one is not for you. The way in which the film is shown can be extremely confusing. I won’t give away any spoilers but trust me, have the time you will be wondering what is going on. I will give them credit though. By the end of the film, everything is summed up and you do understand the big picture. I also imagined there would be more action. Instead, it was more of a detective story with much of the action having already taken place. It was decent but boredom took the best of me at some moments.

De Niro and Pacino are great together. You have two cops with different motives for joining the force. One is more sensible with the other being rash and looking to bag the criminal. They compliment each other well and their deep friendship is ever present throughout the film. Wahlberg and Leguizamo are like a younger version of the veterans. Then you have Carla Gugino as another detective/girlfriend of Turk. She is basically the eye candy of the film and tends to get in the way of the progression. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson plays your stereotypical criminal, a club owner/drug dealer who is constantly caught in the middle of things. All I’ll say about him is that he should stick to rapping.

I didn’t quite enjoy the film as much as I wanted to. De Niro and Pacino are both big incentives to go out and see this film but I feel that they are not enough. Their acting was excellent but with the weak and highly predicable plot, things tend to fall apart. Don’t set your expectations too high for this one or you will be disappointed. Righteous KillRighteous Kill

Matt Rodriguez
Review by Matt Rodriguez
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