Righteous Kill (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Curtis Jackson[50 Cent]) — When it comes to acting, there have been three definitive actors of the past 35 years – Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino. De Niro and Pacino are often put a slight cut above, mostly fueled by their attachment to The Godfather II but also because they were very, very picky about the roles they took – until recently.
In truth, Bobby and Al have only been in two movies together before this one, Righteous Kill. They were both brilliant in The Godfather II, but they were never in a scene together. They didn’t appear on screen together until 1995 when they did the brilliant film, Heat, a stunning look at a group of master thieves and the tenacious group of cops out to get them. They have two scenes together – only two — one in a diner in an electric exchange between them and one at the end where one has to live and one has to die. At the end, one holds the hand of the one dying, forever linked – just as these two will always be in the annals of film. Which brings us to Righteous Kill.
Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes, Up Close and Personal, 88 Minutes) directs this story of two aging cops, Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino), who are hell-bent on finding a serial killer. They have seen it all in their more than 30 years of police work. The twist is that the guys being killed are all bad guys – drug dealers, rapists and others – most of whom slipped out of the system on technicalities. This serial killer is a serial do-gooder who leaves poems at the scene, thus is both premeditated and on a mission – maybe to get caught, maybe to even scores, maybe just to do good in a system that often doesn’t. But they aren’t working the case alone. A young duo of investigators, played by the under-rated John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg, are dogging the veterans, and they are coming to some interesting conclusions – like whether the killer might be a cop. The plot moves from there as the race is on to find the killer and the relationships between the two teams grow heated.
For the first time in screen history, we see De Niro and Pacino
occupy the screen in scene-after-scene, playing off each other, giving the limelight to each other, acting like brothers in mission and in acting. I can’t fathom the review that said that these two “weren’t on top of their game” in this film. I think they more than light up the screen; they are electric. There’s no preening, no over-reacting. In fact, this is the most subtle I have seen Pacino in years (I admit to starting to grow tired with the constant yelling of his recent roles). And it’s nice to see De Niro get away from those silly comedies and back to character-driven roles.
The plot is not new, however, and that might turn off some reviewers who expected that, if these two titans were to appear together, it should be in a fresh, innovative, creative piece. But just to see them interact is more than worth the price of admission. For movie buffs, you must see this film. For the rest of you, resist the temptation to see another Nick Cage shoot-’em-up like Bangkok Dangerous and enjoy great actors acting great.