Righteous Kill [2008]

Righteous Kill is the kind of movie that lovers of popcorn detective thrillers wouldn’t mind watching, but suffice it to say that it would be futile to expect a classy, memorable murder mystery like say Heat; the fact that it has been directed by Jon Avnet, whose resume includes the horrendous 88 Minutes, should be enough of a clue. Set in New York City, the movie has a run-of-the-mill plot even though it has been given a pretentious arty look. But, as one fellow blogger has aptly put it, any movie starring Robert De Nero – one of the greatest actors ever, and Al Pacino – a favourite among movie-goers, can never be bad. And at times, De Nero, as Turk with his evil grin, and Pacino, as Rooster with his smooth talking, did let the sparks fly. But the good cop-bad cop buddy story with a serial killer (with a penchant for juvenile poetry) angle fails to be very engaging. The city too fails to be a fifth character even though there was ample scope for it. The movie, thus, ultimately comes down to the onscreen chemistry and rivalry of the two legendary American warhorses.






Director: Jon Avnet
Genre: Thriller/Police Thriller/Buddy Film/Psychological Thriller/Crime Thriller/Mystery
Language: English
Country: US