Of course, it is absolutely impossible to discuss ‘Righteous Kill’ without mentioning its stars- Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have reunited for the first time since ‘Heat’- but boy would I love to do just that (and I’m going to do it for just a second).
‘Righteous Kill’, minus the talent, is a terrible movie. Its plot has no substance whatsoever, supposed twists and unexpected turns are predictable to the point of total obscurity and the producers seem hell bent on the premature deployment of all the film’s gimmicks, flimsy as they may be. From Russell Gewirtz, the man credited with the script for genuinely surprising ‘Inside Man’, this is shocking. It would appear that ‘Inside Man’ was a once off for Gerwitz, who might be better off writing episodes of Scooby-doo for a less discerning audience. To sum up, the movie makes 50 cent look good, need I say more?
Factor in the timelessly relevant Pacino and De Niro however, and ‘Righteous Kill’ becomes a bit of a quandary. The question on everyone’s lips must be ‘why?’ Why would these two icons compromise their truck loads of integrity to appear in this low rate not-so-clever piece of cinema? I mean it probably wouldn’t even have come to a cinema near you were it not for the iconicity of Pacino and De Niro propping it up. The answer remains elusive but it is clear that these actors are out of their film’s league entirely. Despite the clunky, over-expository dialogue, they still have that glint in their eyes (as patronising as that sounds). They’re not geriatric yet, although De Niro doesn’t look quite so tough in a track suit as he might once have.
At points however, they are themselves to the extent that they could be seen as a parody of what they once were, as some have suggested. Pacino’s wise cracks and De Niro’s sneer might seem over the top to some, but in my opinion it’s what’s needed in a movie that’s reveals its narrative so quickly that definitive facial contortions are what’s required to navigate through the dense fog of unresolved plot inclusions.
One such inclusion is that of bad-ass lady cop Karen (Carla Gugino), a fellow detective with a sadomasochistic streak. Her relationship, which serves this streak, is never elaborated upon and is irrelevant to the plot in its entirety. This is typical of the film which discontinues plot lines with no rhyme nor reason and wastes its actors on flimsy narrative.
In short, don’t flock to your nearest cinema: this is not the Pacino/ De Niro reunion we all want. It may come sooner or later but this is definitely not it.