Righteous Kill DVD Review

"Righteous Kill" reviews

DVD

Righteous Kill

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-02-24 16:47:37

Rating

2/5

Provider

DVD Review

A few years back, Russell Gerwitz penned the screenplay for "Inside Man", a fairly standard, but nonetheless entertaining thriller, elevated by a superior cast and the sharp eye of Spike Lee. Fresh from giving the often polarising Lee his first genuine mainstream hit, this time he has teamed up with John Avnet, director of last year's universally panned "88 Minutes". The alarm bells should already be ringing, but so uninspired is "Righteous Kill" that it makes "Inside Man" look more like a filmmaking watershed akin to "The Jazz Singer", rather than the engaging police procedural that it was.

Packed with more Galácticos than Real Madrid circa 2003, Avnet has seemingly pulled off quite a coup by reuniting thesping heavyweights De Niro and Pacino for the first time since "Heat", as well as assembling a more than competent supporting cast of rising star Carla Gugino, livewire for hire John Leguizamo and "Saw" stalwart Donnie Wahlberg. Unfortunately, this recruitment policy has never been any guarantee of success and the plodding "Righteous Kill" does nothing to prove otherwise.

Between them, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have been part of some of the most important films in American cinema and clocked up an incredible fourteen Oscar nominations. Unfortunately, it appears that neither took as many minutes to skim read a whodunnit script with all the sophistication of Scooby Doo. Indeed, seasoned cynics will struggle to contain a smirk when, during an early exchange of generic cop banter, De Niro suggests that the day his partner 'picks up a cheque', he'll 'believe in miracles'. Okay, he is talking about a bar tab, but the irony is undeniable.

It's been fourteen years since their electric coffee shop exchange and a lot has changed. If a competitive edge made sparks fly on that occasion, then "Righteous Kill" marks the nadir of their self-congratulatory career phase, the two veterans practically bowing down in mutual admiration for each other during scenes that should crackle with intensity. In fact, the only thing memorable about this film is its stars lumbering through some of the most unintentionally hilarious chase scenes ever committed to celluloid. De Niro, in particular, barely looks able to break walking pace, yet is apparently more than capable of servicing Gugino's nympho CSI. Meanwhile, naming Alfredo James Pacino's character Dave is another comic masterstroke.

You can't teach old dogs new tricks, but these pooches seem to have completely forgotten what they already know. Not terrible, but about as formulaic as they come and a huge disappointment given the talent involved. There's no Method to this madness.

DVD Extras
Audio Commentary with Director Jon Avnet
Featurette: Investigation – An Indepth look at Righteous Kill
Featurette: The Thin Blue Line – The Darker Side of Police Force

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