Director makes an unholy mess of Righteous Kill
Added 11/20/2009
Apart from the cast, there's really very little to separate this from a whole slew of straight to DVD thrillers. Which makes it all the more a mystery why DeNiro and Pacino chose this as their next vehicle to star in together, having created such screen heat in.. well, Heat.
DeNiro and Pacino are both cops, both veterans (well, they'd have to be wouldn't they...) who end up investigating a vigilante serial killer. As the clues start to appear, suspicion grows that the killer is in fact a cop.. so who can be trusted, and just who is telling the truth...?
Well, that's the set up, but it's great potential is somehow fumbled. The tag line of `the two best actors alive at the top of their game' is certainly somewhat overstated, but the fault does not lie there - rather it is in a weak story directed in such a straight forward way that red herrings are just rather too obvious. It's really not that bad, and has its own stylistic flourishings along the way - however it is also not half as clever as it seems to think it is, and the ending is unlikely to surprise anyone. Fortunately it is only 97 minutes so does not overstay its welcome too long.. certainly bearable for an undemanding watch, but when you factor in the disappointment factor of having two such great stars so sorely underused, this would come down a notch to a two star movie...
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DeNiro and Pacino - The Sequel
Added 11/18/2009
With two screen legends, RIGHTEOUS KILL is like watching Ali and Frazier take each other on, long after their prime. Deniro is no longer the man he was in Raging Bull and Cape Fear, while Pacino holds steady in another grizzled veteran role. The missed opportunity here was to not give these two men more unique and dynamic roles - they had to be of all things, casted as old cops - which isn't so challenging. They both wear the role well, but you sense they're doing it easily in spite of the movie's twists.
Their previous pairing HEAT had only one scene with the two greats, but was a lot more exciting. Less thriller and more a character study, RIGHTEOUS KILL is watchable, but it doesn't raise your adrenaline. It's like watching the cops go toe-to-toe but never quite landing that KO punch.
The casting is strong, but with so many strong cop shows these days - there's no point in making these guys product. Deniro and Pacino can offer so much more - if you challenge them. That's what the studios should do. I'm hoping their next time out won't be a Walter Mattheau and Jack Lemmon kind of pairing.
RIGHTEOUS KILL isn't bad. It just isn't great. But it does give fans a chance to see two actors tango together which I believe was partly the point.
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Childhood memories!
Added 11/16/2009
Jon Avnet directed this shocking thriller with a visible approach to the documental style, giving us hints here and there that allow us to pick up the pieces of this complex and haunting story.
A serial killer is cleaning up the city from well known gangsters, corrupt collaborators but at the moment a priest is murdered, the film acquires a new dimension and the awful nightmare by this victim-executor, paves the way to build a solid and penetrating portrait.
It's useless to remark that both giants of acting like De Niro and Pacino ignite the screen with his well known gifts.
A not so original and much less innovative Noir but it surely will keep you hold to your seat. It made me remind to "Internal affairs" from the early Nineties.
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"There Was This Kid I Grew Up With ..."
Added 11/11/2009
Poor Al. Poor washed up Al.
Maestro, if you please ...
~ Look what they done to your song, Al. ~
~ Look what they've done to your song. ~
~ Well they tied you up and they turned you out ~
~ And it's comin' out all wrong, Al. ~
~ Look what they've done to your song."
Alas, Al Pacino *was* a great actor. This man (ecco homo!) this man was, at one time, The Prince of the City. New York *and* Hollywood!
Lemme tell ya a story ...
There was this kid I grew up with -- he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to me -- you know, short guy. We did our first work together -- worked our way out of the street. Things were good, we made the most of it. During the 60s we schtupped Tuesday Weld. Me first, then Al.
The 70s, we ran tye-dye shirts into Canada. Made a fortune. Mr. Pacino, his father, too.
As much as anyone, I loved him -- and trusted him. About as far as I could throw the Empire State Building. But that's another story.
Later on he had an idea. To build a theatre out of paper mache and put on productions like "Richard the Third Gets a Hickey." And "The Merchant of Venice Goes to the Catskills On His Way to the West Coast, The Clueless Schmuck."
And that kid's name was Al Pacino. And the theatre he founded here in New York City was the Max Bialystock Vernal Equinox Gardens.
This was a great wop. A paisan of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque -- or a signpost -- or a statue of him in this town!
Someone put an Ex-Lax in his gabaghoul sandwich. (Crapped for weeks.) No one knows (tic) who placed the order. When I heard about it, I wasn't angry. True, I laughed my ass off. But I wasn't angry.
I knew Al, I knew he was head-strong; I knew over the years he had built up a tolerance to laxatives. Farting loud, saying stupid flatulent things. So when he turned up with an overflowing enema bag (tic), I let it go. And I said to myself (tic) -- this is the show biz-a-niece we Italians have chosen. I didn't ask "Who placed the gabaghoul order?" -- because it had nothing to do with biz-a-niece!
Now I'm going in to take a nap. I had a peppers and sausheech sandwich that's laying right here, like a rock. When I wake, if Tuesday Weld in on the table ready to go, I'll know my prostate has a chance. If not, I'll know I don't.
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You Numb Nuts have to be joking!!
Added 10/26/2009
De Niro & Pacino were the movie they were awesome.
You people take movies way to serious, instead of trying
to enjoy them.
Non-stop action, suspence and had you goin one way and at the end
you find out you had it all backwards.
I give the movie a 5 of 5 stars.
If your a true fan of De Niro & Pacino you'll like it!!
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Pacino Looks As Bored In The Movie As The Audience Watching It
Added 11/24/2009
Just caught this on cable tv and I am thankful for three things after watching it:
1. I did not pay money to see it in the theaters
2. I did not pay money to buy the DVD
3. I did not pay money to rent the DVD
I would not send my worst enemy into the theater to watch this mess of a movie. I have never seen Pacino look so bored in front of the camera. I think he realized what a stinker the movie he was making would be and so just went through the motions. It doesn't help that Pacino is really starting to look his age, thus making him old, tired, and bored. I would hope a man of his enormous talent would be so picky and choosy about what movies he agrees to be in at this stage in his life. For the life of me I don't know what Pacino saw in the script, but whatever it was supposed to be, the end result was a terrible movie.
The other one star reviewers have done a good job of explaining what made the movie so bad, so I won't repeat them. Just know this is probably the worst Pacino film I have ever seen. Actually forget about Al, this would have been a terrible movie regardless of who was in the starring role. This is not so much a review as a warning to stay far away from this movie. If you decide not to read any of the one star reviews and buy it anyway, well then all I can say is you get what you deserve!
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Review of 88 Minutes
Added 10/12/2009
This is a fantastic movie. I love Al Pacino and this movie was not a dissapointment. Lots of action and suspense and until the end, I was held to my seat.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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88 minutes
Added 9/28/2009
Good movie, but when is Al pacino ever in a bad one. It was suspenseful and exciting. i recommend to anyone
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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