The long-awaited reteaming of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino—not seen together onscreen since 1995's Heat—is wasted on a conventional cop thriller whose surprise “reveal” turns out to be anything but. As trash-talking NYPD detectives and longtime partners, De Niro (as Turk) and Pacino (as Rooster) are given puerile dialogue and put in situations so unbelievable as to be just plain silly. Although Turk and Rooster are fundamentally honest, they've also broken rules when the authorities seemed incapable of bringing particularly heinous criminals to justice. Their original sin in this regard—securing a child killer's conviction with planted evidence—comes back to haunt the detectives when a string of related murders produces evidence pointing to Turk. Carla Gugino is rather improbably cast as a hardboiled CSI cop and Turk's lover, while John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg fare somewhat better as younger detectives who are convinced that their fellow officers are dirty. Many viewers will guess the real killer, who is unmasked in a dopey, perfunctory climax that appears to have been staged almost as an afterthought. Righteous Kill, which limped into theaters during early fall of 2008, made little impression on critics or moviegoers. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary with producer/director Jon Avnet, “The Thin Blue Line: An Exploration of Cops & Criminals” featurette (19 min.), “The Investigation: An In-Depth Look” behind-the-scenes featurette (15 min.), and trailers. The Blu-ray release also includes a bonus digital copy. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing thriller.] (E. Hulse)
Righteous Kill
Anchor Bay, 101 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Jan. 6 Volume 24, Issue 1
Righteous Kill
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