Righteous Kill (2008)

Director:

Jon Avnet

Writer (WGA):

Russell Gewirtz (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Most people respect the badge. Everybody respects the gun.

Plot:

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Murder | Bar | Ex Girlfriend | New York City

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Tom 'Turk' Cowan
Al Pacino	...	David 'Rooster' Fisk
50 Cent	...	Spider (as Curtis Jackson)
Carla Gugino	...	Karen Corelli
John Leguizamo	...	Det. Simon Perez
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Det. Ted Riley
Brian Dennehy	...	Lieutenant Hingis
Trilby Glover	...	Jessica
Saidah Arrika Ekulona	...	Gwen Darvis
Alan Rosenberg	...	Stein
Sterling K. Brown	...	Rogers
Barry Primus	...	Dr. Prosky
Melissa Leo	...	Cheryl Brooks
Alan Blumenfeld	...	Martin Baum
Shirly Brener	...	Natalya

Also Known As:

Las dos caras de la ley (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
Õigustatud tapmine (Estonia) [et]
A Dupla Face da Lei (Portugal) (literal title) [pt]
A törvény gyilkosa (Hungary) [hu]
As Duas Faces da Lei (Brazil) [pt]
Asesinato justo (Spain) [es]
Frente a frente (Mexico) [es]
Kurzer Prozess - Righteous Kill (Germany) [de]
La loi et l'ordre (France) [fr]
Meurtre légitime (Canada: French title) [fr]
Oikeuden kasvot (Finland) [fi]
Orijinal cinayet (ler) (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Ou fonefseis (Greece) [el]
Pravedno ubojstvo (Croatia) [hr]
Sfida senza regole (Italy) [it]
Zawodowcy (Poland) (poster title) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #44434) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:16LV | Singapore:M18 | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Millennium Films

Trivia:

Carla Gugino played the sex partner of Robert De Niro in this movie. 15 years earlier, she played his daughter in This Boy's Life (1993)

Goofs:

Continuity: About 25 minutes in, a man in red trousers walks along the sidewalk. The same shot repeats about 10 minutes later.

Quotes:

Rooster: A righteous man before me stands. A hero in these filthy lands. A brother in arms in heart are you. I was really hoping you get it too.

Movie Connections:

References In the Line of Fire (1993)

Soundtrack:

We Fly High

Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, actors of the most classic and memorable films now do a mediocre thriller

Righteous Kill is one of those films that a lot of people have just been looking forward too because it has two of the greatest actors of our generation, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. I must add how I love in a lot of the TV ad's they're saying this is their first film together, true, it's the first time they are real co-stars together, but they've had two films already. Anyways, back onto the film, Robert and Al are both incredible actors, we know that, Robert is actually my favorite actor, so naturally I was looking forward to seeing this movie, I hate to say this, oh, man, I hate to say this, but this film was an utter disappointment. I'm not saying this was a bad movie, but this was a sad and very predictable thriller that could have been done with more average actors, Al and Robert are above this script and don't pull in their best performances due to that. The story is very mediocre compared to some of these terrific actors who looked so bored throughout the move.

Turk and Rooster are partners on the police force, having experienced over 30 years of constant bad guys going free, seeing the innocent's blood shed, and all the injustice in the world, they've almost lost it. Suddenly, there are murders involving the criminals they have arrested, along with younger officers, they try to figure out what is going on, but when one of the cops brings up that it might be a vigilante situation, Turk and Rooster are hesitant. Maybe they're hiding some secrets of their own.

Righteous Kill, don't get me wrong, it's worth the look, especially to see these cinematic legends on screen together, but like I said, for the script they were given, this was way too average and they are above it. I even hate to say it, this was very predictable if you've seen a lot of these thriller movies of today. Not to mention, I think Al Pacino, this must have been his third movie where he has worn that same leather jacket, I mean is it just me, or does anyone else notice this? Over all, it's not a bad movie, but it could have just been done with average actors, instead of all the hype that has been around it because of the actors. Just don't be fooled, it's a typical thriller, nothing special, I suggest waiting for the rental.

6/10