Righteous Kill

Righteous Kill

It’s more like a righteous bore.

After the amazing crime drama Heat, I guess Robert De Niro and Al Pacino wanted to do another film together. It is a shame that this movie had to be their follow up. De Niro and Pacino both look bored and sleepwalk through the entire film. And, I’ll guarantee you’ll be asleep too before the second act.

Two detectives attempt to solve a series of crimes involving the murder of violent criminals. The murderer leaves poems at every crime scene. They find out that the murders hit closer to home than what they were led to believe.

This poorly directed and written movie is a total boring mess. Jon Avnet, the director, should be held responsible for this train wreck. Keep in mind that he also directed the horrible movie 88 Minutes with Al Pacino. Here, he further proves why he’s a crappy director.

For some unknown reason, Avnet feels the need to have a number of scenes in slow motion, needlessly in slow motion. Someone walks to a crime scene: slow motion! You usually use slow motion to enhance a scene, but not Avnet. Say what you want about Michael Bay, but at least he uses slow motion correctly. Avnet doesn’t have a clue. It’s like a child getting a new toy and he plays with it over and over again.

The story is so pedestrian that I don’t think anyone will remember the plot. The so-called twist isn’t much of a twist because the story never tries to throw you any curve balls to slow you from figuring it out. It’s lazy writing at its worst.

And for two seasoned detectives, they don’t do much detective work. The movie spends most of its time showing us the two friends playing softball, lifting weights, or going out to dinner. Make any homosexual subtext joke you like, because it’s there.

Pacino and De Niro should also bear some of the blame for this stupid movie. I’ve enjoyed both actors’ bodies of work over the years, but this movie isn’t their shinning moment. I have to wonder if they both made a bet to see which one could look more bored on screen. They both looked uninterested.

Don’t watch Righteous Kill. It’s not the type of bad movie you can watch and make fun. The direction and storytelling is boring. The actors looked bored. And, you’ll be bored too.

A real shame, because this could have been so good.

Grade: D+