‘Righteous Kill’ | 2 stars
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
The Kansas City Star
Two of the cinema’s most imposing figures — Robert De Niro and Al Pacino — share the screen but fail to light it up in “Righteous Kill,” a thriller far more interested in style than substance.
For more than 30 years Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino) have been NYPD partners. Turk is the volatile, short-tempered one; he has been called “a pit bull on crack.” Rooster is the slick talker who smooths things out in his partner’s wake.
When a vigilante killer starts picking off miscreants who have managed to escape justice, suspicion falls on the explosive Turk. Every now and then we see snippets of a video in which Turk seems to be confessing to the murders.
Of course, it’s not as easy as that … though it’s all too easy to figure out who the real serial killer is.
Anyway, “Righteous Kill” also features Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo as a couple of cops who become convinced of Turk’s guilt. Carla Gugino is a CSI type who has been dating Turk and has a thing for rough sex. Brian Dennehy is everybody’s boss.
“Righteous Kill” was helmed by Jon Avnet (the excruciatingly bad “88 Minutes”) with the sort of phony, frantic energy that suggests a director with little faith in his material.
Indeed, the screenplay by Russell Gewirtz is such a busy, plot-driven affair that it never allows us to know the characters beyond their affinity for profane, old-boy banter. Occasionally, the De Niro and Pacino characters — who are as much a couple as any married pair — rise above the melodrama and deliver a few memorable moments of rueful sarcasm.
But “Righteous Kill” feels underpopulated. These are great actors. Give them something great to act.
‘RIGHTEOUS KILL’ ★★
Director: Jon Avnet
Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Carla Gugino
Rated: R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use
Running time: 1:41
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