Righteous Kill
Directed by: Jon Avnet Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Donnie Wahlberg, Jon Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, 50 Cent, Brian Dennehy Synopsis: Detectives “Turk” (De Niro) and “Rooster” (Pacino) are both aging experienced cops who’ve seen a lot of bad things done to good people over the years. When the System has fallen down, their sense of righteousness has led them on occasion to fabricate evidence so the bad-guys are found guilty. While investigating drug dealer Spider (50 Cent), they also cross paths with a vigilante serial killer, and after teaming up with detectives Perez and Riley (Leguizamo and Wahlberg), they begin to wonder if the killer is also a cop... Review: Ever since “Heat”, audiences have been waiting to see De Niro and Pacino share the screen together again. Sometimes though, you have to be careful what you wish for.
In recent years we’ve been spoilt rotten with good police procedural shows on tv, such as The Shield and The Wire. Righteous Kill’s script wouldn’t cut the mustard on either of those series. In fact, it feels like a throw-back to the late ‘80s, early ‘90s.
De Niro and Pacino’s performances feel like they belong in an entirely different movie. The whole thing would have been much more digestible if Wahlberg and Leguizamo were the central characters – they’re much more fun to watch and make a more believable partnership (possibly because they worked together on the mini-series The Kill Zone). De Niro and Pacino on the other hand seem to have an almost puppy-dog affection for each other. 
The script is all over the place, trying to cram too much into 100 minutes and never really developing any of it. And due to the structuring of the story it telegraphs all its surprises way too far in advance.
Verdict: This is a major step backwards for police procedurals, a genre I usually enjoy. I enjoyed Wahlberg and Leguizamo’s performances but other than that, Deathrace had more entertainment value. 4 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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