And by clever, I mean not clever at all.
Righteous Kill is a film that is insultingly bad that essentially banks itself on the pull of the fact that it is only the second film in existence where DeNiro and Pacino share scenes together (the other of course being the Michael Mann's brilliant Heat). From the very first moment of the film, DeNiro and Pacino are standing side by side while at target practice. As the camera gives them each a close-up, their names pop up next to their faces. Even the editing team knew that this was all the film had- two legends on their last legs sharing scenes together once again. After their close ups have passed and the two begin firing at the targets ahead of them, the rest of the credits pop up in a rapid fashion over black while generic rap / rock / techno (?) plays in the background. When DeNiro and Pacino show up between these cheap credits, they are filmed in a rapid fast fashion that is like pretty much like every action film that has come out in the last five years. This opening tips off exactly how the rest of the film will play out- it will be cheap, uninspired, generic, shoddy, and will milk the DeNiro / Pacino team-up at every chance possible.
How this thing didn't just go straight-to-DVD is beyond me. Everything about the film screams to be put up on the shelf with the rest of the STD new releases of the week.
First off, don't get me wrong- I went into this movie knowing that it was going to be bad. In fact, that's one of the reasons I went (other than to see DeNiro and Pacino on screen together again). However, this thing was so bad that it didn't even fall into the "so bad it's good" category. Instead, it fell into the "this is so bad it's not even fun to watch" category. There were times in this movie where I was so un-entertained that I actually considered walking out. For me, that's really bad. For the record, I have never walked out of a movie but, I have to admit, there were a couple of time where I considered it in this piece of crap.
So what makes Righteous Kill such a terrible movie? For me, the worst thing about this movie was hack director Jon Avnet. How he has managed to cast Al Pacino in two of his horrible movies back-to-back is beyond me (I haven't seen 88 Minutes but it's somehow supposed to be worse than this... I can't even imagine that). Avnet has no idea how to shoot a scene. Really, he doesn't. Every scene in this film feels sloppy, under-planned, and poorly-thought-out. Because of this, there is no emotional pull to any of the film. Avnet also has a penchant for using really cheesy slow-motion and a terrible grainy filter every time someone is killed. It looks awful and feels... you guessed it, straight-to-DVD. In fact, every time Avnet tries to some kind of stylistic device, it just causes him to fall flat on his face again and again. That whip-pan between shots during the DeNiro / Pacino interviews? Laughable. That fast motion tracking shot in the club? Distracting and unnecessary. Avnet also has no idea how to direct an action or suspense scene for that matter. Every scene where any kind of tension is needed, it is lacking because Avnet has no idea how to stage this kind of sequence or build any kind of suspense (also, the fact that we don't really care about any of the characters doesn't help either). Avnet's direction in this film is just awful and I cannot believe that he was the director that DeNiro and Pacino let direct them in their second film together. This guy is a hack that doesn't even deserve to be shooting television commercials.
The editing in this film was also pretty terrible. At times, I wasn't sure what was going on. The transitions between certain scenes was non-existent. The story had no flow to it and it was really awkward to watch. Of course, the editor wasn't really working with great material to begin with but he could have at least tried to make the film flow a little better than it already did.
The bad directing and editing can also come back to the bad script by Russell Gewirtz. Surprisingly, Gewirtz also wrote the script for the pretty good Inside Man but, in this case, the script is unoriginal crap. Or maybe it isn't... maybe Avnet just ruined it. Actually... maybe not... I'm not sure if you could have a good story to begin with and have what was on the screen result from it. The story presented had no flow, rhyme or reason. Characters were poorly developed if developed at all. And what was up with the Karen character played by Carla Gugino? What was her deal? From what I gathered, she was just a slut forensics worker that did it with every cop on the force and in the roughest way possible. Okay... I just didn't get the point. That scene with Pacino describing to her how DeNiro beat up Spider was just weird and awkward (and not just for me). Every sex scene involving her was also pretty awkward as well (despite the lack of nudity). Gugino is too talented to be playing a character like this. Oh well, at least she has Watchmen coming up.
Anyways... back to the story problems...
I did not buy the whole reasoning behind the murders or the cheap twist at the end of the film. First off, anyone who has ever seen a movie before will be able to figure out the twist in the first five minutes. However, the delivery of the twist and the reasoning behind it was just sloppy, unrealistic, and ridiculous. No one would become a serial killer for a reason like that. It's just too drastic of a change for someone to undergo because of something like that. Also, the camera device was so unbelievably cheap. Way to insult my intelligence. Also, why did that character even go so far as to commit the "unforgivable act" (and why didn't they just say what it was... I know what was implied but it bothered me how they kept tip-toeing around it like that). It just doesn't make any sense. Lastly, the big showdown that resulted after the big reveal was poorly done (once again, Avnet's fault) and lacked any kind of suspense or emotion for that matter. It just felt sloppy like the rest of this film.
Did I have any other problems? Yeah, lot's... but to be honest, I'm really sick right now (the second time in a month which is a rarity for me) and tired so I'll go through this fast. First off, the acting wasn't that great from the supporting characters. Gugino didn't really have anything to work off of so she is forgiven. Donnie Wahlberg, on the other hand, played the same hard-a cop that he plays in every movie where he's a cop (Saw II, anyone?). I'm not much of a John Leguizamo fan to begin with so seeing him play a stock character of an angry cop with Wahlberg didn't do much for me. Curtis Jackson (aka 50 Cent) is not an actor so, obviously, he was pretty awful. This guy should not be in movies to begin with, let alone one with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino.
In case you haven't noticed, I really didn't enjoy this movie at all. Every now and then, there would be something to gather my interest (the conversation between DeNiro and Pacino about how Underdog is responsible for most of the youth being on drugs was hilarious) but, for the most part, I couldn't stand what I was seeing. The direction was horrendously bad to an extent that it wasn't even funny, the story was all over the place and awkward in its pacing, and the film lacked any kind of emotion or pull once so ever. This was just a bad, bad movie through and through. Still, every now and then, it was nice to see DeNiro and Pacino act together, even if they were being completely wasted in a terrible film. They both still have a great sense of timing and delivery and I'm convinced that they could really still be in some great films before they finally kick the bucket. All they need is a competent director, a decent editor, and an original script and they are good to go.
Overall, avoid this film. It's the least fun I've had watching a movie in some time.
2/10
