A movie with the tagline: “”Most people respect the badge. Everyone respects the gun,”” may leave you expecting a film heavily wrought with thickly browed men spending their days “”keeping 99 percent of the population safe from the other 1 percent”” with chiseled jaws and cheesy lines. If this is your assumption about “”Righteous Kill,”” you would be correct.
New York City is plagued by a serial killer with a strong disliking for other killers, pimps and gunrunners, and leaves every victim a poem that would make even the most uninspired poets roll their eyes. It’s a sensationally similar idea to the recent rash of TV shows like “”Dexter”” and movies like “”The Brave One,”” both of which are also about people taking justice into their own hands.
Poultry-inspired and unscrupulous, detectives Turk (Robert DeNiro) and Rooster (Al Pacino) are assigned the case. Rooster is always holding Turk back from beating the bejesus out of some fellow cop or criminal, except for recently. Spider (50 Cent, or as he goes by in film, Curtis Jackson) got Turk’s gobbler and is placed on desk detail with appointments for a shrink.
Rooster and Turk’s interviews with the police investigator and the psychologist are on a spilt screen, as though this is the time to be taking notes on their similarities and differences.
Throughout the discovery of serial killer victims, a black-and-white confessional from one of the main characters irritatingly interrupts the scene, telling how they felt about it and why they did it.
Another irritating aspect of this movie is that the only female with more than three lines, evidence detective Karen Corelli (Carla Gugino), is passed around the force with gusto. Her other roles include placing evidence into baggies and getting raped by the serial killer. Awesome message.
“”Righteous Kill”” is lacking in subtlety and originality, and manages to siphon all of the joy of DeNiro and Pacino finally being in a movie together again. I recommend letting Cinemark rob you blind with some other movie.
Stars: 2
Runtime: 101 minutes
Company: Millenium Films
