Righteous Kill (2008)

Two veteran New York City detectives work on a case of serial executions of criminals who escaped justice.

Director:

Jon Avnet

Writer:

Russell Gewirtz

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Carla Gugino

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Turk
Al Pacino	...	Rooster
50 Cent	...	Spider (as Curtis Jackson)
Carla Gugino	...	Karen Corelli
John Leguizamo	...	Det. Simon Perez
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Det. Ted Riley
Brian Dennehy	...	Hingis
Trilby Glover	...	Jessica
Saidah Arrika Ekulona	...	Gwen Darvis
Alan Rosenberg	...	Stein
Sterling K. Brown	...	Rogers
Barry Primus	...	Prosky
Melissa Leo	...	Cheryl Brooks
Alan Blumenfeld	...	Martin Baum
Oleg Taktarov	...	Yevgeny Mugalat

Storyline

Turk and Rooster, two aging NYPD detectives and longtime partners, are hunting a serial killer who is murdering sociopathic criminals. They both have personal issues, and when they start working with a younger investigative team, Perez and Riley, tensions between the two teams is inevitable, especially since Turk is now living with Perez's ex-girlfriend, also a homicide detective.

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Plot Keywords:

woman in a men's room | murder of a priest | washington heights manhattan | black pantyhose | weightlifting | 

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Taglines:

Watch your back.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Brian Dennehy are speaking about the murder investigation of "Bob Brady", De Niro says, "Seriously, Lieutenant, how far do you want us to go with this Rambo murder?" Dennehy was the main antagonist, "Sheriff Will Teasle" in First Blood (1982).

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Goofs

At the beginning, in the shooting gallery, the first targets being winched backwards alternate between intact and bullet-ridden.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rooster: One, between the eye!
Turk: Two, between the eye!

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, the sound of a train is heard.

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Connections

References Dirty Harry (1971)

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Soundtracks

Blue Dreams
Written by D. DiFonzo and Scott Schreer (as Scott P. Schreer)
Published by Freeplaymusic (BMI)
Courtesy of Freeplay Music

User Reviews

Disappointing thriller from legendary actors

Surely with a movie that stars both Al Pacino & Robert de Niro, you just can't go wrong? Both are legends of the big screen, and both are lauded for making legendary roles their own.

Yet sadly with "Righteous Kill" it just doesn't pay off. It's a thriller around a serial killer of various nefarious characters (pimps, drug dealers etc). The film begins with a confession by de Niro (a cop) that he is the killer, and we are led on a journey as he and his partner (Pacino) fight off another pair of cops who are suspicious that the trail leads to de Niro.

Having starred together in Heat, you'd expect some high standards, but for some reason the chemistry here just doesn't work and at points you think they really aren't interested. Fellow actors aren't too strong either, and much of the action seems to be just going with the flow. The storyline is interesting enough (with a good finale) but never seems to grip you through much of the film.

Overall, its a disappointment and you expect better from a film that has de Niro & Pacino together in it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Russian

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Righteous Kill

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,288,361, 14 September 2008

Gross USA:

$40,081,410

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$79,498,846

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films), Grosvenor Park Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1