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:

The most acclaimed actors of our time in the film event of the year.

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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

While staking out Martin Baum (Alan Blumenfeld) as a potential suspect, Riley (Donnie Wahlberg) and Perez (John Leguizamo) talk about Turk's marksmanship scores, remarking about his skill and accuracy while saying "Even Berkowitz put a couple in the Corinthian leather." This is a reference to David Berkowitz, also known as the "Son of Sam", who was a serial killer who targeted young women with dark hair. In the Spike Lee movie, Summer of Sam (1999), John Leguizamo starred as a resident in a movie about the infamous Son of Sam, real name of David Berkowitz, and his effect on the citizens of a small neighborhood in New York City.

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Goofs

About 25 minutes in, a man in red trousers walks along the sidewalk. The same shot repeats about 10 minutes later.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

In the credits, there is a stunt double for Ms. Peltz.

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Connections

References Queen: Another One Bites the Dust (1980)

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Soundtracks

Il Trovatore - Tacea la Notte
Written by Giuseppe Verdi
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Like Lennon and McCartney... sure, if not with the best director

Righteous Kill is a kind of prototypical modern cop thriller that has the intonations of a neo-noir mixed in with some iconic figures. The script, in a way, is much better than I might have thought, and the actors- stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, in a film technically for the third time and for the first time technically in the frame for more than a few seconds (a pressure obviously from those who whined about their bit at the diner in Heat) as well as the likes of Brian Denehey and Carla Gugino- do their best to make it an entertaining ride. And for all of its recycled elements and plot turns and tough-guy take-no-s*** dialog, it's a fun ride for what it's worth as far as substance goes. You want to see what will happen with these two veteran cop characters as they delve deeper into this killer case (somewhat ripped off from Magnum Force, or something like that in terms of the victims), and what the "twist" will ultimately be.

For those who might think it tired or stiff, I wouldn't put any real blame on the stars, or even Gerwitz's (flawed) screenplay, which does occasionally pull off dark and funny banter and some coarse dialog and action and thrills to the degree that one saw in his Inside Man script. The problem mostly was the direction; Jon Avnet is not a visionary, nor is he a really well-suited neo-noir director. He's just a competent technician (if not veerying close to outright hack) enough to dig up a few potent bits or visual touches, and mostly tries to make the film "hip" and "fresh" and "inventive" with the approach to style in the flashbacks, and he doesn't possibly bypass the pitgalls in Gerwitz's script. What is pleasing, ultimately, about the picture is that it's not bad at all, and is actually a good movie. But with characters played by near generational icons dubbed in the film as "like Lennon and McCartney", this isn't quite up to their previous snuff together. They deserve just a little better with the likes of Godfather 2 and Heat to their previous collaborations.

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