New York City police officers Turk (Robert De Niro) and Rooster (Al Pacino) hunt for a serial killer targeting former bad guys who got away from them the first time. Any murderer, rapist, pimp, and drug dealer who managed to avoid punishment for their criminal acts is fair game for a righteous killing. The killer in this case doesn’t just seek justice, but poetic justice. He leaves a four-line poem at the scene of all his murders.
Righteous Kill Begins Where It Ends
The story begins with Turk’s videotaped explanation/confession in which he describes the 14 vigilante killings and attempts to justify them. The film then introduces a series of these criminals – and occasionally their victims – before they meet their poetic demise. Aiding the two older cops are two younger partners (Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo) who strongly suspect that a fellow cop is the triggerman they seek. An attractive criminal investigator with kinky after-hours activities (Carla Gugino) also helps with the case. Although she’s having an affair with Turk, her loyalties may lie elsewhere.
As the story in Righteous Kill evolves, the audience gains insight into the philosophies of Turk (a softball fanatic) and Rooster (a chess enthusiast), a duo that protects ninety-nine percent of the population from the other deadly one percent. Their relationship for more than 30 years together on the force remains close and strong; they enjoy target practice together, spend time with each other outside of work, and share intimate personal and professional secrets. The head of the homicide squad (Brian Dennehy) starts putting pressure on Turk and Rooster regarding their apparent inability to solve the serial murders, and sends them to the department’s psychologist for analysis. These visits, along with clips from the videotape, form the framework for the story.
Strong Actors Reveal the Weak
When a film stars heavyweight actors such as Robert De Niro and Al Pacino (in many tight close-ups that reveal every idiosyncratic movement and facial feature), the rest of the cast need to perform their best or will look even worse by comparison. Gugino, Wahlberg, Leguizamo, and Dennehy certainly pull it off, bringing depth and excitement to their portrayals of police officers attempting to do their jobs while struggling with personal conflicts. In smaller roles – although they both have the right look for their parts – rapper Curtis Jackson (a.k.a. 50 Cent) as a tough drug dealer and skateboard champion Rob Dyrdek as a skateboarding pimp merely recite their lines as if they were friends recruited for a film student’s thesis project.
The screenplay, written by Russell Gewirtz, contains some great moments and a few fun scenes, but offers little in the way of surprises that haven’t already appeared in other crime drama buddy movies. Overall, the film excels with its acting (in the major roles), but lacks the suspense and punchy ending that make a truly memorable thriller.
- Righteous Kill
- Director: Jon Avnet
- Run Time: 101 minutes
- Rating: R (violence, pervasive language, some sexuality, drug use)
For more information about mystery thrillers, read Movie Review of Traitor.
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