![]() ![]() There are elements around the edges I enjoyed. I’ll go as far as to say that Righteous Kill is interestingly bad. Still, it’s a solid attempt, I guess? It’s trying! Look, I just saw Annabelle Comes Home, and I’m desperate to give a movie credit for trying.Īdam: Yeah, those Conjuring Universe movies are on autopilot for sure. In Righteous Kill, however, it makes everyone look doddering and confused. It evokes dreamlike mysteries and - even more importantly - keeps the narrative propulsive by separating the wheat from the chaff. It’s an effective technique in the hands of Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, or Christopher Nolan. Flashbacks, framing devices, unreliable narrators, etc. For example, it’s edited in an elliptical style where scenes will frequently interrupt and bounce over each other. Still, there’s something about all the posturing wanna-be toughness (not in plot, but in production design, cinematography, and editing) that kind of endeared me to Righteous Kill. Gugino is such a great actor that she can make a character like this not seem as gross as it actually is. Her character is there to be an object for male lust and then a plot device to fridge the hero by being assaulted near the end. The plot is a slog with a twist that feels more like a shrug to the audience than any kind of effective revelation.Īdam: I felt bad for Carla Gugino. Carla Gugino has nothing real to do and about ten minutes of screen time. De Niro and Pacino are totally sleepwalking. I like your “Re- Heat,” gag, and I joked to you in a text that Righteous Kill is Heat’s little brother trying to prove he’s as cool as his older sibling. This is, at best, a JV police thriller that completely wastes its overqualified cast. Rob: This was my first time seeing Righteous Kill, and I agree with everything you’re saying. Many other less-skilled actors could have taken on the parts of “Turk” and “Rooster.” Other than this being the opportunity that presented itself, it’s hard to figure out what made both actors say “this is the one” to bring them back together on screen with Righteous Kill. Righteous Kill feels like a total waste of De Niro and Pacino’s talents. This thriller is very similar to Pacino’s 2017 misfire Hangman, which went direct to VOD. The biggest issues with Righteous Kill are: a) De Niro and Pacino are playing tough-guy cops, but they’re old in this film and their macho posturing feels comical as a result, like two guys who can’t let go of their prime and are stuck in denial and b) The material here sucks. Back then, I thought it was pretty terrible and my opinion hasn’t changed in 2019, although I was able to enjoy it for little things which we’ll get into later in this review. Righteous Kill was poorly received when it came out in 2008 and this was only my second time seeing the movie myself. ![]()
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