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Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Curtis Jackson, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg ... see more see more... , Trilby Glover , Shirly Brener , Melissa Leo , Oleg Taktarov , Alan Rosenberg , Alan Blumenfeld , Rob Dyrdek , Brian Dennehy , John Leguizamo , Saidah Aprika , Sterling K. Brown , Barry Primus , Frank John Hughes , Terry Serpico , Liza Colon-Zayas , Malachy McCourt , Ajay Naidu , Charles F. Krichman Jr.

Jon Avnet's thriller Righteous Kill stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as a pair of Big Apple police officers investigating a series of murders committed by a serial killer. Carla Gugino co-stars as a... read more read more... crime-scene investigator who has romantic ties to De Niro. 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and John Leguizamo co-star. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

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44% liked it

87,391 ratings

Critics

19% liked it

140 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Jon Avnet

Release Date: September 10, 2008

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DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009

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Stats: 6,715 reviews

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826 PARANORMAL WITH DIRECTOR JON AVENT 826 PARANORMAL WALKS THE MOVIE BEAT LEGUIZAMO ON SET WITH 826 PARANORMAL /J.MYERS Righteous Kill Righteous Kill 826 PARANORMAL WITH AL PACINO Righteous Kill Karen Corelli Righteous Kill Karen Corelli 826 PARANORMAL WITH CARLA GUGINO Righteous Kill Righteous Kill Righteous Kill Righteous Kill Righteous Kill Righteous Kill Righteous Kill
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Flixster Reviews (6,715)

  • clintervin
    September 23, 2011
    clintervin
    Righteous Kill is an average police mystery/thriller, terribly disappointing considering the two acting giants who star in it. I always like Carla Guginio and John Lequizamo too, but they don't add much here. So, all these actors have done impressive work before, but director Jon... read more Avnet doesn't get much done here. There is some intensity, but its all clichéd and formulaic. Really, is this the best everyone could do? I enjoyed watching Pacino and DeNiro (Rooster and Turk?) together, but RK doesn't compare to Heat, much less Godfather II. This is essentially a bigger budget episode of Law and Order.
  • BEACHBUNNI
    March 17, 2011
    BEACHBUNNI
    ok...a pair of seasoned cops, Turk (Robert De Niro) and Rooster (Al Pacino) are on the case when a serial killer with a vigillante streak starts bumping off bad guys in New York City.They team up with younger detectives Perez and Riley and assisted by crime scene specilist Karen ... read moreCorelli they work to uncover the killers identity with little more to go on than a poem left as a calling card at the scene of each crime.
    has an obvious twist~!
  • CreedsDelight
    February 13, 2011
    CreedsDelight
    I thought it would be good, haven't seen them together since Heat. So I had extremely high expectations. This movie sucked. The acting was on top but it's terrible story can't save it.

    Grade: D
  • Deano78
    November 19, 2010
    Deano78
    An average film that has been over criticized because it features two great actors rarely seen together in a film. They do ok with the performances but the film is a bit predictable about half way through. It could have been quite a good serial killer film with a different twist ... read moreto the norm, but by trying to tell you who the killer is right away kinda spoiled what could have been a much better film. It's not worth comparing to Heat, one that's much better obviously but it's a different kind of cop film to this. Just ok overall......but people expect more.
  • MeetMeinMontauk
    November 4, 2010
    MeetMeinMontauk
    I think the miss here was the story. It wasn't a completely bad premise, just not well executed. The best part was the end. I thought it was well acted and all but eh. Won't remember it, won't watch it again.
  • cosmo313
    August 15, 2010
    cosmo313
    While it's nice to see De Niro and Pacino in their third film together (but only the second one where they share screentime), the reunion is really disappointing. They are onscreen a lot together here, but the material just sucks. Maybe it's better to have them be in a movie toge... read morether where they don't have much time with one another, but the material is far better. I think that's probably (and unfortunately) the best way to do it since it is both logistically and financially difficult to get either one of these guys to do a movie nowadays, let alone one together, especially where money is concerned. You'd think Hollywood would get that, but no. They care more about hype and selling tickets than producing something amazing. Thank God HEAT actually was a brilliant piece of work. In all honesty though, as great as it is to see them together, maybe it's just better to dream about such a thing happening, instead of it actually taking place (with the exception of HEAT).

    Pacino and De Niro actually do give good perforances here, despite the material. How their performances rank compared to their respective filmographies leaves a lot to be desired, but overall, they've each given worse performances in other movies. The rest of the cast is kinda the same way. Not bad work, just mediocre stuff to work with.

    I'm okay with plot twists, but the red herring here (and the big twist) really force you to suspend a lot of disbelief...moreso than I can buy really. I won't get into it, but I find it hard to believe that, aside from the red herring and the film's epilogue, that these two guys would solely be known by their nicknames. I think the main problems with why this film is a disappointment are the screenwriter and the director. Neither guy is all that good, Quality actors (and that includes the supporters, too) deserve better stuff and directors to guide them, especially in a film like this with so many notables.

    If these Bobbay and Al ever do another film together, let's just hope it's better than this mess. I'm sure people thought lighteing would strike again by having these two team up again, but sadly, even the Earth barely moves, and that's a shame.
  • MrMarakai
    June 12, 2010
    MrMarakai
    Robert De Niro & Al Pacino in another film together? You beauty! We are in for a real treat.
    Actually, we're not in for a treat. We're in for one of the most dire, most abysmal, most predictable pieces of nonsense, your likely to see.
    I have never been so disappointed with a f... read moreilm in my entire life. How can anything with these two great actors working together, be bad? Here's how...the screenplay is an absolute mess with a so-called twist that's apparent very early on and two actors who, by the looks of it, know they have nothing to work with. Added to this, it's all in the hands of director Jon Avnet, who is an incompetent buffoon and relies completely on the two great actors carrying him. To be fair, the fact that 50 Cent was in the cast should have been warning enough.
    A real waste of a great opportunity to create something special. Ultimately, it's just a straight to T.V. turkey with nothing Righteous about it.
  • Redlats
    May 30, 2010
    Redlats
    Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as veteran cops hunting a serial killer. It was OK - not the best. They may be big stars, but they are showing their age. Plus the story left a bit to be desired.
  • lewiskendell
    April 13, 2010
    lewiskendell
    Righteous Kill is utterly pointless, and as a result, it's pretty dull, too. The average person will take about five to ten minutes to realize what's going on, and after that it's an hour and a half of just waiting. This movie is seriously beneath most of the people involved in i... read moret. I hope they got paid very well, at least.

    The ending is emotionally shallow, completely expected and drags on way longer than it needed to. The biggest surprise was how much time they could ring out of the finale, it just kept going and going. There are much better cop stories on the tv shows that come on ABC or CBS on any given night. It's annoying to see a movie reaching so hard to draw some kind of emotional reaction from the viewer. Child molestation, sexual assault, sob stories; no stone is left unturned in an effort to get the audience to care about at least one of these paper-thin character. Sorry, no success.
  • allan913
    March 13, 2010
    allan913
    It's a knockout. A complete powerhouse of a thriller that laced with suspense, a great cast and explosive action. A tremendous, thrilling, intelligent and sensational film. It is always entertaining with enough action, drama and surprises to keep you satisfied. It's spellbinding,... read more adrenaline-pumping, breathtaking and exhilarating all the way through to the end. Absorbing, dark, cold, compelling, intensely gripping, hard-edged and riveting. Well-paced, well-crafted, terrifically written and superbly performed by it's very talented cast. Powerful, extraordinary and unforgettable. Absolutely incredible, heart-pounding and spectacular. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are magnificent, brilliant, compelling and have never been better. Just amazing performances by two amazing actors. It's awesome to see these guys take the screen together again. Their chemistry is brilliant, they have style, humor and attitude. You couldn't ask for a better match up. Where in Heat, they were squaring off, we got only a taste of them being in a few scenes together, where as here they own every scene they are in. A masterpiece. Director, Jon Avnet's best film yet. A fantastic and excellent film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. One of the best police thrillers in years.

View All Righteous Kill Reviews

Critic Reviews

Joshua Katzman
December 9, 2008
Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader

This thriller by Jon Avnet is mostly by the numbers, and its surprise ending, though effective, feels somewhat forced. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
November 5, 2008
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

Nearly everything about this film is a cliché. Full Review

Jason Matloff
October 18, 2008
Jason Matloff, Boston Globe

Say it ain't so, Bobby and Al. Full Review

James Berardinelli
October 18, 2008
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

There's nothing righteous to be found here. Full Review

David Denby
September 22, 2008
David Denby, New Yorker

The movie is hectic, exhausting, and baffling. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
September 17, 2008
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

It's not much fun to see these two reduced to Mad TV parodies of themselves. In the right movie, they'd stop coasting on their legends long enough to remind us how they became them. Full Review

Christopher Orr
September 12, 2008
Christopher Orr, New Republic

Here's what I took away from Righteous Kill, the grade Z cop thriller...: If you can come up with the scratch, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino will do anything: kid's parties, bar mitzvahs, retirement lun... Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
September 12, 2008
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

In the end, neither actor can muster the energy to rise above the subpar material. Full Review

Mary Elizabeth Williams
September 12, 2008
Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com

Director Jon Avnet generously puts the actors together as often as possible, and the sheer satisfaction of watching Michael Corleone and Travis Bickle spark off each other almost mitigates the utter h... Full Review

Bruce Demara
September 12, 2008
Bruce Demara, Toronto Star

The power couple's onscreen chemistry, which should be the film's strongest calling card, is merely adequate, a major disappointment for those expecting a tug o' war between screen titans. Full Review

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  • What is the name of the new Film Pacino and De Niro are doing together?  Answer »
  • What recently released crime thriller saw Robert De Niro and Al Pacino acting together again?  Answer »
  • 'Righteous Kill' is an Al Pacino movie.  Answer »
  • 'Righteous Kill' is a Robert De Niro film.  Answer »
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