Kurzer Prozess – Righteous Kill (2008)

Kurzer Prozess – Righteous Kill: Directed by Jon Avnet. With Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Carla Gugino. Two veteran New York City detectives work on a case of serial executions of criminals who escaped justice.

“FINALLY! DeNiro! Pacino! Together! For more than one scene! I couldnu0026#39;t wait. Iu0026#39;m also happy to say that, while the film wonu0026#39;t be winning any Oscars, it isnu0026#39;t bad by any means, and is certainly an improvement over Pacino and director Jon Avnetu0026#39;s last film, 88 Minutes. Avnet is growing as a filmmaker, and has learned from past mistakes. Righteous Kill is an acceptable mystery film, and of course, features two great performances from two of the greatest of all time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRighteous Kill, despite having the two leads that it does, is really a directoru0026#39;s film, and Jon Avnet cloaks the film in a black blanket of mystery very well. While the main plot twist of the film (and oh, there are many of them) is sort of obvious, the fact that thereu0026#39;s more to it than that really helps the film and saves it from oblivion.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat I liked most about the film, however, was the casting of DeNiro in a role Pacino would normally play (the hotheaded cop who just canu0026#39;t seem to keep his mouth shut or stop cursing), and Pacino in a role DeNiro would normally play (the reserved, yet silently intense friend). The film is split up into two parts, each showcasing the talents of one of the legends. Unfortunately, I canu0026#39;t really describe the performances in a deep way without coming close to spoilers, but rest assured, both are excellent. John Leguizamo is a nice addition as a hot headed detective at odds with DeNiro, and Carla Gugino as the eye candy was not a mistake by any means. I have no comment on the inclusion of 50 Cent in this film. Thankfully, he doesnu0026#39;t have a ton of screen time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe script of the film, on paper, isnu0026#39;t really good, but thereu0026#39;s a few techniques that really work on screen, such as the main charactersu0026#39; nicknames, and the feeling that almost everyone in the film is bad. I definitely like Avnet a little more now. DeNiro and Pacino share a wealth of screen time and have a lot of meat to chew on as actors, especially DeNiro, who turns up the intensity and the New York accent (itu0026#39;s a little stronger here than it normally is). While the film wonu0026#39;t go down as legendary, I think every fan of both actors will be pleased and will smile at numerous moments just because these two are playing off each other so often, and so well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy complaints lie with the emotional feel of the film, which I felt wasnu0026#39;t strong enough. I wanted to shed tears in the end, but for some reason, I couldnu0026#39;t. I wonu0026#39;t say the acting in the climax could have been stronger, but had it been done in a different way, I might have liked it a bit more. All in all, Righteous Kill is not a bad film, as it managed to keep my attention and hold me in suspense for itu0026#39;s duration without making me feel frustrated. It definitely requires your full attention, and may even require a couple of viewings.”