Old Guards

Actor Robert De Niro turned 65 this past August, while Al Pacino, his onscreen costar in the newly released “Righteous Kill” is now 68. After appearing together in just one scene in 1995’s "Heat," movie fans have longed for another onscreen pairing of the legendary actors. Although both men were nominated for Oscars for their work in “The Godfather, Part II” in 1974, they shared no scenes together. With “Righteous Kill” the wait is over, but the result is less then satisfying. Couldn’t Hollywood produce a more fitting script for these two legends of the modern silver screen other than this routine CSI-style cop drama?De Niro and Pacino play veteran NYPD detectives, who revisit a case they solved years ago only to stumble upon a possible serial killer who may or may not turn out to be a cop. And when a child killer is acquitted and set free, the two aging detectives conspire to put him behind bars by planting evidence in the case. Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino) like many movie cops in recent memory break as many laws solving crimes as the criminals do that they put behind bars. As unbelievable as it seems to have two elder police detectives doing the work of men usually twenty or thirty years their junior, De Niro almost pulls it off at times. Pacino is the harder sell, appearing more weathered and too tired to be kicking down doors anymore. This suspension of disbelief is made slightly bearable only by the charm of the film’s two stars. If you ever saw 1975’s “Brannigan,” which featured a 67 year old John Wayne as a Chicago cop hunting down a mobster while visiting London you’ll know what I mean. Director Jon Avnet injects a gimmick only 20 minutes into the movie that will make the inevitable conclusion come as no surprise to the film’s audience. I certainly figured it out early on and just in case you somehow missed it, just pay a bit more attention to those silly nicknames Turk and Rooster that scriptwriter Russell Gerwirtz came up with. The addition of two younger detectives on the case played by John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg, (veterans themselves of many a cop drama) add virtually nothing to the film’s uninspired plot or running time. And the minor subplot featuring Carla Gugino (“American Gangster” and TV’s “Entourage”) as Turk’s kinky girlfriend and fellow cop just passes the time until the final scene plays out. Gerwitz won praise for his tight script for 2006’s “Inside Man,” but this time around he relies too much on conventional plotlines and familiar characters that lack any real cleverness or depth to be really interesting. While watching “Righteous Kill” I kept thinking about the last onscreen paring of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in “Tough Guys” made in 1986. Even a pedestrian film like that had more charm and cleverness and offered more genuine character development to it’s stars then “Righteous Kill” does. When making a police thriller with stars like De Niro and Pacino, who gave seminal performances in films like “Taxi Driver” and “Serpico,” wouldn’t a filmmaker like David Fincher (“Seven,” “Zodiac”) be more appropriate? One can only imagine what Martin Scorsese, whose Oscar-winning “The Departed” seem to inspire much of “Righteous Kill’s” 101 minutes, would have done with the material. It’s not too late of course, maybe the right script will come along that will offer these two genuine actors of the big screen a chance to pair up once more in something more rewarding for both them and their audience.