Righteous Kill

Radical Liberty

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Director of Righteous Kill, Jon Avnet is coming back to you shortly after he delivered 88 Minutes, the biggest mistake Al Pacino ever committed so far. Giving his face and name to that movie was a shocking development in the fabric of the known Universe, also it was one by which sanity performed an almost fatal illegal operation, thus a restart was unavoidable.

Now amazing Jon Avnet convinces yet another Big Gun to star in his latest, and - logically - freshest direction along with Al Pacino, who decides to stuck around to see if he can erase THAT 88 Minutes from his mind. Certainly you could help us doing the same, Al. If I recall correctly, Robert De Niro had/has a reputation of never turning down a role he is asked to play, either. He certainly had some shocking deliveries, like Showtime, where Eddie Murphy and him were supposed to be funny for 90 minutes. Thank the Upper Heavens it wasn't 88, though.

Fortunately, the results of De Niro and Pacino teaming up again since times immemorial makes for a solid crime story, with stable elements of murder mystery added to it. Many do claim that Righteous Kill writer Russell Gewirtz redefined the term: predictability with his work, but I tend to disagree: Gewirtz's narrative actually has a subtly playful fabric to it. Surely, you can announce yourself the Bad Enough Dude if you rip it apart, yet the plot works quite fluently if you let it to, dismissing the constant urge of thinking about where it might unravel to.

According to observations, no one, or at least very few is getting any younger, those of the latter class even seem to choose to stay away from showing themselves around for too long. The days by which De Niro and, particularly Pacino, could deliver credible action-oriented roles, are numbered. De Niro still has- and always will have the 1976 Taxi Driver Psychopath in himself, that adds an ageless quality to his persona, Al, on the other hand, lives- and acts on the respective shadows of his tremendous charm and passion, similarly timeless qualities that would be still present, in case Al wouldn't spend most of his time making everybody sure that they are still present.



Mannerisms are noticeable in Righteous Kill, but, you know what? I don't mind at all, I love to see Pacino and De Niro demonstrating the "best mannerisms" they think they possess. After all, why show a bad one of those, especially with millions of people watching. Fortunately, the script is aware- and fluent enough to offer relevant dialog work and corresponding screentime for both of these actor giants, while the supportive roles of Carla Gugino and popular/notorious American rapper 50 Cent are of further significance. Carla Gugino is an eloquent lady in real life, something that does not prevent her from committing brutal moments of overacting in this particular motion picture. At least this gives you something to remember her by. 50 Cent is great, since the character he plays is absolutely compatible with the Hip Hop culture 50 Cent is an essential part- and even noted representative of. Human Bull Brian Dennehy will be here, as well, to deliver his trademark Don't Even Try To Get Wise With Me, Boy! look. Here it is, as it is appearing in Righteous Kill:



Sorry, wrong order. This is the

- You Trying To Tell ME About Proper Roastbeef, Boy?

look. Let's try this one more time:



- Don't Even Try To Get Wise With Me, Boy!

Thank you Brian, you still have it, man! Sometimes the story is present in a movie only to make you/let you wonder where it is hiding. Fortunately, it plays an essential role in Righteous Kill. The buildup revolves around two cops, yet, one of them has a tendency of losing it, more precisely: he sometimes loses it, and loves losing it. Righteous Kill shares primal similarities with the classic movie Seven and its now-myriad variants.

The mutual prime element of these films are the mysterious punisher character who ruthlessly regulates sinner- or hedonistic butts according to the standards of a - given or invented - moral code. The nice thing about standards is that you can find one behind every single bush you encounter. The narrative here is quite similar. Righteous Kill focuses on a couple of crimes and their - closely - related criminals, whom, according to the punisher character, did not get satisfactory sentences for their misdeeds. The proper sentence the punisher cop is really fond- and keen at giving is: death, naturally. But not naturally.

Righteous Kill bears similarities with the great series Dexter, as well. The serial killer protagonist of the buildup in question needs to kill to satisfy his endless urge to do so. As Japanese people say: to live, you need to eat. So you eat, to keep on living. As with Dexter: to live, he needs to kill. So he kills to keep on living.

The peak sequences of Righteous Kill are very precious, but also are very short. Not a factor to blame the movie with, though. Their shortness is absolutely acceptable, even fruity, as their abruptness delivers an extra field of operation, making you realize that you just witnessed how the former dilemma of a lifetime informs you about having found the darkest answers. Having found the darkest ones - and loving them. You know what makes the darkest answer easy to spot? They are the ones that are frighteningly logical, and the punisher cop will paint HIS answers frighteningly logical, as well.

This protagonist character of Righteous Kill faces with the dilemma of how to handle his inner sense of justice when he sees it being totally ignored. The cop expresses that he always loved to kick the ass of rapists, bullies, video game designers and the likes, and he never could get away with seeing THEM getting away. Two options are given: first, be the good guy all the while, and see what THAT reality collides you with at the end of the line. Refused to take a peek? The punisher cop will tell you what prize is up to you: a handshake from the Mayor and your name engraved in a **** silver placket. The punisher cop refures to thread along this path. He chose to create a reality that offers much more satisfactory rewards than that - but all decisions come with a price.

In order to make this reality effective, the punisher cop must claim the radical liberty to take the position of one who properly judges and ruthlessly administers. Once again: the punisher cop is being asked how to handle his inner sense of justice when he sees it being totally ignored. The answer is to serve it anyway.



- Hey... hey... just... like... once, you know?
- .... what do you mean... just...o...once.....



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