Movie 79: Righteous Kill

Someone is killing criminals that have escaped justice. Veteran cops Rooster (Pacino) and Turk (De Niro) investigate, with the help of two younger detectives (Donnie Wahlberg and Johnny Legs). The team soon realise that its someone on the job that’s doing the killings and have to find out which of their own it is.

I really enjoyed this, but it’s apparently partly because I’m an idiot as I didn’t see the twist coming a mile away like everyone else. I can be an idiot that way sometimes when I just sit down to be entertained.

And I was. What you have here is four well played cops, all seem a bit bored with the job and crack wise. And you have two cops played by two very able veteran actors teaming up together for the first time. Pacino and De Niro make damned good partners, which makes sense as they’ve been dancing around each other for a couple of decades. This is the cop or gangster equivalent of Sly and Arnie having a punch up.

Or it would be if they didn’t share a scene in Heat. And if this wasn’t derided by fans and critics alike. It is a pretty standard cop thriller when you get down to it, the kind of thing that graces our screens on a daily basis. So don’t go in expecting anything remarkable. I went in with no major expectations and I think that might be WHY this has been lambasted so much, people expected a lot from what’s a basic procedural movie.

Outside of the two masters, the young cops are damned fine too if a little under drawn. John Leguizamo is a good actor when he’s given decent material, and a shitty actor when he’s making crappy films or has an annoying character. Here he’s good. And Marky Mark might be the Wahlberg with the Oscar nod, but Donnie is possibly the superior actor. He plays good cops. Apart from this check out Saw II (haven’t seen past that so can’t speak to how he does) or the mini series Kill Point. He’s basically playing the same character here, more or less, and he plays it well. Give him a gun and a badge and he’s a good actor.

He was also in New Kids On The Block, who I was a fan off. I wasn’t one of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Plus Donnie never fucked up a Planet of the Apes film, and he hasn’t sucked out loud in the last two things I saw him in. Mark has.

Yes, you can give me shit for the NKOTB thing. It was when I was a kid. No I’m not gay.

So if you go in to this with less than really high expectations and looking to enjoy an episode of Law & Order: Righteous Kill Unit you’ll like it. If you go in expecting the best cop movie ever made, you won’t. Quit all the bitching, it was entertaining enough even if I’m too dumb to see a twist coming.

Next up: Role Models