RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Righteous Kill
Righteous Kill

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Righteous Kill (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
21 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 135

Fresh: 28

Rotten:107

Average Rating: 4.1/10

Consensus: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro do their best to elevate this dowdy genre exercise, but even these two greats can't resuscitate the film's hackneyed script.

Rated: R

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Sep 12, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $39,983,772

Synopsis: Academy Award® winners Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) and Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) star as a pair of veteran New York City police detectives on the trail of a vigilante serial killer in the... Academy Award® winners Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) and Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) star as a pair of veteran New York City police detectives on the trail of a vigilante serial killer in the adrenaline fueled psychological thriller Righteous Kill, directed by Jon Avnet (Red Corner, Fried Green Tomatoes) and written by Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man). The cast also features hip-hop superstar Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Get Rich or Die Tryin’).

After 30 years as partners in the pressure cooker environment of the NYPD, highly decorated Detectives David Fisk and Thomas Cowan should be ready for retirement, but aren’t. Before they can hang up their badges, they are called in to investigate the murder of a notorious pimp, which appears to have ties to a case they solved years before.

Like the original murder, the victim is a suspected criminal whose body is found accompanied by a four line poem justifying the killing. When additional crimes take place, it becomes clear the detectives are looking for a serial killer, one who targets criminals that have fallen through the cracks of the judicial system. His mission is to do what the cops can’t do on their own—take the culprits off the streets for good. The similarities between the recent killings and their earlier case raise a nagging question: Did they put the wrong man behind bars? --© Overture Films
[More]

Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Curtis Jackson, Carla Gugino

Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Curtis Jackson, Carla Gugino, Dan Futterman, Donnie Wahlberg, Trilby Glover, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo

Director: Jon Avnet

Director: Jon Avnet
Screenwriter: Russell Gerwitz
Producer: Rob Cowan, Avi Lerner, Randall Emmett, Jon Avnet, Lati Grobman
Composer: Ed Shearmur
Studio: Overture Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Disorder In The Court
    >
1 - 2 of 2

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 6, 2009

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Righteous Kill

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
02/27/09
Chris Bumbray
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Imagine this conversation: A phone call between actor Bob De Niro and director Marty Scorsese. Bobby: Hello, Marty. I've been calling and texting, but you never answer. (Silence) Bobby: I'm talking to you. Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?

Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | comment 2 Comments
02/01/09
Tony Macklin
Fayetteville Free Weekly

An overly decorated pinata afraid to expose the vacuum inside.

Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
01/20/09
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth

Pacino. DeNiro. Armed and dangerous. In a cop drama. In NYC. Together. Written by the writer of Inside Man. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, what could've gone so wrong?

Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
01/11/09
Brian Holcomb
CinemaBlend.com

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

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/09/08
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...the phrase phoning-it-in was practically invented for Pacino and De Niro's work here...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/26/08
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Russell Gewirtz's script is built around a trick, one that is simultaneously too clever by half and not clever at all (which itself is quite a trick).

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
11/12/08
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Nearly everything about this film is a cliché.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/05/08
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

Say it ain't so, Bobby and Al.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jason Matloff
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A derivative and increasingly silly crime thriller.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
10/18/08
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

There's nothing righteous about this tired and tiresome good cop/bad cop NYPD procedural from Avnet; in fact, it's pretty much an abomination from the get-go.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

So somebody finally got De Niro and Pacino to co-star in a movie together and this is the best they could come up with?

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment 1 Comment
10/18/08
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

The movie, which has more than 10 credited producers, feels like one of those slick, for-the-money projects Hollywood studios cook up via graph charts and marketing surveys.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
10/18/08
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

There's nothing righteous to be found here.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
10/18/08
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seeing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino circling the thin line between cop and criminal paints a giant grin on the face.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
10/18/08
Stina Chyn
Film Threat

Direct Avnet is just plain terrible, and screenwriter Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man) should be ashamed of himself.

Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
10/12/08
Michael Dance
The Cinema Source

Teria sido melhor se eles tivessem seguido o exemplo de Paul Newman e Robert Redford e interrompido a parceria enquanto esta ainda era trazia um histórico impecável.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
10/10/08
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Moviegoers that haven't seen alot of cop mysteries will probably like it. I have seen too many of them so it was very unoriginal and just silly.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
10/08/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

It's good to see the two great actors of their generation back together in Righteous Kill. Frankly, though, although a few sparks of fire at times, the heat has subsided significantly.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
09/29/08
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

Why on earth did these legends sign on board? Surely better scripts must get passed along the golf course?

Full Review Source: Mansized | comment 1 Comment
09/28/08
Chris Laverty
Mansized
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Righteous Kill

January 21, 2009: Razzies Name 2008's Worst Movie Nominees
No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners will... More...

January 04, 2009: Equally gritty old school crime thriller and flashy seductive post-modern whodunit noir, along with De Niro's off the job kinky rough sex lover forensic babe (Carla Gugino) who likes him to role play criminals in bed, Righteous Kill delivers the goods. Opens in new window
More...

January 03, 2009: Equally gritty old school crime thriller and flashy seductive post-modern whodunit noir, along with De Niro's off the job kinky rough sex lover forensic babe (Carla Gugino) who likes him to role play criminals in bed, Righteous Kill delivers the goods. Opens in new window
More...

November 28, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: Local Critics Warm To Changeling; De Niro Delights But What Just Happened Doesn't
It's Friday, there's a new raft of movies in the UK cinemas this week, but are any of them any good? This week the UK film hacks give us their opinions on Clint Eastwood's... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Righteous Kill

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
—
The Code
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
39%
39%
Inkheart
80%
80%
Gran Torino
26%
26%
Tyler Perry's Madea Go…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
84%
84%
Two Lovers
04%
04%
Street Fighter: The Le…
27%
27%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Jonas Brothers - The C…

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

Watch the RT Show!

Watch the RT Show!

Watch the RT Show on Current TV, Thursday!

50 States, 50 Movies

50 States, 50 Movies

This July 4th, take a cinematic road trip!

Johnny Depp's Best Movies

Johnny Depp's Best...

The finest work from Public Enemies' star.

Fred Durst's Faves

Fred Durst's Faves

The singer/director talks movies and more.

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Sony's Amy Pascal Explains Moneyball Balk Source: Los Angeles Times
6
  • Three Theaters Getting Harry Potter in IMAX Opening Day Source: Collider.com
18
  • Weekly Ketchup: Adam Sandler joins The Zookeeper, David Fincher joins Facebook
72
  • Zak Penn Talks The Avengers Source: Sci Fi Wire
20
  • Watchmen Director's Cut Headed to Theaters Source: Collider.com
32
  • Lorenzo di Bonaventura Talks G.I. Joe, Beverly Hills Cop 4, More Source: Collider.com
14
  • (Teaser) Trailer Bulletin: The Last Airbender Source: MTV
61
  • Johnny Depp Talks Alice, Pirates 4, Dark Shadows Source: Collider.com
12
  • New Alice in Wonderland Concept Art, Stills Posted Source: USA Today
26
  • Cruise and Abrams Embark on Fourth Mission: Impossible Source: Hollywood Reporter
62
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Michael Jackson, King of Pop: 1958 - 2009
186
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers 2 Generates Explosive Box Office
168
  • Critics Consensus: Solid Public Enemies Doesn't Quite Bring The Noise
99
  • Five Favorite Films with Fred Durst
83
  • RoboGeisha: 2009's Most Insane Trailer?
64