De Niro and Pacino fail to heat up the screen

I hate to ask, but are Robert De Niro and Al Pacino just too old to be badass anymore? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘… I hate to ask, but are Robert De Niro and Al Pacino just too old to be badass anymore? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s true that the films they were in together were considered monumental. No one will ever forget ‘Godfather II’ or ‘Heat’ ‘mdash; they will go down in film history as landmarks of badassery. Unfortunately, ‘Righteous Kill’ is far from a masterpiece. In fact, it’ll be lucky if it stays in the theater longer than three weeks. ‘Righteous Kill’ is an extremely disappointing crime drama with a weak twist. The serial killer whom the cops (De Niro and Pacino) are after is actually ridding the streets of rapists and dope dealers who squeeze their way out of court. So, the only thing advertisers had going for them when creating media hype were two big Academy Award-winning names. When these two star in the same movie, you’re guaranteed box office gold, right? Too bad it isn’t that easy anymore. Even though De Niro was actually the person who convinced Pacino to join ‘Righteous,’ neither actor has the stuff to pull off a roll like this anymore. Yet, even if three more big-name stars were put on the cast, this movie would still come short. De Niro comes in front of Pacino, however, in that anger and aggression come ‘oh so natural’ to him ‘mdash; especially in the hardcore sex scene between De Niro and his fellow cop who could be his daughter. It sounds like something nasty sexual deviants would Google ‘mdash; ‘Hardcore Robert De Niro XXX,’ not something that draws crowds to a theater. Pacino, on the other hand, is trying to be something he isn’t: the eager partner who respects and follows his mentor (De Niro) like Daniel Larusso emulating Mr. Miyagi in ‘The Karate Kid.’ The only performance that was semi-noticeable was the character Spider portrayed by Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent. Even though Jackson played a rough, down-to-business, street thug boss, he really did a decent job. Maybe he’s meant for acting, or maybe it helped that Jackson was a rough street thug in real life. When talking about experience, though, it must be noted that ‘Righteous’ was writer Russell Gewirtz’s second screenplay. ‘Inside Man,’ the 2006 film starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, was Gewirtz’s breakthrough into Hollywood and so far his only hit. Additionally, director Jon Avnet debuted in 1991 and has had such ‘hits’ as ‘The Mighty Ducks,’ ‘The Three Musketeers’ and ‘George of the Jungle.’ If Avnet needs to make a Disney family flick, it’s an instant success, but his most recent film, ’88 Minutes,’ also starring Al Pacino, flopped beyond belief. The last time De Niro and Pacino worked together was in the Michael Mann thriller ‘Heat’ as good guy versus bad guy. Even though they were the biggest stars in the movie, they appeared together for only one seven-minute confrontation in a coffee shop. This scene is emotionally charged because De Niro and Pacino were emotionally charged actors at the time. Now, it seems as if that power and feeling could not be elicited in ‘Righteous Kill.’ Maybe it was the inexperienced director and writer combo or the ages of De Niro and Pacino, but ‘Righteous Kill’ ends up dead on arrival.