Movie Info RIGHTEOUS KILL RATING: R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use. GENRE: Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller RELEASE: Sept. 12, 2008 STARRING: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg, Carla Gugino DIRECTOR: Jon Avnet DISTRIBUTORS: Overture Films OFFICIAL WEB SITE: www.righteouskill-themovie.com   Please Note In providing movie reviews on our site, CBN.com is not endorsing or recommending the films we review. Our goal is to provide Christians with information about movies, both the good and the bad, so that you may make an informed decision as to whether the films are appropriate for you and your family.

MOVIE REVIEW

Righteous Kill

By Elliott Ryan
Guest Writer

CBN.com - Righteous Kill, a psychological police thriller, marks the first time veteran award winning actors Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro have appeared together on the same screen for an extended period of time in a film.  They actually have appeared together onscreen for a few minutes in a previous film (1995’s Heat).  But this is the first time these two actors have collaborated on such an extensive level – appearing together in most of the movie’s scenes.

The result of this collaborative effort is a well-acted film, as one would assume.  It is a psychological drama with enough twists and turns to keep viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the film.  Pacino and DeNiro are surrounded by an excellent supporting cast who do a great job with the material they are given to work with in the film.  Unfortunately, believers who head out to the theaters to see this film will probably find it more offensive than entertaining.

Righteous Kill is rated R for (among other things) “pervasive language.”  Virtually every scene contains obscenities, vulgarities, and blasphemies.  Some may defend this language as being “realistic.”  After all, they may say, cops and criminals really do use such language.  But in reality, a better description of the vulgar language in this film might be “relentless.”  Viewers may begin to wonder if any character in the film is capable of expressing themselves without swearing.  It is also rated R for brief drug use, some sexuality, and violence (a lot of people get shot). 

If the rating isn’t enough to keep believers away, there are other negatives.  The church is seen only in a negative light in the film.  One of the main characters loses his faith.  The local priest is abusive to underage parishioners.  Religion isn’t a major theme of the film, but the church is portrayed as a harmful institution and God’s name is portrayed as just another curse word.

Another negative is the world view that the film communicates.  Even all the “good guys” in the film have an end-justifies-the-means attitude.  Immoral and illegal activity is acceptable as long as the characters’ motives are justified.  The characters in the film seem to mistake justice (a positive social and biblical objective) with revenge.

Pacino and DeNiro star as two police officers who are nearing retirement age.  Suddenly, a serial killer begins killing violent criminals who had somehow escaped being punished for their crimes.  The mastermind behind these crimes leaves poems behind at the crime scenes explaining why each victim deserved to die.  The two stars of the film are assigned to investigate the murders.  They have a hard time working up very much sympathy for the murdered criminals.  They seem content much of the time to throw humorous one-liners around at the crime scenes rather than truly solve the crimes.  But as the body count rises, they face more and more pressure to catch the vigilante serial killer.

As is usually the case in psychological thrillers, things are not always as they seem to be at first glance.  There are numerous plot twists and turns throughout the film.  The movie’s web site even promotes that there is a shocking ending.  I had that plot twist figured out about halfway into the movie, but that is to be expected in films of this nature.  Much of the fun in watching a psychological thriller is in finding out how we get to that ending. 

But for Christians, the fun of solving this mystery will not be worth enduring the mind-numbing mixture of obscenity and violence.

More movie reviews on CBN.com

For more stories like this one, sign up to receive Entertainment News from CBN.com in your email every week.

Translate Page     

Print Page     

Email to a Friend    

A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.