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Righteous Kill

Play trailer Poster for Righteous Kill R,  2008,  1h 40m,  Crime/ Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Stream Now Watchlist 18% 145 Reviews Tomatometer 37% 50,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
18% Tomatometer 145 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Detectives Thomas Cowan (Robert De Niro) and David Fisk (Al Pacino), 30-year veterans of the NYPD, investigate the murder of a pimp. The crime resembles a case they solved many years earlier. As the body count rises, they realize they're dealing with a vigilante taking over when the police fail. The similarities between past and present crimes leads the detectives to wonder if they put the wrong man behind bars.
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Righteous Kill

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Righteous Kill

What to Know

Critics 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.

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Critics Reviews

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Joshua Katzman Chicago Reader Dec 9, 2008
This thriller by Jon Avnet is mostly by the numbers, and its surprise ending, though effective, feels somewhat forced. Go to Full Review
Jason Matloff Boston Globe Oct 18, 2008
1.5/4
Say it ain't so, Bobby and Al. Go to Full Review
Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Oct 18, 2008
1/5
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. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Jun 5, 2024
1/4
Given the downright sloppiness of the storytelling and squashed hopes that De Niro and Pacino might electrify the screen again, Righteous Kill is hugely disappointing. Go to Full Review
Jason Best What's On TV Nov 20, 2020
De Niro and Pacino back together but firing blanks. Go to Full Review
PJ Nabarro Patrick Nabarro Feb 22, 2019
2/5
A serial killer movie without any threat, a cop thriller going through the motions, and De Niro and Pacino seem blunted by the piece's overall lack of bite. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Finn R Oct 31, 2018 good movie with a great plot that kept you guessing till the very end
Albus S Oct 2, 2018 There was a great cast here, even beyond De Niro and Pacino, but somebody forgot to bring a righteous script. Insead , everyone involved got stuck in a generic, forgettable, routine, by the numbers cop drama that added absolutely nothing to the genre. When Benson & Stabler (L&O SVU) get better storylines than De Niro & Pacino did, you know this isn't a great movie See more
Harry R Sep 8, 2018 Embarrassing to watch, like a D movie ! Deleted after 20 minutes of my life I can't get back....Sad to see a great cast succumb to a "paycheck" for such crap work... I'd be ashamed to have my name associated w/ this crap. See more
Anakin W Aug 19, 2018 Routine, formulaic, by-the-numbers cop movie about two veteran detectives investigating a series of murders in New York City. De Niro and Pacino sleepwalk through their roles as the cliched scripts does them no favors. This is basically a decent made-for-cable movie you'd see at 3am, long after most of American has gone to bed. Yawn... See more
Hagrid W May 10, 2018 Great movie showing how police officers can be serial killers like the rest of the population.
Kylo W Apr 27, 2018 Ignore the critics - the great ending is worth the price of admission!
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Righteous Kill

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Jon Avnet

Director

Robert De Niro

Detective Thomas Cowan

Al Pacino

Detective David Fisk

50 Cent

Spider

Carla Gugino

Karen Kleisner

Donnie Wahlberg

Detective Riley

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Righteous Kill

Righteous Kill (2008) Robert De Niro stars in Overture Films' RIGHTEOUS KILL. (Left to right.) Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star in Overture Films' RIGHTEOUS KILL. (Left to right.) Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star in Overture Films' RIGHTEOUS KILL. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Detectives Thomas Cowan (Robert De Niro) and David Fisk (Al Pacino), 30-year veterans of the NYPD, investigate the murder of a pimp. The crime resembles a case they solved many years earlier. As the body count rises, they realize they're dealing with a vigilante taking over when the police fail. The similarities between past and present crimes leads the detectives to wonder if they put the wrong man behind bars.
Director
Jon Avnet
Producer
Avi Lerner, Jon Avnet, Randall Emmett, Lati Grobman, Alexandra Milchan
Screenwriter
Russell Gewirtz
Distributor
Overture Films
Production Co
Emmett/Furla Films, Millennium Films
Rating
R (Pervasive Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexuality|Violence)
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 12, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 27, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$40.1M
Runtime
1h 40m
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