Al Pacino. Robert De Niro. On screen. Together. At the same time. That was the promise of Michael Mann’s Heat in 1995. And people were chomping at the bit to see the two screen legends finally trade words on camera. While Heat was a solid if unremarkable film in its own right, you can imagine the wave of disappointment when everyone found out that their first scene together, set in a coffee shop, came halfway through the movie and lasted less than 10 minutes, only for the two to be reunited again a mere seconds before the film came to an end. Thirteen years later, Righteous Kill has come to rectify that problem, casting Al and Bobby as inseparable best friends.

They should have stuck with Heat.

The opening credits of Righteous Kill deftly set up our two main characters, Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino): We see the two of them on a police firing range, shooting weapons of increasing caliber, while the film intercuts with snippets of their personal lives (Turk coaches girls’ softball, Rooster plays chess in the park, etc.). Director Jon Avnet (the man behind the atrocious 88 Minutes, also starring Pacino) handles this sequence stylishly and effectively: You know immediately that these men are good friends, good shots and good cops. Unfortunately, Avnet’s direction and the film’s narrative both peak at this moment. The script, written by Russell Gewirtz, and Avnet’s handling of it make the proceedings so predictable that you know how the film ends before the 15-minute mark, if that.

The most that I can say about the story without destroying what little suspense exists is that it involves Rooster and Turk investigating a series of murders in which the victims are all criminals who have escaped justice, and all the evidence points to the killer being a cop. Thus follows the inevitable web of intrigue and deceit involving a drug dealer (50 Cent, billed as his real name, Curtis Jackson), two young officers (John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg), and a crime scene investigator with whom Turk is having an affair (Carla Gugino). This is all told through the framing device of a videotaped confession, which only serves to make the mystery of the killer’s identity even more transparent.
Since you know where the film is going, how we get there is all of the fun, and De Niro and Pacino always look like they are having fun on screen. I cannot imagine they did this movie because they thought it was remarkable, so it must have been for the opportunity to share more than 10 minutes of screen time.

There is not much to say about their respective performances, since both men play variations on the personas that they have developed on screen over the past 30 years. De Niro is restrained, laconic and given ample opportunity to explode into outbursts of obscenity and violence. Turk is cheerless and serious for the most part, but you can see in De Niro’s eyes that his performance is all a cover for what is an overdue round of playtime with his distinguished peer. Pacino, quite surprisingly, reigns in the overblown theatrics that have defined many of his performances since his turn as Tony Montana in Scarface. But Rooster is the more lighthearted of the pair, and even while restraining himself, Pacino gives the character’s wisecracks a wry delivery that is a perfect complement to the twinkle in his eye.

Let us be honest: The only reason anyone would even consider seeing Righteous Kill is for the opportunity to see Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, two of the greatest actors of their generation, share the screen. If you go into this movie looking for that, expect to be pleasantly pleased. Goodness knows I was. But if you are hoping for something more, expect to be disappointed. There was hope that Righteous Kill would be the movie that Heat was not, but when all is said and done, it does not even come close.