Critics Corner: Righteous Kill

Cop movies are a dime a dozen. It's almost become a requirement for big actors to play cops at some point in their career. Granted, some of these movies are some of the best that we have now.

Look at "The Departed," a movie that rightly won four Oscars and was probably the best movie of 2006. This movie stands as a masterpiece, but 98 percent of the other police movies out there don't hold a candle to it.

"Righteous Kill," starring Robert Deniro, Al Pacino and John Leguizamo could be a great movie about older cops getting caught up in the ugliness of their world and their job, but falls flat with a predictable story line, simple ideas and below par directing.

While the film may not be the best, the acting between Deniro and Pacino is as great as can be thought. They chew the scenery to pieces and keep the dialogue going at all times. Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, makes a great drug dealing rapper (surprise!) and ends up being very essential to the storyline.

All in all, even the great narrating between Deniro and Pacino can't save this movie from itself. Maybe a better director or a better storyline for two of the best actors around would have made this worthwhile, but as of right now, it's dead on arrival.