Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Carla Gugino, John LeguizamoDirector: Jon Avnet“Most people respect the badge. Everybody respects the gun.” Obviously Righteous Kill prides itself on that tagline, seeing the way it has been playing over and over in promotions and features twice at least in the film. But there is another thing truer: most people respect De Niro and Pacino, but everybody respects a good story. And sorry to say, despite all the wait for these two titans together, Righteous Kill has nothing new to offer. It even casts them as, guess what, police officers not averse to crossing the line.For most part the film just drags, hiding behind vague explanations when the going gets tough and dragging on the climax far after almost everyone in the audience has guessed it. As for the tagline, it was Jack Nicholson who said it best in The Departed: “You can become a cop or a criminal. But when you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference?”shalini.langer@expressindia.com
