A Month in Film - October 2008
The first release of the month I couldn't contain my excitement in seeing was The Righteous Kill.
The two greatest rival actors in living memory, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, were both nominated for Oscars for their work in The Godfather Part II but they never shared a single scene together.
And for five minutes in the thriller Heat, director Michael Mann was left speechless.
He sat back with the camera rolling and was awestruck at the improvised dialogue that went down in film history
Therefore I was foaming at the mouth in anticipation when I sat down to watch The Righteous Kill as I knew Bob and Al were to share every scene together.
For the first half hour I was sufficiently entertained and excited but after the initial set up I soon realised it was only my own personal excitement that was keeping my attention.
A film with a basic plot, predictable twist and no gripping qualities whatsoever means it is impossible to stay focused.
Obviously you cannot knock the acting itself as Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is not bad and De Niro's interviews to camera are engaging for such basic clichéd dialogue.
No matter how hard you try to hide it, the harsh reality is that 75 year old De-Niro and 78 year old Pacino cannot hold up these tough guy womanizing roles convincingly anymore.
Their acting abilities are not sold out but decisions are as it is essential they play more suited old man type roles.
Overall The Righteous Kill is a below average film whose stars have raised its profile and profits far greater than it deserved.
In other works Al Pacino's thriller 88 Minutes (another Jon Avnet collaboration) makes The Righteous Kill look like a contemporary masterpiece whereas De Niro's Hollywood satire What Just Happened? is tipped to be his best film role for a great while.
Although age it seems hasn't stopped 56 year old Liam Neeson with Luc Besson actioner Taken.
Liam Neeson is so intense and well rounded he is actually convincing in such an action role and really deserves more leading roles for a man of his talents.
The initial set up of Taken albeit clichéd is promising.
But before long the flashy Besson trademark set pieces become too repetitive, tiresome and all too familiar.
The overall concept is a rip off of television series 24 but less engrossing and the interrogations themselves are not as close to the bone.
It just seems too easy for this character to travel to Europe and kill everyone in sight, there is no inherent struggle or test of character, just a walk in Paris.
Taken is too predictable with a wincingly terrible cheesy ending that is so laughable I will not spoil it for you.
Tony Scott's Man on Fire has a similar concept but is much better executed (pardon the pun) and I suggest you see that instead if you already haven't already had the pleasure.
As for blockbuster action we now move on to Eagle Eye which is far worse in comparison.
Despite the immediate flaws of Taken you can never deny Besson the trademark finesse that comes with his action sequences which is something missing from Eagle Eye.
Ultimately the film suffers from its huge budget.
The premise of the plot could have tapped into the increasing use of technology in society and the invasion of privacy that comes into in a sort of contemporary 1984 combined with 2001: A Space Odyssey.
But no, all the money has been shoveled into the action and not good action at that. 12»
