Any movie with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the lead ought to be a good deal better than Jon Avnet’s police thriller. It’s actually rather dull, directed almost by numbers in an over-familiar style, and acted out by its iconic principals as if they know it too.

They play partner detectives Turk and Rooster, who are allegedly trying to apprehend a serial killer who is not above murdering children. But there’s a grainy video placed here and there throughout which suggests that De Niro’s Turk may be the culprit since he is seen admitting to killing at least 14 scumbags in his 30 years with the NYPD.

Pacino’s Rooster spends a lot of his time telling his short-fused friend to relax. It’s clear very early on where all this is leading and we are reduced to watching the two actors giving what is clearly not their best under the duress of a routine screenplay.

Carla Gugino is the crime-scene investigator with whom Turk has sex on the side and Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo appear as sidekicks who are gradually convinced that only a cop could possibly have executed the various lowlifes on display.

But Righteous Kill never catches fire, and you have to blame Avnet for its totally daft ending.