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Once Acting Gods, Now Mere Mortals  

Posted Apr 24, 08 1:58 PM CDT in Arts & Living    Editor's Choice

(newser) – They may be two of the most admired American actors ever, but Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's latest films don't exactly do credit to their respective legends, writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times. The two "have become parodies of themselves, making payday movies and turning in performances that are hollow echoes" of past work.

Pacino's 88 Minutes opened last Friday to terrible reviews, while De Niro's latest, What Just Happened, failed to find domestic distribution at its January Sundance Film Festival premiere. But "it's not easy being an older actor in Hollywood," concedes Goldstein; Jack Nicholson took the selective route and Warren Beatty quietly exited the biz. Pacino and De Niro, however, "still want to be treated like big-league stars, when they are, sadly, past their prime."

Sources Los Angeles Times, Metacritic

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Once Acting Gods, Now Mere Mortals
De Niro's most recent flick, What Just Happened, premieres this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, which the actor co-founded.   (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
Once Acting Gods, Now Mere Mortals
Having Al Pacino or Robert De Niro in a movie is no longer an automatic stamp of high quality.   (Getty Images)
Once Acting Gods, Now Mere Mortals
Pacino's latest film, 88 Minutes, is the worst reviewed film of the year so far, according to Metacritic.com.   (AP Photo)
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