I admit that I enjoy a good jolt when a director masterfully tinkers around with audience expectations for the purpose of dishing out a surprise. Alfred Hitchcock called it “playing the audience like a piano.” It takes a great pianist to pull it off, and Hitchcock was a master musician in that respect. But when an auteur fails to trick audience expectations, the results are disastrous. Jon Avnet’s “Righteous Kill” is one of those movies that unsuccessfully attempts to pull the rug from under the audience, while gleefully indicating, “I fooled you!”

It’s a high-wire act. If the performer can get across, the result is fascinating. If they fail, they really fail. Even with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino at the director’s disposal, “Righteous Kill” sputters. I always look forward to the rare occasion of seeing a film that pairs these veteran actors. Because that occasion is wasted here in a mediocre script, the failure of “Righteous Kill” is even more disappointing than if it had involved two Joe-Schmoe actors.

DeNiro stars as Detective “Turk,” and Pacino as Detective “Rooster.” They’ve been partners on the force for over 30 years, but are facing a series of crimes unlike any they’ve encountered before. A serial killer is cleaning up the streets by exterminating pimps, drug dealers, rapists…you name it. This killer exists outside the confines of the judicial system, and stops crooks dead if the legal system fails to administer justice. Among the characters, there is suspicion that the killer is within the police. But to the audience, this becomes clear right from the very first scene; DeNiro admits guilt and claims to be the killer. The rest of the movie appears in flashback.

The problem with this setup is that it leaves only one of two possibilities for where the movie will be heading. If DeNiro is really the killer, then the movie becomes a race against the clock; we will simply wait until he is caught. If not that, then it’s clear that DeNiro was set up to be the scapegoat. The movie depends so heavily on the “surprise” but it bets everything with the wrong poker hand. The audience is smarter than this.

Without the “surprise,” what other redeemable features does this movie have? It does pair DeNiro and Pacino, but they don’t seem to be giving it their all. They look like they’re sleepwalking through their performances, only to wake up at the end to receive a paycheck. With a title like “Righteous Kill,” one might wonder if the movie has anything to do with exploring crime on a moral level, but sadly it has very little interest in that aspect. There are a few discussions here and there about the morality of going beyond the law to administer justice, but this was explored much more deeply in another recent film, “The Dark Knight.” DeNiro and Pacino deserve another film of that caliber.

“Righteous Kill” is rated R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.