Once Acting Gods, Now Mere Mortals

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." (More Al Pacino stories.)