Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have only ever appeared together in one brief scene in the 1995 crime thriller Heat. Here, though, they share centre-screen in an enjoyable thriller casting them as New York policemen on the trail of the vicious killer who is eliminating villains the law cannot catch.

The screenplay by Russell Gerwitz is workmanlike enough, but the film finally emerges like an average episode of the classic TV series Law and Order leant added dramatic punch by the sight of the two stars battling for on-screen superiority. It is this clash of the titans that provides the film with considerably more impact than the over-predictable plot deserves and it is regrettable that director Jon Avnet failed to ensure their feature-length reunion was not better contrived.

For the record, De Niro gives his all, but Pacino gives slightly more.