Seen on: October 24, 2008

The players: Director: Gavin O'Connor, Writers: Joe Carnahan, Gavin O'Connor, Gregory O'Connor, Cast: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Ehle, Noah Emmerich, Lake Bell, Jon Voight

Facts of interest: Pushed back numerous times.

The plot: Edward Norton plays a NYPD detective who tries to hunt down a criminal who took out four cops. During his investigation, he finds out his own brother-in-law (Colin Farrell) may be involved in a massive corruption that could endager the entire police department.

Our thoughts: The story of the corrupt police department is not exactly a new one, and Gavin O’Connor’s “Pride and Glory” is the epitome of a lame crime drama sticking to the conventions of the genre without taking a step forward and supplying audiences with something they haven’t seen yet. It just looks and sounds all too familiar to enjoy.

After four NYPD cops are brutally killed in an ambush, police Detective Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) follows this dad’s (Jon Voight) recommendation by joining the task force handling the case. But shortly after kicking off his investigation, Ray learns the shocking truth about what really happened that night: someone must have tipped off the killer.

As it eventually turns out, that someone was a cop who serves under the command of his brother Francis (Noah Emmerich) and his brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell). Trying to uncover the truth, Ray launches an extensive manhunt that leads him to the shocking theory that Jimmy and his unit may be a bunch of corrupt cops making dangerous deals with the city’s worst criminals.

The look and atmosphere of “Pride and Glory” feels just like James Gray’s recent “We Own the Night,” with the exception that the latter is a much better and more captivating film. Over the top and mostly boring, this 125-minute drama about corrupt cops takes far too long to set up the main intrigue, switching to autopilot early on. What follows is an all too simplistic mix of recognizable dialogue and bad storytelling.

Most damaging to the flick are the moronic main characters, who make one laughably stupid decision after another. I mean, how can people who battle crime and preach about the importance of their families engage in perilous situations they know will get them killed? One moment Jimmy and some of his accomplices go on about loving nothing more than their wives and kids, and the next they are torturing a drug dealer to near death.

Maybe I just didn’t get the message of the film, but this silly contrast between leading happy family life and acting like ruthless criminals just didn’t work for me. Worse than what these character do throughout the film is the film’s ending, which I cannot help but call an unforgivable atrocity. Maybe you don’t expect more, but all you get for sitting through a two-hour film is a lame fist fight amid a violent street riot.

Colin Farrell, Edward Norton and Jon Voight deliver strong lead performances, although there is only so much actors can do with idiotic characters. If there’s one thing though that kept me from intentionally trying to fall asleep during this film, it’s the overall decent cast.

Freaky quote: “All you've gotta do is say what needs to be said. End of story." – Colin Farrell

The final word: “Pride and Glory” does a good job at depicting how cruel these corrupt cops really can be, but other than that, it’s one of the most forgettable films of the year. The movie boasts excellent production values, but that’s by far not enough to make up for the weak script and the lack of suspense and variety. I’ve definitely seen enough about bad cops for a while.

Article by Franck Tabouring