Release Date:
10/24/2008
Directed by: Gavin O'Connor
The Skinny: Corruption within a New York City police precinct bubbles to the surface when four cops are killed in a drug bust gone suspiciously awry. Caught on competing sides of the resultant mushroom cloud are four members of a police family, played by Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Colin Farrell and Ed Norton, whose investigation puts him at odds with them all.
The Good: It ain't Serpico, but Pride and Glory does take an honest stab at addressing the moral relativism surrounding cops on the take, along with the more specific impact it has on a blood legacy of New York's Finest. This is a drama, not an action flick and, thanks to its cast, it provides several moments of sincere, pucker-clenching dramatic tension, as its antagonist willfully bulldozes further into the world he's created for himself. And that world crumbles around him in direct proportion.
The Bad: There's very little here that you haven't likely seen before, most recently in American Gangster. And anyone who's become a fan of recent procedural TV dramas like The Wire will find its portrayal of police bureaucracy lacking academically. Finally, you will find the film's climax either touchingly tragic or cornier than Nebraska.
¡Hope you sabes Español! Being set in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood, the occasional conversation in Spanish is a given. Unfortunately, subtitles translating those conversations in this movie aren't, so you might want to bring your landscaper.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? It's more must-see than Beverly Hills Chihuahua, but in this economy, it'll play just as satisfyingly on Netflix.
The Skinny: Corruption within a New York City police precinct bubbles to the surface when four cops are killed in a drug bust gone suspiciously awry. Caught on competing sides of the resultant mushroom cloud are four members of a police family, played by Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Colin Farrell and Ed Norton, whose investigation puts him at odds with them all.
The Good: It ain't Serpico, but Pride and Glory does take an honest stab at addressing the moral relativism surrounding cops on the take, along with the more specific impact it has on a blood legacy of New York's Finest. This is a drama, not an action flick and, thanks to its cast, it provides several moments of sincere, pucker-clenching dramatic tension, as its antagonist willfully bulldozes further into the world he's created for himself. And that world crumbles around him in direct proportion.
The Bad: There's very little here that you haven't likely seen before, most recently in American Gangster. And anyone who's become a fan of recent procedural TV dramas like The Wire will find its portrayal of police bureaucracy lacking academically. Finally, you will find the film's climax either touchingly tragic or cornier than Nebraska.
¡Hope you sabes Español! Being set in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood, the occasional conversation in Spanish is a given. Unfortunately, subtitles translating those conversations in this movie aren't, so you might want to bring your landscaper.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? It's more must-see than Beverly Hills Chihuahua, but in this economy, it'll play just as satisfyingly on Netflix.