Pride and Glory: Movie Review (2008)

Directed by Gavin O’Connor, written by O’Connor and Joe Carnahan, 129 minutes, rated R.

This week, those seeking a dose of something fresh at the cineplex won’t find it as Hollywood has released two additions to two lucrative franchises (“High School Musical 3,” “Saw V”), as well as the derivative cop drama “Pride and Glory,” which audiences have seen so many times before in so many better movies, it quickly becomes clear why its studio held up its release for the better part of two years.

The film is trash.

Director Gavin O’Connor co-wrote the script with Joe Carnahan, and what they have created is an overly long movie crippled with canned dialogue and sucked free of surprises. There isn’t a moment in this film that isn’t telegraphed, which is a bit of a problem for those who prefer an air of mystery in a movie that sells itself as such.

Set in Manhattan and fittingly shot in the bluish hues of a corpse, the film stars Edward Norton as Ray Tierney, an Irish-American cop having all sorts of problems.

Not only is he literally living in a sinking boat (subtle!) and dealing with a wife (Carmen Ejogo) who has left him, but Ray has been urged by the chief of detectives--his drunk of a father, Francis Sr. (Jon Voight)--to lead the investigation into why four cops were gunned down in a bloody drug bust.

For Ray, the complications start from the get-go, most of which stem from his family. Since Ray’s brother, Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich), was in charge of those cops, it’s Ray’s job to question what went wrong and whether Francis Jr. had any involvement in their deaths. He picks and he digs, but doing so is difficult. Francis’ wife (Jennifer Ehle), after all, is dying of cancer, so the situation is tense.

Worse for Ray is that his sketchy brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell) is a dirty cop who can’t be trusted for reasons that are made immediately clear. Jimmy has a way with children that’s repellent. Those who see the movie will know what I mean.

As this relentlessly chatty film unravels--slowly, violently, methodically--and Ray comes closer to a truth most will see coming long before he does, the movie has gobbled up and spit out so many cliches about brotherhood, loyalty, Irish families and cops, the otherwise strong cast is consumed and laid to waste in the process.

But don’t pity them. Before they signed on, they presumably read the script.

Grade: D+