Rated R
Running time: 2 hrs 5 mins
Cast:
**1/2 out of *****
(35% Fresh Rating!)
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
***1/2 out of *****
The Premise:
A saga centered on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney, investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.
MY REVIEW
I'm going to start with this: "Pride & Glory" is NOT "We Own the Night 2". I'm sure I said it when I saw the preview as a joke last year when it premiered. But I know a lot of smart alecks out there (people on message boards and even reviewers) who have seen We Own the Night like to consider this film a ripoff of it based soley off the preview. Here's what I have to say: shut up you condesending fools and get that self righteous movie critic stick out of your butts. This movie has virtually no similarites to We Own the Night. Both movies feature families of cops and that's about it...yeah, I see what you all mean now. You know I guess you could compare this movie to Kindergarten Cop! There are kids featured in this movie, who sit next to cops...so yeah...man can't believe I didn't get that comparison from the preview. Here's some startling news for you: Most movies out there are just like every other movie. People use the sarcastic excuse, "well I've already seen that movie before" to sound like some almighty film know it all or just as an excuse to not see the movie. Tons of movie share common bonds, you can't expect all of them to be 100% original. My goodness people!
With that rant out of the way, Pride & Glory was a pretty good movie in my mind. But nothing spectacular or re-defining in the genre. However, definitely a better cop drama than We Own the Night (hehe). Essentially the movie is about corrupt cops who use and abuse drug dealers and scum of the earth for their personal gain. But when four cops are killed, an investigation brews that may out these corrupt men in blue. OK yeah, we've seen this type of flick before, but not all have engaging characters like this one. The characters, namely the performances were really the best aspect of the film. However from the previews and even half way into the movie I just assumed Colin Farell character (Phone Booth, In Bruges) was an actual brother of Oscar nominee Edward Norton (American History X, The Incredible Hulk) character. But no...they were not blood related.
That was my main issue with the movie, that it was a bit confusing and slightly misleading in some regard. There was apparently a lot of story to tell, and I think it was told a tad to fast (even for the over 2 hour running time) and I personally couldn't grasp a lot of the story. There were times I didn't know who was bad, who was good, who was corrupt, who was undercover, blah blah. To many characters with to much story made for a slightly muddled ball of confusion. But I got the gist of the story, I understood the movie on it's surface. And with that in mind, it was a pretty good movie. You know I was entertained. Not in an action packed kind of way, just in the core story. There wasn't a lot of action featured in the film, which may be a turn off for fans of intense cop dramas. I didn't mind, because like I said the story as confusing as it tends get, was engaging enough for me.
Edward Norton, Colin Farell, Noah Emmerich, and Oscar winner Jon Voight (Coming Home, Ali) all deliever really good performances I thought. Edward Norton is really a brilliant actor, and while sometimes he may stray off course by choosing weak films, he usually doesn't fail. Colin Farell deserves more credit than he gets. Earlier this year he delivered just a fantastic performance in In Bruges, and he may not be at that level in this film, but he was still good.
Pride & Glory is it's own film, not We Own the Night 2. If you are capable of looking past that, I'd suggest seeing it to those who find entertainment in cop dramas. Because even though it is a bit cliched and not all that unique, this is still a pretty decent film.
With that rant out of the way, Pride & Glory was a pretty good movie in my mind. But nothing spectacular or re-defining in the genre. However, definitely a better cop drama than We Own the Night (hehe). Essentially the movie is about corrupt cops who use and abuse drug dealers and scum of the earth for their personal gain. But when four cops are killed, an investigation brews that may out these corrupt men in blue. OK yeah, we've seen this type of flick before, but not all have engaging characters like this one. The characters, namely the performances were really the best aspect of the film. However from the previews and even half way into the movie I just assumed Colin Farell character (Phone Booth, In Bruges) was an actual brother of Oscar nominee Edward Norton (American History X, The Incredible Hulk) character. But no...they were not blood related.
That was my main issue with the movie, that it was a bit confusing and slightly misleading in some regard. There was apparently a lot of story to tell, and I think it was told a tad to fast (even for the over 2 hour running time) and I personally couldn't grasp a lot of the story. There were times I didn't know who was bad, who was good, who was corrupt, who was undercover, blah blah. To many characters with to much story made for a slightly muddled ball of confusion. But I got the gist of the story, I understood the movie on it's surface. And with that in mind, it was a pretty good movie. You know I was entertained. Not in an action packed kind of way, just in the core story. There wasn't a lot of action featured in the film, which may be a turn off for fans of intense cop dramas. I didn't mind, because like I said the story as confusing as it tends get, was engaging enough for me.
Edward Norton, Colin Farell, Noah Emmerich, and Oscar winner Jon Voight (Coming Home, Ali) all deliever really good performances I thought. Edward Norton is really a brilliant actor, and while sometimes he may stray off course by choosing weak films, he usually doesn't fail. Colin Farell deserves more credit than he gets. Earlier this year he delivered just a fantastic performance in In Bruges, and he may not be at that level in this film, but he was still good.
Pride & Glory is it's own film, not We Own the Night 2. If you are capable of looking past that, I'd suggest seeing it to those who find entertainment in cop dramas. Because even though it is a bit cliched and not all that unique, this is still a pretty decent film.
To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Pride & Glory*This is the 136th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
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