Movie Review "Pride and Glory"

New in theatres this week was Pride and Glory (R), a police drama starring Ed Norton and Colin Farrell. Both play cops engaged in an investigation into the death of four police officers at the hands of Latino drug dealers. Jon Voight costars and Gavin O’Connor directs.

Andy: Pride and Glory is a mess of a movie. The plot, which unfolds slowly and predictably, never really does anything to take hold of the audience’s attention. The coarse language intended to lend realism to the movie frequently seems awkward and forced. Subplots that add little to the movie take up valuable screen time, stretching the runtime to a tedious 125 minutes.

Ryan: Price and Glory is the type of the film that doesn't have a lot going for it. For one, the subject matter, police corruption in New York City , is a tired and bland storyline. Unfortunately Pride and Glory feels like a movie (and not a good one) that one has already seen before. Further exacerbating the situation is the fact that the film was supposed to come out some twelve months ago. I saw a trailer for this movie over a year ago and when it takes this long for a film to be packaged together than that's never a good sign. And it shows with the final product.

Andy: I’ve long been a fan of Edward Norton, and there is no doubt that he is the highlight of this movie. But being the highlight in this film means he is merely adequate. His character mainly benefits from being the only one who is not seriously flawed, though he lacks the nuance and depth required for an audience to really connect with him. Voight and Farrell both give lacking performances, making Norton’s look a little better than it probably is.

Ryan: Although Andy and I are both Ed Norton fans and his involvement in the movie was the sole reason in watching the film, Norton with all his incredible acting ability cannot save the movie. Certainly this is not Norton's best work but considering the sub-par material he was working with he still puts forth a credible performance. What is frustrating is seeing Norton in a less than stellar movie. The fact is that Norton doesn't make a lot of movies so when one gets the chance to see him one would hope that he's in a movie that's on par with his talent. This is not the case with Pride and Glory.

Andy: Director Gavin O’Connor tries to spice up the movie with some “interesting” shots, but at best this just serves to distract the audience from the blind ally that the plot is running down. At worst it looks pretentious set against an already lacking movie. Pride and Glory may not be the worst film of 2008, but it is likely to be one of the most forgettable.

Ryan: If Pride and Glory would have been just a gritty police family drama than it might have—and maybe I’m being too optimistic—might have been a tolerable film. Regrettable the drama in the film is trumped by some ridiculous scenes—one in particular—that had me in udder disbelief. Having a character act out in a way that is so completely absurd is not proper character development on any level.

Pride and Glory would have had a better fate if it would have stayed on the shelf.

Final grade: D.