Pride and Glory --- reviewed by Craig the Movie Geek!
Dir: Gavin O'Connor Stars: Ed Norton, Colin "The Greasebag" Farrell, Jon Voight
Synopsis: After several NYC cops are killed, one brother must investigate his own family.
Pride and Glory doesn't do much to distinguish itself from other cop procedural dramas. We've already had the very similiar Joaquin Phoenix / Mark Wahlberg movie "We Own the Night" this year. Pride and Glory sat on the shelf at New Line Cinema for a year or so before finally being released --- never a good sign.
There are some interesting scenes here and there, as well as some gritty moments of brutal violence, but the film eventually folds in on itself. It's well directed, and intense in places, but the predictable plot and truly horrible dialogue stop it dead in its tracks. There's also a cringe worthy scene where Colin Farrell threatens a baby with a hot poker, so some of it was over the top.
The Director's father was a real life cop, so the police parts of the movie feel genuine, but the movie too often indulges in hilariously implausible acts. In one scene, they are surreptitiously burning a car underneath a bridge --- sure it looks cool, but don't they realize that there would actually be hundreds of possible witnesses? Some people got no sense!
Ed Norton is good as usual, but Jon Voight and Colin "The Greasebag" Farrell are both guilty of overacting. There's a lot of shoving guys up against the wall and shouting exposition at them. I think theis movie could have been something good, but it was totally mishandled, mostly from the writing end of things.
2 Dorks out of 5 on the Geek-o-Meter!