For Pride and Glory, the question is not whether the NYPD is corrupt or not, as that answer comes within moments of the opening scene. Nor is it a question of how the overall mystery will unfold, as this again is extremely obvious within minutes of the film starting. Pride and Glory, like last years We Own the Night, is far more interested in exploring the reasons why police officers become corrupt and how these varying degrees of morality can destroy a family.
Unfortunately, none of this comes with any new insights or with a deftness of hand that might at least make it an enjoyable, if pointless, romp. Actors are over-directed, forced to scream their way through laughable lines of dialogue peppered with a redundant amount of profanity, and the deliberately gritty cinematography is off-putting and ugly. The entire ordeal is passable and predictable enough to please the core demo but entirely boring and pointless regardless.
The corruption begins when Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) starts investigating a case that keeps leading back to the very police force he works for and more importantly, members of his multi-generational policing family. Realizing that the revelation regarding his brother-in-law (Colin Farrell) would destroy his sister (Lake Bell) and the rest of their family, Ray is understandably hesitant about revealing the truth.
One only needs to look as far as the title to see where all of this leads and what the climax might ultimately involve, which is perfectly fine as all police corruption films essentially tread the same moral waters anyways.
Anyone who is neither unintentionally amused nor offended by a completely unnecessary and gratuitous shot of a crack whore running down a flight of stairs topless will likely find some enjoyment in this film. Everyone else might be better off renting any of a variety of titles that cover the same ground, only more effectively.
(Alliance)Unfortunately, none of this comes with any new insights or with a deftness of hand that might at least make it an enjoyable, if pointless, romp. Actors are over-directed, forced to scream their way through laughable lines of dialogue peppered with a redundant amount of profanity, and the deliberately gritty cinematography is off-putting and ugly. The entire ordeal is passable and predictable enough to please the core demo but entirely boring and pointless regardless.
The corruption begins when Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) starts investigating a case that keeps leading back to the very police force he works for and more importantly, members of his multi-generational policing family. Realizing that the revelation regarding his brother-in-law (Colin Farrell) would destroy his sister (Lake Bell) and the rest of their family, Ray is understandably hesitant about revealing the truth.
One only needs to look as far as the title to see where all of this leads and what the climax might ultimately involve, which is perfectly fine as all police corruption films essentially tread the same moral waters anyways.
Anyone who is neither unintentionally amused nor offended by a completely unnecessary and gratuitous shot of a crack whore running down a flight of stairs topless will likely find some enjoyment in this film. Everyone else might be better off renting any of a variety of titles that cover the same ground, only more effectively.