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Pride and Glory (2008)

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Time Out rating

Average user rating

11 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Charged with re-creating the special intimacy of an extended Irish-American cop family in this ambitious, visceral, verismo-oriented and lengthy NYPD drama are such diverse actors as Edward Norton, Jon Voight and Colin Farrell. Joe Carnahan’s screenplay and Gavin O’Connor’s direction give good set-up and lay obvious trails: the impressive opening – a smack-and-groan, heightened-realist inter-emergency services American football game – offers clues to the drama to come. Farrell’s Jimmy Egan, playing a roaring, gurning, war-painted fullback, is obviously popular among New York’s finest, but possibly something of a loose cannon; Norton’s Ray Tierney, coming late to the game, looking occupied, is the thoughtful outsider. When a drug bust goes horribly wrong – four officers killed, including Jimmy’s partner – Ray’s dad (Voight), local chief of police, convinces Ray to head the investigation, with potentially revelatory and divisive results. Bloody, violent and increasingly derivative, ‘Pride and Glory’ betrays its initial promise as a small-scale, ‘Godfather’-esque social tapestry with crude plotting, variable acting and an all-too-guessable storyline and conclusion.

Author: Wally Hammond

Time Out London Issue 1994, 6 - 12 November 2008

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User reviews of this film

Matt said...

Posted on Jul 20 2010 15:58 Not every movie is going to be the godfather, and while this definatly wasn't, it was still pretty good. The acting was great, the story was fine(if your tired of seeing the same story over again why do you keep watching movies) and yeah, there were too many f-bombs, but you know what, there are groups of people in real life that do swear like that. All in all i'd give the movie a 7 1/2, you guys gotta lower you expectations a little.

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CAROL MILES said...

Posted on Feb 26 2010 01:54 I started to count the number of times the word "fuck" was used instead of intelligent dialogue but the pcture defeated me. The screenwriters have got to go back to school to get a bigger vocabulary - not that it would help this picture.

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Northsider said...

Posted on Nov 20 2008 13:13 Expecting so much more considering the cast involved.Big let down, very predictable with a very average plot.also a bit stereotypicial too. The end was certainly an anti climax. wouldn't recommend it at all. On a side note if you were taught french in school it's of no benefit maybe polish up on your spanish before you go!

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the_dude said...

Posted on Nov 19 2008 15:53 I wont start describing whats and where in this movie but I would say:
ITS GOOD MOVIE 4stars
YOU WILL NOT REGRET

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Madison said...

Posted on Nov 17 2008 21:14 heheh yeah, its almost on a par with a Righteous Kill but not quite. saying that at least 2 of the audience walked out of this film! Personally I found the comedic level of swearing in the first 30 mins of this film made it almost impossible to engage with anything that was said or going on. The fact that it had to rely on a steaming iron being held a millimetre above a screaming baby's head to create any kind of tension says it all. And the fistycuffs fight scene was just RIDICK! Ed Norton is SO much better than this film, surely he must be offered better scripts than this. Another film that shows the NYPD in a spectacularly bad light - can they really this bad in reality??! I always try to look for the good stuff in film but i'm struggling to find the merit in it when the CSI tv series do it so much better with a lot more scientific forensic razzmatazz. And I came out thinking what a stupid violent waste of space men are and they should all be put down at birth. Grim.

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Nov 14 2008 16:56 A RIGHTEOUS SCARFACE MEETS A CROOKED COP
ed norton is a naturally versatile actor but you still need a script to elicit a great performance and that is rendered incoherently obscure in this mish mash of family christmas dinners and latino drug dealers who are being illicitly targetd by a crooked NYPD.
We have had the excellent Harsh Times about LAPD,Gone baby gone about Boston and Prince of City about NYPD in past,this had the potential with the great coup in casting Ed with jon Voight but apart from a few sequences it never particularly realises the expectations .
the overacted and misdirected sequences abound within a very streotyped cops and corruption story ,it almost reminded me of the flawed DEPARTED with the hilarious chinese gangs and the rooftop gunfights ,as the two leads confronted each other in a confoundingly embarassing boxing bout in an irish pub ,the irish take was another misconception as the extended family system shows not a single viable female irish persona ,reducing this to a male ego match with irish battling the hispanics with all sort of egregious name calling too.
there are some technical flaws as well where an escaped criminal does not miss his lost cellular and incredibly leaves a trail of witnesses alive ,so mr.connor can weave his tale of suspense .
there is a great sequence with norton interviewing a talented latino child actor which was very interesting to watch but unfortunately what lingers in your head is the irritating villainous corrupt cops who keep yelling and screaming while the camera shakes in exudation .
mr.farrell is indeed a text-book example of how not to cast an irish actor in an irish american role as he squanders every chance to impress in a role tailor made for him .
ED NORTON as the scar faced detective was the only reason i sat through this average drama ,
better luck next time .
usman khawaja

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Sebastian said...

Posted on Nov 13 2008 14:39 I was so looking forward to this one. I love Norton ever since American History X, like Farrel and rate Voight. The film starts with so much promise and then it just loses the plot completely. It could of been on the level of Michael Mann's hit film HEAT but instead it just simmers and dies out. You're better off staying home and renting The Shield boxset.

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critique said...

Posted on Nov 10 2008 20:50 Dark, violent, wintry saga of family loyalties and corruption within the NYPD. Has moments of interest but is largely cliched. The closing scenes are hugely unbelievable.

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Mark said...

Posted on Nov 10 2008 17:53 Rob is right. This really isn't too shabby a film at all. I thought the performances were engaging, the look of the film wasn't original but wasn't unappealing, the storyline held my attention and the overall impression was good/very good. The ending perhaps where the 2 main characters squared up to a boxing match made me chuckle with embarrassment and perhaps it was about 25 mins too long, but overall it's worth more than 2 stars. I would have said 4.5 but since there isn't a half star, I'll go with 4!

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Rob said...

Posted on Nov 10 2008 00:09 I actually thought it was decent. A little predictable perhaps, but some good performances, notably Norton's. A good test for me is that, despite its length, I was gripped throughout. I'd say give it a try.

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PERFECT DAY said...

Posted on Nov 09 2008 21:26 Cliché after cliché, this police procedural is a big let-down.
Farrel does his best to put in a powerhouse performance but is let down by the bog standard script. Norton broods around with a scar on his face. Jon Voight acts like a constipated bear which he thinks passes for genuine emotion. Some BIG music blares out every fifteen minutes … testing the cinema speakers to the max. A baby is terrorised by a steaming hot iron. A woman is dying of cancer and cries a lot. Furthermore the man in row E chose to take off his shoes and put his feet high up in the air to show everyone he is the guvnor.
Avoid

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