Review: Pride and Glory

Pride and Glory was directed by Gavin O'Connor, whose last film was 2004's Miracle. O'Connor, who co-wrote the script, takes a different turn in this film, wringing out a classic corrupt cop flick with big names to back him: Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, and Jon Voight.

The movie opens with Ray Tierney, played by Norton, attending a NYPD football game, pads and all. One of the leaders on the field is Jimmy Egan, played by Farrell. The two are brothers-in-law, Jimmy being married to Ray's sister Megan. Ray followed his dad Francis, played by Voight, into the police force as a detective. But after some unmentioned incident, he now works in the missing persons department.

Jimmy puts pressure on the quarterback on the final play of the game, the pass falls incomplete, their team wins, and all is gleeful, until they get a call that four NYPD cops were down at a crime scene, and away they go. After the smoke clears, Ray's dad pleads him to come back to the detective squad to investigate, and Ray reluctantly agrees. Things start seeming off kilter early on, and Ray digs in to find a sizable web of corruption, and what he finds threatens to tear apart not only the NYPD, but his family as well.

The movie doesn't recreate anything in the crime drama arena, but it does it well, and holds its audience. There are some definite tension moments: many teeth knocked out, a pool ball to the side of the head, and even some simulated baby-ironing (betcha Gitmo never thought of that one). My imdb rating: 8/10.