Pride and Glory

New Line Cinema | Release Date: October 24, 2008

6.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 45 Ratings

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JohnHFeb 14, 2009

I didn't like this movie. Edward Norton's performance was good but I found the movie to move too slowly.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

TDKinDallasOct 26, 2008

It was a good movie, but nothing special. A lot of things happen that just don't make any sense. I still enjoyed the ride, but I am not recommending that you spend $10 a head to go see it......wait for DVD.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

ChadS.Oct 28, 2008

Denzel Washington's historical Best Actor win for his portrayal of a bad cop in Antoine Fuqua's "Training Day" at the 2002 Academy Awards was met with tempered excitement in some quarters. These well-wishers were disappointed that Denzel Washington's historical Best Actor win for his portrayal of a bad cop in Antoine Fuqua's "Training Day" at the 2002 Academy Awards was met with tempered excitement in some quarters. These well-wishers were disappointed that Washington couldn't have followed in the footsteps of Sidney Poitier with a role more along the lines of Malcolm X.(in which Washington lost the Oscar in 1992 to Al Pacino for his role as a "hoo-ha('ing)" blind man in Martin Brest's "Scent of a Woman"), or Dr. Virgil Tibbs(Poitier's 1967 Oscar-winning role from Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night"), than the gangbanger with a badge who would leave his unformed partner in the ghetto for dead. But give Washington credit, when the "St. Elsewhere" alumnist put his screen image at risk, he went all out. Alonzo was one bad mutha*****. Thankfully, the filmmaker let Washington explore all the nuances of this one dimension, the bad mutha***** dimension, instead of fortifying the rogue cop with redeeming characteristics to cajole the audience into complicity, by having them sympathize with the antagonist's flaws. In other words, bad mutha*****s are human beings, too. But there can be only one Martin Scorsese. And "Pride and Glory" is not "Cape Fear"(Scorsese's reworking of the 1962 J. Lee Thompson original); it's also not "Good Fellas" in blue. Alonzo was a gangsta. Jimmy Egan(Colin Farrell) is a gangsta, too. But Jimmy has a wife and child; together, hangin' in the family crib, they look like the very model of domestic bliss(conversely, Alonzo's girl looks like a "homegirl" on blow). The kindness that Jimmy bestows on his family is supposed to absorb whatever illegal shennanigans he orchestrates on the job. But the good-hearted nurse and the child who goes to sleep with racecars dotted all over his blanket, can't absorb, and finally, redeem, a husband/father who'd punch a woman square in the face, hard, then threaten her infant with a piping hot iron, close. This sort of gratuitous act is ugly, but at least it would be honest, if Jimmy didn't show contrition soon after. Farrell is obviously thinking about his screen image. In the dialogue-less final scene, Ray Tierney(Edward Norton) become a Scorsese-like protagonist, but the expression is incomplete without Jimmy's presence. Ray never quite gets the chance to be the hero before his code of ethics is compromised by family pressure.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

JayH.Jan 26, 2009

Brutal, well acted and edited. Convincingly cast with believable performances. The gritty setting is a plus. Good pace. Still, I never really cared about most of the characters so I never got deeply involved in the film.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

SpangleDec 24, 2016

A run-of-the-mill cop crime drama, Pride and Glory features good performances from its cast, but never really does anything with the plot that has not been done before. For fans of the CBS golden oldies cop show Blue Bloods though, Pride andA run-of-the-mill cop crime drama, Pride and Glory features good performances from its cast, but never really does anything with the plot that has not been done before. For fans of the CBS golden oldies cop show Blue Bloods though, Pride and Glory may seem like a gritty precursor to seeing Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg save New York every Friday (or other day?) night. A film about family, crime, and dirty cops, Pride and Glory is essentially a film about four cops being killed in suspicious fashion, which leads to an unraveling of corruption and internal cover-ups on the part of the cops. Typical, aggressive, and unambitious, Pride and Glory should be enjoyed for the acting and that is about the end of it the positives.

That said, its adherence to cliches in its plot and characters does boost the film ever so slightly. There is reason why they are cliches and it is because it leads to a compelling film. Thus, while incredibly predictable and standard in its development, Pride and Glory's plot still manages to provide intrigue and tension along the way because of its cliches. Though the acting factors in here as well, the writing does craft an interesting plot, even if it is incredibly disposable. Its plot and characters, however, are certainly pretty racist. With Dominicans portrayed as nothing but gangsters, murderers, and junkies, Pride and Glory seems to have an issue with Dominicans, even including a line where Colin Farrell's character calls Spanish a "monkey language". Pretty risque stuff. Yes, it is part of the characterization for Farrell, but certainly offensive and his character could be developed in a different fashion.

Incredibly slow at times, the film finds tension and action through the acting in the film. In particular, Colin Farrell turns in an intense performance as Jimmy Egan. A corrupt, passionate, and unethical man, Jimmy is a cop who is deeply unhinged. He literally threatens to iron a baby in this movie. He is that crazy. I would be lying if I said his character was not thoroughly engrossing on screen, even if he is a bit of a caricature. Edward Norton stars as Ray Tierney, a detective looking to right the past who stumbles upon the cover-up and corruption. As always, Norton turns in a calculated and thoroughly great performance. A calming presence almost, Norton is not given nearly enough to chew on and clearly mails this one in, but even then, he is great. It is a shame to see him stuck in a cliched film such as this, instead of something far more challenging. Noah Emmerich also is quite good as Francis Tierney, a smart cop on his way up in the department. As always, he plays a calm, everyman type of guy who is incredibly down to Earth. He definitely plays the same guy in every movie, but I like it anyways.

Overall, Pride and Glory is typical and disposable. I am already forgetting it as I write this. That said, its acting cannot be ignored and far exceeds the quality of the script.… Expand

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FilmQueenNov 26, 2015

A quite good film about cops. It has many themes, there is some action and violence, the performances are good. However the ending is stupid, I think.

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DawdlingPoetNov 28, 2021

This film features a lot of quite quiet/low (mumbled) dialogue which I found hard to follow. However, it is more characted focussed than action centric, which I prefer but I thought some aspects of the plot were a little unclear, although theThis film features a lot of quite quiet/low (mumbled) dialogue which I found hard to follow. However, it is more characted focussed than action centric, which I prefer but I thought some aspects of the plot were a little unclear, although the general theme of crooked cops was fairly obvious. Its no wonder this film wasnt released for a fair while after 9/11 took place, as I believe is the case - crooked NYPD cops, just what would have cheered people up at that time but in any case, this film is ok. Its obviously a bit gritty and urban and it features quite a lot of shaky camerawork, which I don't particularly like. Its one thing if its in context, i.e. the plot equates to a lot of panic and shaky surroundings but this wasn't always the case and so I found it a bit distracting.

Ultimately it was the quiet dialogue that frustrated me most, so I'm only giving this a 5 out of 10 rating due to that issue and the shaky camerawork. Overall I wouldn't recommend this film, no.… Expand

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