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PCR #448 (Vol. 9, No. 43) This edition is for the week of October 20--26, 2008.

This Week's PCR
Movie Review
"Pride and Glory"

Movie review by:
Michael A. Smith

Movies are rated 0 to 4 stars

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MOVIE REVIEW
"Pride and Glory"  by Mike Smith
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Warner Brothers     
Starring: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight
Directed by: Gavin O'Connor
Rated: R
Running Time: 2 hours 10 mins


A hard-hitting football game between the New York City Police Department and their fire-fighting compatriots is interrupted by a phone call. Four police officers have been murdered in what looks like a drug bust gone bad. Their commanding officer, Francis Tierney Jr (Noah Emmerich) grieves for his men but is quickly snapped out of it by his superior, who also happens to be his father, Francis senior (Voight). Forget the sadness, he is told. But “keep the rage.” Dad assigns younger son Ray (Norton) to head a task force investigating the crime. Fellow officer Jimmy Egan (Farrell), who is married to Francis and Ray’s sister, has his own reasons for starting an investigation.

A straight forward crime drama that is elevated by its cast, “Pride and Glory” is a welcome return to the screen for Colin Farrell and the second job well done by Norton this year following “The Incredible Hulk.” They are joined scene for scene by Jon Voight, who has quietly gone from star to character actor extraordinaire. His scenes with his boys tells a lot about Voight, both as a character and an actor. Well directed by O’Connor, the film's only drawback is the occasional unnecessary story lines that creep into the tale. Be it Francis junior’s wife (Jennifer Ehle), slowly dying of cancer but bravely facing the family with a scarf on her head to cover her baldness, or a long ago case constantly referred to as “Mounthaven,” where Ray may or may not have dishonored his own badge. We only learn bits and pieces, not enough to have made it a major plot point. The action is well photographed and the supporting minor characters join the leads in providing excellent performances. If only the script was a little tighter, this could have been a classic.

On a scale of zero to four stars, I give “Pride and Glory”

 


This week's movie review of "Pride and Glory" is ©2008 by Michael A. Smith.  All graphics this page are creations of Nolan B. Canova, ©2008, all rights reserved. All contents of "Nolan's Pop Culture Review" are ©2008 by Nolan B. Canova.