Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Home Video – 130 mins – 2008 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 1.85:1 – Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Audio Mix – Digital Copy

Ever since the success of Training Day, the quest to make the next big film about dirty cops has uncovered a long list of movies that still have not been able to hit the target. Pride and Glory attempts to expand this genre, mixing in the ‘family of cops’ element, and the result is your basic cop drama that has been done before, making this effort feel mediocre. Pride and Glory comes to Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, so if you’re big on cop dramas it may be worth a look.

THE MOVIE

Set in New York City, Pride and Glory centers around an incident where four police officers are brutally murdered during a drug bust gone wrong. Head Detective Francis Tierney (Jon Voight), is in charge of finding out what went wrong and assigns his son Ray Tierney (Edward Norton), to assemble a team to investigate the crime. Two other family members who are also cops, Jimmy (Colin Farrell) and Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich) are tossed into the mix because they were close to the officers who were killed. Even though all roads lead to a drug lord named Tezo (Ramon Rodriguez), to be the prime suspect, Jimmy’s gets deeper into the investigation that points to certain members of the NYPD including his brother and law Jimmy.

Directed and co-written by Gavin O’Connor, Pride and Glory is well made and acted, but the problem is as a viewer there’s nothing that really draws you in. There have been so many cop dramas that weave into the same box, such as last year’s We Own The Night, that they all look the same. The other writer of the screenplay, Joe Carnahan, made the 2002 film Narc, which also dealt with police corruption, so he’s no stranger to the territory. The performances are satisfactory, but no one stands out, making it hard to keep you involved.

TV crime dramas such as NYPD Blue, Law and Order, The Wire, and even The Shield have dived into stories such as this repeatedly, so when you see a big screen police drama you expect so much more. Pride and Glory is not a bad film, it’s just not confident in what it’s attempting to do, and with a running time over two hours it feels longer than it is.

With the heavyweight casts it possesses, Pride and Glory should have been a much better film and a step above a TV drama. At best this one is a rental, because after you see it once, there’s no desire to watch it again. Eventually another excellent police crime dram will come along, but despite some good performances, Pride and Glory falls short of being something that may have been great.

VIDEO

Presented in full 1080p in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Pride and Glory has a good image, but nothing jumps off the screen. Intentionally or not, there is a lot of grain in the picture, but this may be because of the dark tone the film is setting. Skin tones are solid, but other areas look flat, looking no better than what you would see on the standard DVD. Overall, you’re just offered a basic image without the bells and whistles.

AUDIO

Pride and Glory has a Dolby TrueHD sound mix that is actually the best highlight on the Blu-ray. There is plenty of background ambience to give you the sense being on the scene, with constant chatter and distance sound effects. This is a dialogue heavy film, and for the most part everything sounds clear, but there are times when characters, particularly Farrell, are mumbling, but they may just be his acting style.

EXTRAS

Besides a Digital Copy of the movie, the only extra included is the documentary Source of Pride: The Making of Pride and Glory, a sixty-seven minute behind the scenes journey featuring the casts and filmmakers, that is more involving than actually watching the film.

BOTTOM LINE

Pride and Glory should have been much better, but those who are looking for a cop drama that attempts to go for a realistic tone may want to give it a viewing. The Blu-ray itself doesn’t make it more worthy than the standard DVD, with a basic picture and solid sound, but if you do like this movie, this is the way to go. Put Pride and Glory on your list of films to rent.

SCORES (out of 5):

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 3.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 2.5

Bottom Line: 3.0