Pride And Glory

THE PLOT: A gritty thriller which follows the trials and tribulations of crooked New York cops from the fictional 31st Precinct.When four men from the department are ambushed and slain during a drug bust, Manhattan detective chief Francis Tierney (Voight) assembles a crack task force to identify and capture the shooter.

He implores his son, Detective Ray Tierney (Norton), to lead the investigation, working alongside brother Francis Jr (Emmerich), the dead men's commanding officer, and brother-in-law Jimmy Egan (Farrell).

Ray reluctantly agrees and his meticulous work uncovers undeniable evidence of police involvement in the drug war between Angel Tezo (Rodriguez) and Eladio Casado (Gonzalez): someone at the precinct tipped off the dealers that armed units were on the way.

THE VERDICT: Don't studios supply their directors with camera stands any more? After all the shaky, frenetic action in Quantum of Solace last week, Pride And Glory employs similar hand-held camera techniques to maintain an uncomfortably close proximity to the action, shadowing detectives as they work a crime scene or face a standoff with an armed man.

The film is shot in a grimy, colour-bleached palette which makes the city seem cold and foreboding, shooting on locations far off the tourist track.

Violence is graphic though not gratuitous, while Norton and Farrell are solid in underwritten roles. But both are out-gunned by Emmerich, whose scenes with his dying wife leave a lasting impression.

Are there any good cops in New York City? Whenever filmmakers hit the mean streets of the Big Apple, the uniformed men and women supposed to be upholding the law always seem to be the very same people bending it beyond recognition. Rating: 6/10

• Release Date: Friday 7 November 2008

• Certificate: 15

• Runtime: 130mins

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