Pride and Glory is the best thing that has happened to Edward Norton in a long time. He plays it as typical, with his mark of pure talent. This time instead of steamrolling through the process (I'm looking at you, Down in the Valley), he feeds off of others instead of punishing them for being onscreen with him. And he gets excellent help from Colin Farrell (with just a bit too much accent), Jon Voight (who's usually hit and miss and this time hits), and Noah Emmerich (quietly one of the best supporting actors in Hollywood). What makes the movie work isn't the corrupt cops storyline, though that is engaging enough if only overly familiar, but rather the way the corruption affects a family of cops. Now the family of cops genre is almost always tied to a corrupt cops kicker (I was reminded by the trailer and critical reception of We Own the Night from about the same time in 2007). But what works here and will endear the movie to me and enrage me (happily) for years is the family. Their scenes together in and out of uniform are what make the film work on all its other levels. Their history, their present, and the way the corruption tears them apart is the captivating element here. In lesser hands than these actors, this movie might have fallen apart under its "been there, done that" thriller elements. As it stands now, Pride and Glory is one of my favorites of 2008 and one of the most pleasant surprises I've had in the theater for a good long while.
***1/2
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