Pride and Glory follows a family of cops, fresh off of a police corruption scandal, in the middle of an investigation of a case involving the murder of four New York police officers. In many ways, this cop-family drama is unoriginal, especially since it seems like it's a remake of last year's We Own The Night—which, by the way, is an inferior film. But even still, Pride offers some riveting moments and a universal, moral tale that most can relate to. The film basically shouts out the timeless notion (some jaded critics would call it a clichè) of doing the right thing no matter the cost.

Police chief Francis Tierney, Sr. (Jon Voight) is a police chief whose two sons, Francis, Jr. (Noah Emmerich) and Ray (Edward Norton), and his son-in-law, Jimmy (Colin Farrell), all serve in the NYPD. The admirably tight-knit Tierney family has a double-strength loving bond, protecting their own with fierce loyalty to blood and the badge.

However, Ray's loyalty to the boys in blue has cost him personally because he had to fudge a bit of his testimony in a recent investigation to protect a fellow NYPD cop. Out of guilt and loss, Ray had been laying low, taking some time off until four cops under his brother's command are murdered in a drug bust gone wrong.

Francis, Jr. forms a task force to investigate the incident, with Ray as one of the lead investigators. Ray is reluctant to jump back in but he agrees because one of the dead cops was once a close friend. But as the investigation goes on, the scent of dirty cops grows strong, ruffling a lot of feathers in the precinct. So as Ray gets closer to uncovering the truth, the closer he is to shaming the legacy of his family, and even further discrediting the NYPD.

Ray's decision to tell the truth in the face of loss and shame reminded me of the three Hebrew princes in Babylonian exile in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to deny their identity and their God by following the Babylonian king's decree to worship an idol. Beyond their reputations or positions in the kingdom, they risked their lives for defying the king and doing what they knew was right.

Ray knows the high price of throwing away everything your worked your life for. Francis, Jr. is also torn by his loyalty to family and fellow cops. Should he stand up for the truth? Should he risk his reputation? Meanwhile, his wife is dying of cancer, and the added stress of the current investigation doesn't help.

Despite it being advertised with an edgy rap song in the trailer, Pride and Glory is definitely a traditional, serious, cop family drama. In fact, it feels a little epic but perhaps it's better described as a saga. It's like a grand and gritty moral tale, involving family and tough decisions, but it lacks the rich story detail and character development of movies like The Godfather to be an intense and engrossing movie. Nevertheless, I think the film will resonate with its audience, even though that audience may be small in boxoffice terms.

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