( CNN ) -- Is the movie cop thriller heading for retirement ? Colin Farrell , left , and Edward Norton star in `` Pride and Glory '' as New York cops . It seems incredible to suggest that such a popular form of storytelling might be on the way out , but it 's happened before : Musicals and westerns were once staple entertainment for the moviegoing masses , and somewhere in the 1970s they just went thataway . Now the musicals and westerns that emerge are considered unusual . So consider : Last week the top box-office draw in the country was `` Max Payne '' with Mark Wahlberg as an obsessed cop tracking down the killer who murdered his wife and child . Based on a video game , `` Max Payne '' takes a rudimentary plot and boils it down still further , to the point where it 's worse than predictable . The film 's attraction ( such as it is ) is n't found in story , but in decoration : the blue-filtered chiaroscuro and etch-y comic book compositions , how the snow glints under the streetlights . `` Pride and Glory , '' on the other hand , is resolutely old school . Not only is it not based on a video game , it 's hard to imagine that any of the characters has played one -- or seen a movie either . Watch behind the scenes at `` Pride and Glory '' » . The time period is n't specified , but it seems to be today , going on 1974 . Written by `` Tumbleweeds '' director Gavin O'Connor and Joe Carnahan ( `` Narc '' ) , based on a story O'Connor put together with his twin brother Greg and ex-New York cop Robert Hopes , this is one of those movies that wants to emulate the serious side of '70s cinema , to dig into thorny ethical quandaries and alert us to institutional corruption . Unfortunately , it does a poor job . This time Edward Norton is the alienated cop , Ray Tierney . Like Max Payne , he 's stepped away from the street to nurse his own grievances -- he bears an ugly scar down his cheek from an incident referred to only obliquely . The details remain hazy , but it casts a `` Chinatown '' -size cloud over Ray and probably accounts for the state of his marriage -- which is over -- and the fact that he 's sleeping on his dad 's leaky sailboat . There 's considerably more plot in `` Pride and Glory '' than in `` Max Payne , '' but it 's only marginally less predictable . A shooting puts four cops down -- all of them from the command of Ray 's brother Francis ( Noah Emmerich ) . Francis is devastated , and the boys ' father , Francis Sr. ( Jon Voight ) , insists Ray must step up and take charge of the investigation . The Tierney clan has another cop in the family : Jimmy ( Colin Farrell ) is married to their sister ( Lake Bell ) . We soon realize Jimmy 's hands are dirty . But what will Ray do about it ? If you 've seen your Sidney Lumet movies -- `` Serpico , '' `` Prince of the City , '' `` Q & A '' -- then you 'll be well ahead of the game . Even if you have n't , you 'll have seen the cop shows that drew from them . Which is why almost every scene , every line of dialogue in `` Pride and Glory '' has the dull thud of cliche . `` We ca n't keep doing this , '' moans Ray 's soon-to-be ex-wife . Any regular moviegoer will know exactly what she means : How many more times will we have to suffer this déja-vu ? Granted , originality is n't everything . Last year , James Grey 's `` We Own the Night '' invested a very similar story with subtle character shadings and a subversive edge . What 's most disappointing about O'Connor 's capably acted but gloomy and portentous movie is how it shies away from any real complexity . The Tierneys may have their faults , but the outsider , Jimmy , is the bad egg ( we gather that much when he threatens a baby with a hot iron ) . When push comes to shove , the brothers do the right thing in a climax so stock you could use it to make gravy . The old school was better than this . And , back then , it was n't old either . `` Pride and Glory '' is rated R and runs 129 minutes . For Entertainment Weekly 's take , click here .
`` Pride and Glory '' wants to be cop thriller throwback ; instead it 's just predictable . Comment: Edward Norton and Colin Farrell star in well-acted but clichéd movie .