Metacritic reviews

Edward Norton is in top form as Ray, a burned-out detective whose investigation into the deaths of four cops leads him to suspect his brother-in-law, Officer Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell, also terrific).

Its value is unquestionable as drama and moral provocation.

The stark drama harkens back to Sidney Lumet classics like "Serpico" and "Prince of the City"-filmmaking that went after an unadorned, jagged realism, with acting to match.

The final 15 minutes are so awful that it's difficult to believe that the bulk of the film is actually decent.

Feels like a film that should have been made at least 25 years ago. Or made as a period piece. Heavy, doom-laden and, unfortunately, entirely predictable.

It follows the well-worn pathways of countless police dramas before it.

Full of interesting little grace notes, and the cast is excellent, yet it grows more and more frustrating.

Gritty, jumpy and rife with cliches.

It's a good thing this movie has been sitting on the shelf for a year or more, because, apart from the difference in release dates, there's little to distinguish this new cop drama from last year's cop drama "We Own the Night."

How ironic that a movie filled with police officers should end up feeling like a hostage situation.