When it comes to writing a screenplay, you have to be very careful. Sounds obvious, right? It should, it is one of those basic things that you have to think about prior to putting pen to paper, quill to scroll, or finger to keyboard.
This is especially true if you decide you want to create something new within a well established genre. More often than not the final product is mediocre at best, retreading the same things that have come before it. The romantic comedy is probably the most guilty of retreading what has come before; just look at recent offerings — they all tell the same sort of story with little invention. It is, more or less, a stagnant genre. That is not to say all of the films are bad — some are quite entertaining. There is just little innovation in them.
Possibly the next genre in the stagnating lineup is the cop drama. So many of these films look and feel just like everything else. Pride and Glory is an apple that doesn't fall very far from the tree in terms of innovation. If you are looking for a movie that pushes the boundaries of the genre, this is not going to fill that hole. However, while this does not really bring anything new to the table it does not present a problem in terms of how successful the film is. The thing that you need to realize is that not every film can revolutionize its genre. Not every film is going to have the impact of a Godfather or Star Wars. While that is true, we cannot hold it against films that are solid examples of their genre and while Pride and Glory may throw everything but the kitchen sink into its tale, it does so with an intelligence and intensity that kept me into the film until the final moments, even though it was pretty easy to see how it was going to turn out.
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