Rating of
3/4
Review: End of Watch
MikePA - wrote on 10/28/12
Most cop films had always intrigued me, based on the characters that are established and the impressively staged shoot-out sequences. From my count, I haven't seen many "bad" or "mediocre" cop films. The ones that immediately pop into my brain are Michael Bay's two Bad Boys films and Kevin Smith's surprisingly awful Cop Out. Some of the superior and more influential cop movies that I like include Heat, Lethal Weapon, and The Departed. Hell, I'll even throw in Hot Fuzz. End of Watch is the latest of the genre, and while it doesn't reach the level of greatness, it's still a gem. Buckle up and enjoy this wild ride.
Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena) are two L.A. Police Officers, patrolling some of the roughest and toughest neighborhoods. Officer Taylor captures footage using a hand-held video camera and several small cameras attached to the cop car for a film-making class. As they drive around these towns and take down bad guys, we're connected to their experience through their point-of-view. It's pretty cool. Once they stumble upon a secret that makes them the target of a drug cartel, things get heavy, and we, the audience, are put through the journey with them.
End of Watch is an intense, authentic, and occasionally funny buddy cop thriller that favors characterizations over loud gun shots and big explosions. Director David Ayer uses the point-of-view/found-footage shaky-cam style effectively, both as a stylistic technique and as an element of storytelling. He doesn't bang you over the head with it, he allows you to adapt to the style and tells a good story with it.
The movie functions more on characters than on plot. Sometimes you get the feeling that it's way too light on plot. But here it works because the two lead characters are fleshed out and developed, given humanity by Gyllenhaal and Pena, who do a fantastic job portraying their characters and engaging the audience with their chemistry. They have an intimate buddy relationship with one another. I bought it. I cared about these guys, and when Ayer delivers that dramatic punch-to-the-gut climax, it's pretty damn effective.
As solid as the film is, I do have some minor problems: (1) Many characters seem unnecessary. Anna Kendrick's character, Janet, for example. Janet is Officer Taylor's wife. I didn't feel the need for her character. It felt like she was just thrown in there in hope for a more emotional impact in case something tragic may happen to Officer Taylor. (2) The pacing is kind of off. It gets fast, then it slows down, then it picks up, then it slows down. It occasionally gets really slow, with many scenes that could have easily been cut from the film.
Ultimately, End of Watch is one of 2012's more satisfying films. Well-written, well-directed, and powerfully acted, this realistic cop drama delivered the thrills and the emotional punch that I wanted.
3/4
