Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.
CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
seymourblack-1 Instead of relying on an orthodox plot-driven piece to illustrate just how challenging it is to police South Central Los Angeles, this crime drama focuses on the work of a couple of young, honest LAPD officers who're routinely thrown into situations that are extremely dangerous, unpredictable and potentially life-threatening. The cops in question are Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Miguel "Mike" Zavala (Michael Pena) who firmly believe that they "get involved in more capers in one deployment period than most cops see in their entire careers".In their work, the threat of violence is ever-present with even the most routine-sounding call-outs (e.g. a noise complaint or a missing person report) providing no room for complacency and events like a car chase almost inevitably ending in a shootout. Another type of danger they encounter is seen when they arrive at the scene of a well advanced house fire with no fire fighters in attendance and kids trapped inside the building. The extreme bravery that they display in going into the house and successfully rescuing the children is then fully recognised when they're both awarded the prestigious "Medal of Valor". Not all their endeavours, however, lead to such positive outcomes and when they unwittingly start to disrupt the activities of a ruthless Mexican drug cartel who are in the process of spreading their influence into South Central; contract killers are quickly hired to eliminate them.Taylor and Zavala's professional partnership and personal friendship were both well established long before they're first seen on-screen and their interactions clearly display how unshakably loyal they are to each other and how readily they would trust each other with their lives. As well as sharing a great deal of banter, they also discuss their personal lives and challenge each other's views on how they conduct their relationships. Taylor who's had a large number of short-term relationships has recently met Janet (Anna Kendrick) and Zavala is happily married to Gabby (Natalie Martinez) who's pregnant with their first child.Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are both outstanding in their roles which provide a marvellous insight into the type of people who put their lives on the line every time they go out to work. Whilst the dangers they confront provide the movie with most of its tension, there are also many lighter moments which show another side of their personalities and Brian and Janet's moves when they dance along to "Push It" by Salt 'N' Pepa are a lot of fun to watch. Taylor delivers the movie's opening narration which includes the line " behind my badge is a heart like yours" and Gyllenhaal and Pena's performances leave no doubt that this is indeed true of the courageous tough guys that they play."End of Watch" is gritty, action-packed and presented in documentary-style with the events on-screen being seen from multiple viewpoints by courtesy of a whole variety of different cameras (e.g. a police dash cam, a camcorder carried by Taylor and cameras attached to the cops' uniforms ). This treatment is highly effective in enhancing the immediacy, edginess and excitement of what's seen during the episodic accounts of the cops' activities and the movie's excellent soundtrack also complements its style perfectly with Public Enemy's "Harder Than You Think" providing a real high point. Most people will be pleasantly surprised to find how engaged they become with Taylor and Zavala as characters and how much more substance, poignancy and humanity is seen here, compared to most cop movies.
Sean Newgent Police dramas are a dime-a-dozen in most entertainment mediums. Television is loaded with them and has been for thirty years. The New York Times Bestseller list is usually dominated by them. And, of course, cop films are a favorite of Hollywood. The popularity of the buddy cop genre, thanks to the Lethal Weapon films, has led to dozens of imitators to varying effect. Most of these glamorize the police lifestyle or throw aside reality to provide entertainment. Every once in a while, though, we see a movie like End of Watch that asks us to look at policemen from a variety of angles, not just a heroic lens.Jake Gyllenhall plays Brian Taylor, a beat cop with the LAPD partnered with his best friend Mike Zavala (Michael Pena). The two wind up learning too much about a cartel and become the target of their viciousness.Simple premise. And from the outset you can guess what is going to happen. But the movie isn't traditional in its storytelling. We see everything from body, dashboard, and hand-held camera perspectives giving an almost Cops (the television series) like feel to it all. We the viewers are a part of the action in a way I've never encountered before. Found footage horror films are a subgenre that we've all most likely encountered for good or ill. The idea of applying that to a police film is inventive and interesting, allowing for a close-up and realistic approach to telling what is an otherwise generic and by-the-numbers central plot.What the found footage reveals are two cops who are best friends and brothers who joke around, tell stories, and are entirely human. They aren't portrayed as badass, cool, or any other convention. They're just two humans. And seeing them policing the streets we get a variety of situations that show how tough it is to be a cop. Typically a film like this would have the heroes be above the law or strictly apply it. Here they beat up supposed crooks, they get rowdy when they see something they dislike, they act like dicks. But we also see them heroically rescue children from a burning house and shoot the breeze with local hoods. That multi-dimensional aspect makes the characters interesting, human, and entirely lovable.Add to that the non-cop footage of dates and weddings, major events in the duos life. It's an air of humanity that endears End of Watch and forces you to see the police in a different and more sympathetic light.The acting here is one of the main reasons the film succeeds so well. Gyllenhaal and Pena have such great chemistry and are totally believable as best friends. Given the direction and style on top of the script, it's hard not to be fooled that the two aren't real cops and they aren't ad-libbing every conversation. It's masterful.The ending, as I said at the beginning, is obvious, but it hurts still. That's the sign of a damn good film, when even with a conventional plot line and predictable finale, you still walk away feeling emotional. Because as conventional as the majority of the movie may be, it is entirely unconventional in presentation and delivery.End of Watch is edge-of-your-seat action and drama from start to finish. Fast moving and full of stellar performances, it's the type of dark and unique cop film that breathes life into a tired genre and changes your perspective in unexpected ways. Definitely give this one a watch.
TomMK22 David Ayer's thrill-a-minute, non-stop actioner is a telling and down-to-earth story of two LAPD officers and partners, patrolling the streets and fighting crime. Ayer uses just enough shaky-cam to ensure the audience believes in their protagonists, played with a great amount of charisma and believable brotherly affection by Jake Gyllenaal and Michael Peña, and to create a real sense of inevitable and unpredictable violence around every street corner. The film's unwielding use of brutal violence and gore at key moments - including a police officer with a knife stuck in his eye and mutilated bodies found in an abandoned house - mixed with the cheery and fraternal atmosphere between the partners creates a distinctly strange and unpredictable vibe to this brilliant film.
joselopez-28875 "A total of 1,439 law enforcement's officers died in the line of duty during the past ten years, an average of one death every 61 hours or 144 per year. There were 123 law enforcement officers killed I the line of duty in 2015." The movie "End of Watch" which is an action/drama movie is one of the best action movies I have seen that have cops as the main characters. Michael Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal are Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala the two cops in the movie. The movie takes place in the city of Los Angeles, California. The two police officers Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala are best friends that take on some Mexican Cartels. This movie was better than I expected. I liked how the movie was filmed like a documentary; it made it seem more realistic. It also had a little of every genre because it had some comedy. A scene that I thought was funny was one that included Mike Zavala and Orozco. Mike Zavala; "Orozco, you been working out?" Orozco; "Yeah, with your mom." Good movies always have more than one genre, it makes it more interesting. Anther think I liked about this movie is that the director David Ayer made it seem so real and showed a different side of police officers and what they go through every day in the streets. For these reasons "End of Watch" gets Five Stars from me. 10/10
