End Of Watch - Movie Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

A strong sense of camaraderie sets this edgy police thriller apart from the crowd. And it's also a change of direction for writer-director David Ayer, who has explored the dark side of police corruption in Training Day, Harsh Times and Street Kings. But this film focusses instead on two good-guy cops just trying to do their job and have happy private lives.

On the gritty streets of Los Angeles, officers Taylor and Zavala (Gyllenhaal and Pena) continually make important arrests, which really annoys their serious-minded colleague Van Hauser (Harbour) because they're usually joking around as well. But their captain (Grillo) is slowly starting to respect their work. Meanwhile, their loyal partnership in the streets spills over into their private lives, and they lend support to each other as Taylor falls in love with Janet (Kendrick) and Zavala's wife (Martinez) gives birth to their first child. On the other hand, a Mexican cartel boss has just put a price on their heads after they busted his operation.

Ayer shoots the film like a fly-on-the-wall doc, with hand-held cameras capturing each scene. Sometimes the shaky imagery is a bit distracting since it has nothing to do with the plot, but it encourages the cast to deliver offhanded, bristly performances that build our interest during the nicely meandering first half. Then things shift drastically as a major plot kicks into gear that involves what the cops call the three food groups: drugs, money and guns.

At the centre, Gyllenhaal and Pena have such great chemistry that the film is worth seeing just for their banter. Their scenes are packed with sarcastic jokes and good-natured teasing then suddenly shift into life-or-death suspense while they're on the job. And both Kendrick and Martinez fit perfectly into this tone, as does Ferrera in an astonishing against-type role as a tough cop. And despite some bumpy plot points, this funny, feisty film superbly captures the remarkable mixture of tedium and perilous danger police officers experience every day.

Rich Cline

Facts and Figures

Year: 2012

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 109 mins

In Theaters: Friday 21st September 2012

Box Office USA: $41.0M

Box Office Worldwide: $39.9M

Budget: $7M

Distributed by: Open Road Films

Production compaines: Exclusive Media Group

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Fresh: 143 Rotten: 25

IMDB: 7.7 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: David Ayer

Producer: David Ayer, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Mike Gunther, Matt Jackson

Screenwriter: David Ayer

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal as Brian Taylor, Michael Peña as Mike Zavala, Natalie Martinez as Gabby, Anna Kendrick as Janet, David Harbour as Van Hauser, Frank Grillo as Sarge, America Ferrera as Officer Orozco, Cody Horn as Officer Davis, Shondrella Avery as Bonita, Hugh Daly as Homicide Detective 2, Gene Hong as Officer Cho, Cle Shaheed Sloan as Mr. Tre, Jaime Fitzsimmons as Captain Reese, Everton Lawrence as Man Friend, Everton Lawrence as CK, Everton Lawrence as DJ, Zone as Too Tall, Alvin Norman as Peanut, Richard Cabral as Demon, Diamonique as Wicked, Maurice Compte as Big Evil, Flakiss as La La, Manny Jimenez Jr. as Casper, Nikki Nicholle Barreras as Cindy, Kristy Wu as Sook, Candace Smith as Sharice, Corina Calderon as Jazmine, David Fernandez Jr. as Spooky, McKinley Freeman as Williams

Also starring: Michael Pena, David Ayer, Randall Emmett, George Furla