Director: David Ayer
Writer: David Ayer (Screenplay)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera, Cody Horn
Plot: Shot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends, and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Raw Intense Crime Story
Story: End of Watch starts as we follow film studying Brian (Gyllenhaal) a police officers that works with Mike (Pena) on the streets of LA. Brian sets up cameras to follow the two on duty as they get stuck in the middle of drug battle as the two races clash for dominance on the streets.
We see the officers getting themselves into the middle of a string of events as we also watch both sides of the war play their cards as they become more deadly each time.
End of Watch is a crime thriller that does everything it can to show just how intense the battles on the streets of LA can be. We get to see just how divided both sides are and how the cops do their best to deal with the situations. On the negative side of this we have the film shot like a documentary which means we get a lot of shaky cam which takes us out of the story too much to enjoy this one. I can see how people will enjoy this as it does come off different to the normal but setting most of the film from within the cameras of the cop we randomly end up with the criminals too which shows we weren’t set for a found footage style either just a random set of handheld shots.
Actor Review
Jake Gyllenhaal: Brian is studying to be more than just a police officer and one of his fields of studying is film. Brian along with his partner Mike record their time together in the LAPD dealing with different drugs gangs and crimes. We get to see how he sees life as he wants to find the perfect woman but can’t always find her until Janet turns up in his life. Jake is strong in this role working off Pena really well.
Michael Pena: Mike is the partner to Brian who is a family man, he has great chemistry and his heritage helps dealing with Mexican problems they find on the street. Michael is good as he always is with a partnership film.
Natalie Martinez: Gabby is the wife of Mike who stays at home to raise their family, she has been with Mike her whole life after marry young and supports him in each decision he makes. Natalie is only really used as a supporting character never getting enough time to shine.
Anna Kendrick: Janet is the new woman that comes into Brian’s life she helps make him want to settle down being the woman he has always been searching for. Anna also struggles to the same was as Natalie but she does actually look out of place in this role.
Support Cast: End of Watch has a supporting cast which includes all the fellow members of law authority as well as all the different criminals the two officers run into on their duties. Each one offers something new for them to deal with.
Director Review: David Ayer – David does try to give us a raw feeling crime thriller and that all works great its adding the shaky cam which takes away from this film too much.
Crime: End of Watch puts us in the middle of a crime war building up between a rising gang and the police.
Thriller: End of Watch does try to drag us into where the men are going with their job but not enough.
Settings: End of Watch keeps nearly the whole film within the rougher neighbourhoods of LA where the two cops stand duty, this does help us understand the situation the men will find themselves in.
Special Effects: End of Watch has solid effects when it comes to the gun battles going on in the film.
Suggestion: End of Watch is not an easy watch but I do think the crime film fans out there will enjoy this one. (Crime Film Fans Watch)
Best Part: Chemistry between Jake and Michael.
Worst Part: Shaky cam doesn’t seem necessary.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $41 Million
Budget: $7 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
Tagline: Watch Your Six September 28
Trivia: After Taylor and Zavala pull over the male in the pickup who tries to shoot Zavala, Taylor holds up four fingers to Orozco when she asks, “Are you good?” This is often used by police to signal “Code Four,” meaning “I’m okay; no additional assistance needed at this time.”
Overall: Difficult to watch crime thriller that is raw and intense but shaky cam doesn’t work.
Rating
