Review of End of Watch (2012) by Diego T — 05 Feb 2014

This review has... so many spoilers... holy shit.

It's a rare thing to get a buddy-cop movie as serious, intelligent, and yet genuinely hilarious as End of Watch. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena star as two policemen working the streets of LA's ghettos. Their friendship (for Breaking Bad fans) is highly reminiscent of Hank and Gomie's relationship. It would have been even more interesting if this had been a direct prequel. But no.

My main problem with the film is its format. The found-footage film shit got old back when Paranormal Activity was released. This is now the second potentially fantastic film that has been ruined by it (the other being 2012's Chronicle). The camera works briefly when the policemen are just talking, but suddenly we cut to panorama and helicopter shots of the greater LA metropolitan area. If you're going to do found-footage (which is a horrible choice in the first place), STICK TO IT! You can't switch back and forth between filming types with this! Sometimes it will actually show Gyllenhaal holding the camera. I suppose that the film's creators weren't too worried about shooting for the realism of the found-footage throughout the movie, but it would have been nice to see a little consistency.

Still, it's a great movie. Gyllenhaal and Pena are completely believable as a pair of cops who, when not patrolling the streets and ridding neighborhoods of drug dealers, engage in witty banter about life and their respective wives. Anna Kendrick is great as Gyllenhaal's girlfriend, then fiance, and finally wife. The characters are incredibly well-developed, and the pair are able to convey great emotion just by telling strange stories and debating their personal issues while on-duty.

Some of the film is rough, but it never crosses the line into intentional gross-out entertainment. A policeman is stabbed in the eye, but even that is handled incredibly tastefully, as he remains conscious enough to direct Gyllenhaal and Pena to where the perpetrator is. It's the kind of film that could be shown in basic training to policemen. I know it sure as fuck made ME want to be a cop.

...At least, until the end. After rattling a few cages and pissing off the wrong drug lords, a hit is put out on the dynamic duo. During the ensuing shootout, there is true suspense-- let me explain. In Die Hard, there is suspense in the sense that you wonder how John McClane will get out of horrible situation after horrible situation. But you never wonder IF he'll get out of it. End of Watch had me wondering that, and (maybe saying something about my ability to predict films) Michael Pena dies from AK-47 fire while crouching over Gyllenhaal's unconscious body.

It relies on a few buddy-cop movie tropes-- for instance, at the finale, the audience is supposed to think that both Gyllenhaal and Pena died, until we see only one coffin at the funeral. Again, it was more than a little predictable, but that doesn't make it any less powerful. Final Score for End of Watch: 8.5/10 stars. Sure, it had its flaws, but I can overlook minor inconsistencies in favor of dialogue, scriptwriting, and great acting any day.