"End of Watch" is a police crime drama from David Ayer who previous wrote movies like "Fast and Furious" and more similarly "Training Day". The real crime show feel of his "Training Day" and "End of Watch" movies seem to be his niche because he’s real good at it. With his police crime drama’s, you don’t get the typical Hollywood police movie, you get something that borders on real. You truly feel like you are on the beat in the middle of some of the worst Los Angeles neighborhood’s possible.
"End of Watch" introduces us to Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena) as they ride in their police cruiser. We see their world from a dash camera and a camera that Taylor carries with him to document his world, or basically to screw around with. I’m not a big fan of shaky-cam movies, but in this situation, it works because it lends to the effect of realism and adds to the tension you feel as they confront their work. Not to mention, the shaky cam isn’t all the time, just when needed or it adds to the events.
"End of Watch" is a buddy movie that could be deemed a comedy if you wanted to, although truthfully, it is just real. As the officers ride around we experience real life. We experience what officers who spend day in and day out in a car together talk about. We get to know them this way. We get to know their intelligence, their home lives, their sense of humor and the conversations are frank and honest, just like the violence and the action throughout the film.
As we watch Taylor and Zavala’s bravery and learn who they are and who they have waiting for them at the end of their days, the events of the film become even more tense. Through a random course of events, they eventually pull the waging tail of a dangerous Mexican drug cartel that has leaked it’s way into Southern California. It is at this point that Taylor and Zavala’s lives change dramatically and it is the blood and bones of the movie.
"End of Watch" is a new kind of buddy movie and in it, you discover the love and bond that officers in the field have and form for each other. Dealing with extremely dangerous situations is just another day on the job. "End of Watch" is a great film, as was "Training Day". Both movies showed a grit and realism that took it above the typical buddy cop, crime movie. There’s no faking the bond these two officers feel for each other. The creator’s flesh out every corner of the lives these guys lead right in front of your eyes with skillful camera use and skillful story telling.
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