End of Watch(2012)- User Reviews

Writer/director David Ayer is no stranger to the life and crimes of the Los Angeles Police Department (his resume includes "Training Day," "Harsh Times," and "Dark Blue"), but for the first time in his career, he achieves a reality without theatrics. Shot with a hand held camera (a style that's been done to death and will continue to die with the upcoming "Paranormal Activity 4"), yet not to the point where the narrative is abused, "End of Watch" is the most realistic, adrenaline-pumping film about cops in a long, long time.

While it's to Ayer's credit as a writer personally familiar with the material, the majority of "Watch"s authenticity comes from the chemistry between actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, who play a couple of South LA cops who stumble upon a Mexican drug cartel's operation. As we spend time with them patrolling, dancing, drinking, and even pranking, we're also relating to them as ordinary people, which inadvertently turns up the dread whenever the two of them encounter potential danger.

As for the action scenes, which range anywhere from on-foot to car chases- they are seamlessly choreographed and exciting. Even when the two are investigating something minor like a domestic disturbance, there's this unshakable fear that we have for the lives of these characters because they're so well fleshed out by their actors. By the time the story culminates with a heart-stopping shoot out and their fates are ultimately determined, I'll be damned if I didn't choke up a bit.

Surprisingly, while being this intense, gritty, cop drama, "End of Watch" also finds the time to be funny and thoughtful- levity you don't often see in pictures like this. The end result is a film that has it all; something for everyone- except for those who are easily nauseated by shakey-cam, but that's nothing a dramamine can't fix. Man up!