'End of Watch' - riveting, tense despite shortcomings!
'End of Watch', the new thriller from the writer of 'Training Day', is a riveting, intense portrayal of the day in the life of a pair LAPD cops energetically portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. Despite most of it's formulaic themes and the over use of hand-held cameras, actors Gyllenhaal and Pena deliver top notch performances that raise the level of buddy cop films.
Jake Gyllenhaal has to be one of the most underrated actors out there today; will each performance he seethes a very quiet intensity; with his smoldering eyes and almost manic expressions, Gyllenhaal's portrayal of Officer Brian Taylor, is a marvel to watch. Equally compelling was Pena as his partner and best friend, Officer Mike Zavala; both complemented each other and fit into the roles nicely. You believed they were best friends as well as partners. By far, this was one of the most realistic feeling portrayals of partner/friends that I have seen in a film in some time.
A little annoying though was the use of the hand-held cameras and the 'found footage' approach, borrowing footage from not only the partners as Office Taylor documents their daily routine for a class project; but the footage from a local group of gang bangers and I believe footage from a surveillance video from the DEA (if the DEA had footage of a drug cartel planning to execute a couple of LAPD Officers, wouldn't they have said something?). There is so much of it and so much of the action is shot at shaky, close range, that it becomes a bit confusing.
But it is the powerful and convincing acting of Gyllenhaal and Pena that pull the movie through this shortcoming to make it a very watchable and intense drama. The final scene, while borrowed from just about every 'Lethal Weapon' type script, will have you at the edge of your seat; not because of the gun fire and action, but because you are invested with the characters that both actors have developed. You know something is going to go painfully wrong and you watch hoping that something or someone will swoop in to save the day.
'End of Watch' is just about ready to leave the theater and hit the small screen on BluRay and DVD; but you can still catch this 3 1/2 star drama at the $1.50 theaters (and some larger Cineplexes). If you can get past the shaky handheld portions, this is a film worth a look on the big screen; at the very least, it is worth the $1.50 trip to the theater!