End of Watch

As in the past many times, I will be a rebel in this case as well and I will give End of Watch an unflattering report card. The fashion of films shot with a shaky handheld camera in a pseudo-documentary style has never appealed to me and in many cases, it just feels plain wrong. I could count on the fingers of one hand when a similar style used in a film had a legitimate reason. While the camera on a policeman could still be clumsily justified, on the criminal's side it looks like a failed joke and it's simply absurd. The macho behavior of the policemen is not sympathetic to me, the glorification of their work is obvious, and the pathos is at times unbearable. Although the film mentions that many policemen never fire a shot outside of training, both protagonists are busier than a frontline soldier during an offensive. The result is remarkably reminiscent of a failed reality show on an American commercial station. Overall impression: 25%. (26/01/2016)

Sure, I could complain here about the camera and the sobriety with which this movie is made. However, I knew what I was getting into, and most importantly, there is still a high number of actors which I was really looking forward to. And so I started watching End of Watch, and lo and behold, it’s actually a beautiful and honest movie portraying the demanding work of police officers in Los Angeles, who fight drug cartels every day. It’s a kind of a peek into this world, plus it’s incredibly human, natural, and beautifully non-affected. I have to admit, I don’t do this every day, but I simply ignored the flaws of the camera in this movie. While at the beginning it wasn’t exactly a hit, the premise, the filmmaking craft and the actors made me praise it in the end. End of Watch may not be a film for everyone but giving it a chance is worth it. Maybe it can also surprise other people like me, who can’t stand shaky cameras. (09/05/2014)

At first what seems like a pure spectacle of reality, then a sinister psychological thriller in the guise of an action flick, and at last an overwhelmingly escalating drama of people doing hard work in an unbearable place. During the operations and the necessity to draw a weapon, you can truly feel every breath and drop of sweat, and thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal's sincere gaze, End of Watch will stay with me for a long time. The reason it didn't make the highest rating is precisely because of its main asset – realism. In its authentic filth, David Ayer's romp cut a little too close for me to simply see it as a "mere" spectator experience. (14/02/2014)

Good cop movie. The plot is not too heavy, it’s mostly only a peek into the daily routine of police work in a shitty neighbourhood of an American big city – a series of more or less unrelated scenes. We don’t get anything resembling a “main storyline” until about halfway, and then the “plot” happens as if by the way. Which doesn’t matter, because what’s important in End of Watch is the format, the authenticity, and the brutal and dirty aesthetics that result from both the theme and the way it’s captured. It’s not a movie that looks pretty, it alternates between cameras on police cars, hand-held cameras, body cameras and normal shots on film. Together, this produces a very interesting mosaic that feels considerably less constrained when compared to a pure found-footage format. (15/11/2012)

By making the cameras present, End of Watch made the central pair of cops heroes of their own genre movie. Thanks to the characters addressing the camera and showing off in front of its lens, the film shifts from the invasive-documentary aesthetic of reality TV to the exhibitionist first-person style of YouTube videos, whose makers stylise themselves into their own surreal mirror ideal. Furthermore, the chosen form tellingly corresponds to the motif of both protagonists’ unhealthy machismo. The central characters’ disturbing immaturity shows that they see their badges only as tickets into the delightful realm of genre gangsters and their pistols as a guarantee of power and a promise of adventure. (23/02/2013)