End of Watch

Logline: Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel, during a routine traffic stop.

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera

Directed by: David Ayer

So, fortunately I was able to get into classes for Fall/Winter 2012-13 which means I'll be able to graduate after this year. Unfortunately for this blog, that means I won't have as much time on my hands; hence my lack of bloging this past week. My movie watching hasn't suffered though, so I do have a lot of stuff to post up. I think instead of having a schedule I'll probably end up posting casually - which means the elimination of Throwback Thursday. I'll have mostly all the new movies coming out in theatres and some on DVD. It all depends. Stay tuned.

End of Watch is directed by David Ayer. For those who don't know him, he's a highly touted writer/director for penning movies such as Training Day, Harsh Times, The Fast and the Furious, and now this. Training Day is probably one of my favourite undercover cop movies, so I was expecting quite a bit entering the theatre tonight (it has been in my "Upcoming Movies of Interest" for awhile now). I felt Ayer owed me after Street Kings.

Review

In my honest opinion, David Ayer's third effort from the director's chair is easily forgettable. It has scored high ratings on RT (85%) and IMDb (7.7/10), but I can't help but disagree. It's not a BAD movie. I'd probably say it's a bit above mediocre, but definitely not well done. Here's why...

The story has absolutely no direction for the majority of the film. It's basically like watching an episode of COPS on TV, with a bit more heart and action. Police Officers Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala are bangers. They aren't afraid to be in the line of fire, in the heat of a car chase, in the fire of a burning house - they embrace the fear and don't think twice about doing their job. This leads them into 4-5 different crime scenes which are all unique and somewhat moving, but there's no direction other than setting up the fact that policemen go through the ringer on the regular - that's something that anyone who reads the newspaper or watches COPS already knows. So, it's an ode to policemen, I guess - but where's the story that keeps me interested? I couldn't find it until the third act. COPS, COPS , Mini story. That doesn't cut it.

There are some positives about the movie though... It's actually well directed; even though the story lacks, the movie still moves along due to rapid pacing by Ayer. He films in a really intense way - kind of in your face, but not jumpy like Cloverfield. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are both really really good in it and they share some funny scenes (probably improved) that fall nicely as comedic relief amongst their hectic lifestyle. These two aspects kept me awake while watching. They kind of carry this movie through its cringe worthy narrative that's full of cop clichés.

Topic of the Day

Every scene should have some kind of a meaning to it. If there are a clump of scenes proving the same thing, the story gets dull and boring even if the content is realistic and moving. For example, Brian and Mike go to many different police calls to investigate the situation. Each call has a distinct issue, but all they really amount to are a bunch of scenes showing how fearless these two cops are, or how much a policeman needs to put up with. WE GET IT. 1-2 calls and it's in our heads. Sometimes as filmmakers you have to learn to cut scenes you love to add scenes you need to create. I have a feeling Ayer had his heart set on these 4-5 scenes and resisted in deleting any. It was detrimental to the story in the sense that the logline only occurs in the latter half of the second act and only really launches in the third.

Consensus

End of Watch suffers from a lazy script which takes the majority of its time floating around scenes that prove the same thing over and over again. If you're a cop, or someone who is really into what policemen do, you'll probably enjoy this movie a lot. It's basically like watching COPS on TV with more action, funny characters, and some heartfelt scenes. It wasn't bad, definitely worth the watch, but I wouldn't go as far as giving it a well done - even though the film's third act is quite touching.

6.6/10