End of Watch is a
cop-drama film with a thrilling difference. Through the use of public
surveillance and handheld HD cameras, as well as those attached to the police cruiser,
the viewer is thrust into the South Central LA landscapes where there is a real
sense that danger is always looming. Written and directed by veteran of the
genre David Ayer (Training Day, The Fast
and the Furious), it seems that we’re getting something slightly original
with this latest offering which really raises the bar for action films such as
this.
The streets of LA take officers Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and
Zavala (Michael
Peña) on a flash around the city
with great pace. Routine traffic stops and runnings with local gang members
give us a sense that these are two LAPD officers that can be trusted and liked
by those on both sides of the law; holding the law of the street closer to
their chest than that of the book. It’s a vision of the LAPD we have seen
before from Ayers, a community driven police force which shares the values of
the streets it patrols. The tone of the film changes, however, when Taylor and
Zavala run up on a car full of drug money, jewel-encrusted weapons and
gangsters, which consequently lead them into the world of the Mexican cartel.
It is here that the film takes on an element of peril which up until now didn’t
exist. Our confident and assured cops are now involved in shoot-outs with a
group that operate above the law and, in true heroic fashion,
they’re on their own.
Whilst this whistle stop tour of LA takes us to scenes which
touch on implausible, a scene in which Zavala puts his gun down to fight with a
gang member in order to earn the police respect comes to mind, it does so with such
incredible urgency that there’s no time to linger on such trivialities. If the
overly dramatic story and themes of friendship and brotherly love get all a bit
too much, then you can count on this visceral style of filmmaking to hold your
attention as the action unfolds – and with what pace it unfolds!
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