End of Watch

The latest offering from David Ayer is a significant step up from 2008’s disappointingly lacklustre Street Kings. Where that film struggled to find any real resonance amid the action, End Of Watch excels as a buddy-cop movie with heart and sensitivity to match the intense tropes of the genre.

End Of Watch follows two Los Angeles police officers – Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) – as they go about their daily duties, incorporating everything from their warmly banal car conversations to the high-octane stakeouts they carry out while patrolling the grim city streets. They both enjoy their line of work, but after a seemingly standard takedown of a gang member in possession of multiple firearms, they find themselves embroiled in something much more dangerous, as they become targeted by a Mexican drug cartel.

The whole film is played out as a found footage piece, with material from both sides of the law granted an airing. Even though the found footage style has started to feel slightly stale and overused of late, it makes End Of Watch engaging viewing. The stakes feel higher and the action bristles with a real-life sense of danger thanks to the fly-on-the-wall aesthetic, even if it is handled in a manner which feels a tad over-the-top at times.

Unpredictable and well-structured, End Of Watch delivers heart-racing spectacle in spades, but special mention should go to Gyllenhaal and Peña, with their easy chemistry completely selling the film as something which feels authentic and sincerely affecting. Ayer fleshes out both characters well, reaching beyond mere stock stereotypes, and the lead actors rise to the challenge, bolstered by solid support from the likes of Anna Kendrick and an exasperated David Harbour. If you’re on the lookout for a great action film, this one hits harder than most.

Michael Perry