End of Watch

“End of Watch,” released in 2012, is one of the best police movies in recent years, a brilliant combination of performances and often surprising action. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña are Taylor and Zavala, two Los Angeles Street cops who bend a few rules but must be acknowledged as heroes. After too many police movies about officers who essentially use their badges as licenses to go crazy, it’s inspiring to realize that these men take their mission – to serve and protect – with such seriousness they’re willing to risk their lives.

Taylor and Zavala hit every mark of the “buddy cop movie,” but “End of Watch” goes so much deeper than that. They’ve been partners for years and are so close that Zavala’s wife, Gabby (Natalie Martinez), and Taylor’s girlfriend, Janet (Anna Kendrick), have become like sisters. The two cops are transferred to a hard, largely Mexican-American district, where their determination leads them across the scent of a Mexican cartel operating in Los Angeles. This is really a job for a detective, but they don’t avoid risk, and eventually become so dangerous to the cartel that a hit is ordered against them.

That builds up to the film’s third act. Earlier parts have amazing shootouts, chases, and rescuing children from a burning building when the fire department is slow to arrive. You have to see the two men find themselves in an incredibly high percentage of dangerous and violent situations. If every day were as disturbing and risky as their lives here, it’s incredible they can keep going in to work.

As the movie starts, Taylor is filming a video documentary about his job, for a film class he’s taking. “End of Watch” begins with his narration about the nature of his job. Roger Ebert said in his review, “All through the movie, Jake Gyllenhaal reveals a presence and stability that's in contrast to the lighter-weight, ingratiating characters he often plays.” Michael Peña gives one of the performances of his career as the partner, and the reality of their relationship underscores the whole film. We wouldn’t believe some of the things they do if we didn’t believe who they are.

The movie is helped by strong supporting performances, not only by Natalie Martinez and Anna Kendrick but by fellow officers Van Hauser (David Harbour), Sarge (Frank Grillo), and Orozco (America Ferrera).

Ebert noted, “The consistent plausibility of "End of Watch" must owe a great deal to writer-director David Ayer. This is his second credit as a writer-director, after "Harsh Times" (2005), and he deserves many more. He knows this territory. He wrote Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning "Training Day" (2001) and two other superior cop movies, "Dark Blue" (2002), "S.W.A.T." (2003) and "The Fast and the Furious" (2001).”

At this point, it seems fair to guess he may want to stay right there in Los Angeles and explore the police experience in one way after another. From a dramatic viewpoint, there are few professions that give their members entry into other lives, those include cops, doctors, clergymen, journalists, and prostitutes. Maybe that explains why they figure in so much television and movies. Their lives are lived amongst human drama.

This is one of the best buddy cop movies ever. Bear in mind, this has a lot of swearing, including a lot of F bombs dropped. If you don’t mind the language and violence, then you should check this one out because it is worth checking out. You’ll be missing out if you haven’t seen this great film.

Thank you for joining in on this long-running “Buddy Cop Month.” I hope you enjoyed every film that I reviewed and you checked out the ones I recommended. Look out next month for what I will end the year out with.