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Heard some good things about the movie but not a lot. Just got done watching it. It has been a while since I saw a movie that really got the waterworks flowing. I really started to love the dynamic of the two characters, but I didn't realize how much I cared about them until the end. And man it had me bawling.
I didn't feel like I was watching a movie as much as I was watching a home video. The acting was so incredible that I felt like they were real police officers.
I know this is WAY late and I should have watched it earlier, but if you haven't seen it, it is truly breath taking... at least from my experience. Still reeling a bit emotionally from it.
Thanks for reading this very out of date post.
Edit: words
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You know there are movies out there, that if you look at it just plot wise you really kind of ask your self "okay what's so special"? But then you look at the actor/actress playing the roles in the film and they really make or break the film. End of Watch isnt really anything new in terms of story. It's pretty straight forward cop movie. Gyllenhaal and Pena made that movie what it was. You could tell they really connected with the roles, they really took the time to understand and immerse them selves in them. I love when actors take it their roles seriously. Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday, Heath Ledger as The Joker, Sam Rockwell in Moon. Some great examples of actors really getting into their roles.
Gyllenhaal witnessed a murder while on his first day of doing ride-alongs! Crazy.
Here's what I think is special, plot-wise. The plot rarely showed us anything beyond what the cops knew. And the cops didn't find anything out that they wouldn't have done in real life. Can you name one other cop movie that did that?
There was clearly a much, much bigger picture, but we get minor hints - the phone call thing, the criminals planning an assault, but that's it. If it was Lethal Weapon, JG would have taken a bullet down to ballistics and come up with a lead, met the villain and cracked the case. But he didn't do that. He played his part, and when he overstepped the mark, when he got too involved, it brought down a rain of hell on him and his partner. And yet the audience is NEVER shown why. It is all about two guys in the middle of a much bigger situation. It was excellent writing, and while the performances are the most notable part of the movie, I disagree with anyone who thinks it was a simple plot brought to life with fancy camerawork and two great performances. The ending of the movie fitted perfectly with EVERYTHING we had seen in the build up. And the plot made that work.
It's never too late to watch a great movie!
lol agreed. just watched it 11 years later
The villains were laughably cartoonish, but the rest was really, really enjoyable.
I'm pretty sure there are people just like that in LA.
I'm Mexican and some of my cousins that my family don't really talk to anymore are like that.
There are people just like that in any large city
Yes, that's definitely true, but seeing those kinds of characters in a role where they actually do massively terrible shit was just weird and almost funny to watch. It's like if those kids on XBox Live were actually fucking your mom, y'know? That's honestly the best comparison I could come up with.
That comparison actually worked pretty well! I think maybe the nastiest guy was supposed to be the driving force for the weaker of the bunch. Yet to flesh that out, to make their motivation believable, it would have required a fair amount more screen time. Ultimately, the plot needed them to be a bit dim but very dangerous!
Truth is stranger than fiction. I knew and saw people that were exactly like that living around LA.
Did you see them at the shooting range shooting AKs with drum mags and missing every single shot?
AK's are hard to shoot. especially when you dont have sub machine gun experience.
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They were actual gang members weren't they, or was that bit of trivia off?
Yup they definitely used some real gangsters in the movie
The main gangbanger dude also played colonel Carillo on Narcos. lol
They were as clichéd as they come, thankfully they were never the focus of the film. The visual style worked so well though, perhaps with a better script it could have become a modern classic.
Then again I think a lot of these "gangstaz" are exactly like this, maybe they were a bit overdrawn but not too much.
Have you ever been to LA or Southern California? That's exactly how people like that are, and I mean EXACTLY like that.
You'd like to think that sure, but live in or around LA for a month or two and you'll realize that people like that act and talk just like the villans in the movie.
Fuck, I know people like that. I don't hangout with them or anything, but they are out there. They are laughable.
That's because the writing was just okay. Granted, I appreciate caricatures in film as much as the next guy. What really sold End of Watch was the performances.
That the movie didn't delve into the greater mysteries it hinted at (the killings, whoever it was that wanted the cops dead for digging) was a massive credit to the plot of the movie. The story was focussed; it was about two cops on the street who don't see the bigger picture, and that's why the audience didn't either. It was perfectly well written with believable dialogue.
I don't find the writing to be anything gawk at, but that's just my opinion. It does its job and it does it well. But that's to expected, right? (I suppose maybe not in comparison to most Hollywood blockbusters.)
I think maybe it deserves credit for not being overly elaborate and therefore gawk-inducing! Twists and turns belong to every other cop movie. By remaining tightly focussed on these two guys, the script allowed the cast to shine.
This is one of the few examples of a hand held footage movie being done well imo. Just about everything in this movie is really well done. About the only nitpicky thing I have against it is the ending - it just seemed a bit over the top for the amount of realism the entire movie seemed to be grounded in beforehand. But whatever, I still love it overall. Jake G kills it in just about everything he's in. It's amazing to the range this guy has and how believable he can be playing all these different characters just by changing how his hair looks.
I agree, but they didn't justify the existence of the cameras well enough IMO. I loved the movie, gave it 5 stars. I just don't think they quite nailed that element. But that's a minor complaint.
I dont understand why they didnt get in the car at the end after they jump the wall and kill the guy in it, that was something that irritated me for the rest of the movie. Great Movie though.
totally agree. like get in there and floor it
Man, I cried like a baby. Amazing film, glad you liked it!
The whole 'found footage' thing was really forced in the third act, but otherwise it was a decent movie.
I just watched it the other night as well, had it in my Netflix queue for a while...I can't believe I didn't watch it sooner, it was a great film!
Indeed, it is very good. One of the very best things Gyllenhaal has ever done.
I put it second behind Zodiac, but being at the top of Jakey G's filmography is impressive. Being at the bottom is too.
Saw Nightcrawler at a critics screening. His best performance ever. Absolutely loved the film, but I like Zodiac more (which is one of my favorite movies of all time) and it's probably tied with prisons in quality.
Long story short, Nightcrawler is a must see.
That is exciting to hear. He has really gripped me in the last few years. Prisoners was some of the best acting I've seen from him, along with End of Watch. I have been getting excited for Night crawler. Thanks for the heads up.
Donnie Darko is still my personal favourite. Year 10 art student edginess aside, and elongated circlejerking, Donnie Darko is a movie right up my alley, and it is still one of my favourites. People hating on it, I understand completely, but I still vouch for it.
Zodiac is definitely my second favourite.
I have a good feeling Nightcrawler is gonna creepy up to being his best performance . I felt like he died more acting Prisoners than Zodiac.
That's high praise, especially with Gyllenhaal's recent stuff. He's been on a roll.
That movie is still one of my favorites even after watching it like 4 times.
I found this very similar to the TV series 'Southland' in a lot of ways.
Really gutted that it was canceled.
I seem to hold the dissenting opinion on this movie. I thought this movie was so terrible that it was 1 of 2 movies that I have ever walked out on in my entire life. The other movie being Springbreakers, if you are curious.
Maybe it is because I come from a family of cops, but this movie was so outlandish that I just could not believe they were cops. In one of the first scenes where one of them takes off their uniform to fight the dude? Come on give me a fucking break.
And then the scene where federal agents come busting out of the car (that he parked on the curb) and immediately starts asking "WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE" is just so cheesy and stupid I couldn't take it. Not to mention the line "You guys don't have proper clearance for any of this but I'm going to throw you a bone."
The scene where they are in the car talking to the camera saying how most cops don't draw their guns and that drawing their gun is "half our shift" made me thoroughly laugh out loud. My father was a street cop working graveyards in the 4-4 (the worst part of the Bronx) and never drew his gun. Ever. He also said that the cops that did draw their gun, actually fired their gun and was considered a major event. Definitely not something that is "half our shift."
I don't remember which scene made me finally walk out but I remember it was a little more than half way through the movie. I agree with you that the acting and cinematography was superb but the writing and plot was so comically bad it was almost cheesy.
Once again, maybe its because I come from a family of cops that I found the plot/writing comical.
I like that you gave specific examples from the film with counterexamples from your family. 10/10 quality post.
That is an awesome perspective. I don't know anyone who is a cop so I have no frame of reference which I am sure is part of the reason I liked the movie so much. I understand that their day to day was larger than life, but I was able to get lost in it. That and the acting and cinematography as you mentioned.
Thanks for your feedback. I'm sorry the movie wasn't entertaining for you but you have legitimate reasons for it.
Sort of related:
I loved the way the movie portrayed the federal agents. From all the stories I heard, from my uncle, father, grandfather, etc, I have heard the complete opposite of federal agents--compared to how they are portrayed in this film. When working in a police department as large as the NYPD, the cops often work with federal agents (secret service, fbi, atf). Every single story I have heard that involves a federal agent, the story always revolves around how much of a pussy they are on the streets.
The last third of the movie was the worst part so consider yourself lucky, I guess.
When stuff like this happens, I usually just convince myself that they are in an "alternate world". You know, like Tarantino's movie worlds.
I watched this movie without seeing a single trailer or anything but the cover. An amazing experience.
This movie was interesting to me. It was one of the most frightening films I have seen. had me on edge. it was more like a horror movie
I loved the movie, the entire thing was a well made buddy cop movie and then the ending really gutted your feels. Ayer has a thing for "heroic" endings from both his writing and directing. Not saying it is a bad thing but it is something I'm starting to notice in all of his movies that it ends with someone laying their life down in a heroic manner.
Still haven't seen Sabotage because of the reviews but from his work as a writer and both Fury & End of Watch I remain curious with just how bad it is..and what made it bad?
It's pretty good, save for the over the top ending.
What was wrong with the ending? I actually liked how they got trapped and it all went down in one attempt vs repeatedly surviving and throwing more and more at them in the coming weeks with a price on their heads.
One day, one trap and over just like that made it feel more realistic and grounded.
It was pretty dumb for them to go down there in the first place.
But anyways, the shootout scene just felt over the top to me. Felt like a Dredd scene. Was kinda nuts.
I found the ending to be overly melodramatic, especially compared to the rest of the movie which was gritty and realistic (for the most part). To me, it seemed like they tried too hard to squeeze a tear out of the viewer which is at odds with everything else that happens.
"Realistic." Stop using that word. It's not a good word. Not to describe movies, which by definition are not realistic. At best they're honest in their depictions of how people would act.
Watch Bad Grandpa for "realistic" you will see very quickly how boring it is (albeit funny) when compared to other scripted comedy with over the top ACTING.
What are you talking about?
A lot of directors and actors strive to make their movies as realistic and genuine as possible. It's why movies like Act of Valor hire real SEALs or have experts train their actors in the things they will be doing on-screen.
"Realistic" is just as good as "honest", despite your inability to understand that when people use "realistic" to describe movies, they are not making a direct comparison to reality.
If someone criticizes a movie for not being "real" when it is clearly fiction, then your comment may be warranted. Otherwise you're just nitpicking.
In terms of visual style and art direction, End of Watch aims to be a realistic (or authentic) depiction of where it is set. It wants to place the viewer right in the action. Natural lighting, documentary-esque camera work etc. You're assuming I am using the term realistic in a way in which I wasn't.
Still wasn't a good ending imo. It cheapened the rest of the movie.
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For a few moments, I thought both of them died. :(
Sorry, Brit here. Do you mean "tits" as in bad or "the tits" as in good ? Just asking because I was under the assumption Zodiac was quite well liked round these parts.
When are tits ever bad?
He definitely meant good. Never heard an American use tits as a negative
I just hate that one of them survived, it just didn't make sense logically or artistically for me.
Why not?
I can't wait for the answer to this one. I cannot think of any conceivable argument for why one of them surviving was 'artistically' nonsensical. Or even illogical.
It has been answered!
It didn't make sense logically, because they both got shot, a lot, like, really a lot.
Artistically, because, I felt like a confused message. It sets out from the start that anything can happen, it's a found footage film, and it makes it clear throughout that cops will die (the movie is called 'End of Watch' and the opening monologue). By having Gyllenhaal's character survive at the end it feels off-message.
There's an interview where David Ayer explains how he decided the ending. It's perfectly fair reasoning, but I still feel like it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the film.
The way Pena slumped over Gyllenhaal it probably deflected most of the bullets from the major organs thus saving his life. A true bro until the end.
I see what you're saying. I don't necessarily agree, but its been ages since I've taken a look at the film.
Yeah I was seriously in love with this movie, I felt like they were going to be serious oscar contenders. Then that ending happened and it just sucked all the good that movie did away.
The Oscars wouldn't have paid it any attention anyhow.
Can somebody tell me if David Ayer is a good director, I saw he has really well received movies like Fury and End of Watch but then I see he also did movies like Sabotage. But I'm genuinely excited to see him do Suicide Squad
He's okay. Before Fury, all he made was machismo cop movies and they were hit or miss. I think his style will be fine for Suicide Squad (as long as he's not writing it).
Oof.
Lol
In fairness I think sabotage could have been good but there was executive meddling there. He made up for it with Fury though.
Although, he's really setting up a schtick for how his movies end.
That's good, his movies, visually, look really good and I've heard great things about end of watch, the only thing I noticed when looking him up was that his movies are not as diverse as I thought but Fury looks quite good
*Bawling
Thank you. It was late. Fixed it.
I got your back, man.
Same, recently watched it and absolutely loved it! Can you guys recommend me any similar movies?
I really wanted to like this movie because I'm a big Ayer fan, and it did hold my attention, but by the end I was underwhelmed. The characters were flat and there was hardly a plot to speak of. The other Ayer films I've enjoyed all had flawed characters facing hard choices. That's what makes a good story. There was none of that in this film.
Yeah, I don't get the enthusiasm for this film at all. I guess since it's sorta "badass" then it's perfect for young males - it has cool music and easily digestible plot points.
But really, he's confused with use of styles (they start with the cool convention of shooting with JG's handycam and then totally abandon it - why? That felt very fresh and gave a great perspective) - it jumps way forward in time without really developing characters (here we are now in the future and everything is happy...but watch out!) and the characters' arcs are REALLY FLAT: In the beginning, we're friends and co-workers! Later on, we're still friends and co-workers! Now one's dead. The end. Oh yeah, that one dude got married!
As a buddy cop flick, it's fine. Anything more than that? I can't see it.
The feels, man.... the feels.
I thought the "ride along" camera work was weird, especially with the bad guys/cartel, but the ending caught me by surprise. You know what I mean if you've seen it. Great film altogether.
[I tried so hard to hold back tears on that ending, especially with my fiance next to me] ( http://media.her.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ron-swanson-happy-fist.gif)
I liked it ok and I HATE cops.
It was not as "intense" as I thought it might be but not terrible.