End of Watch

The first half of “End of Watch” establishes the routine of officers Taylor and Zavalia, two LAPD cops and best friends, as they drive around the city making arrests and engaging in the occasional chases and shoot-outs. It is quick paced, and a lot of fun. Aside from an electrifying opening chase and a speech by Taylor, this looks like a standard cop movie. The most thrilling scene here is a fistfight between Zavalia and a criminal who gives his respect once he is fairly beaten “gangster” style, in the man’s own word. 

The second half is where the film becomes exceptional. Plot-wise, it depicts what happens when the two, over-dedicated policemen get a little fed up by the law and decide to take matters into their own hands. Taylor becomes exasperated by the horrors he’s seen a Mexican cartel commit and decides to investigate them further with the help of his partner and nothing more. Here, the dedication that these men have to protect the public becomes evident. Neither thinks twice of giving up his life for someone else. The only scene in which Taylor is not present is of an unnamed police officer, seen only at Taylor’s wedding, telling the story of how Taylor jumped in front of a bullet to save him. 

Zavalia is the stereotypical Mexican American character. He has a big and unified family and a faithful wife he's been with since high school. He even curses in Spanish occasionally and complies with all the little details one would expect from a Mexican American character. But he's a compelling character precisely because he's aware that he's a stereotype. This gives him the the opportunity to make self-referential jokes constantly, something that becomes one of the film’s main strengths:"Just because I look like the dudes from Home Depot," he tells his partner about the work his wife is making him do at home, "doesn't mean I do the shit that the Home Depot dudes do." The delivery of the lines perhaps makes these moments more memorable than they should. Michael Peña doesn’t strike a wrong note. Every one of his lines is gold. 

Taylor is more of a mystery and harder to pin down. He’s always looking to improve himself. He takes  college courses. He looks for, and eventually finds, a wife whom he considers smarter than him. He wants to be challenged. No one is more dedicated to the job than he is. And yet, he’s often reckless and immature, constantly playing pranks on his fellow officers and walking into dangerous situations. At first glance, both aspects of his personality seem irreconcilable, but Jake Gyllenhaal is able to bring them together to make a very believable character. 

Most of the film consists of dialogue between the two old friends, so at least half of the movie could be called a comedy. However, a chilling aspect of the lives of our main characters is how quickly their luck can turn. One minute Taylor and Zavalia can be sitting in their car, talking about their high school days, and the next they can be running into a burning building or engaged in a massive shootout.

  

The film uses a lot of handheld cameras and looks purposefully amateurish. The style is explained by Taylor's filmmaking class; he simply records all of his activities. The style doesn't get tiring because the editing is not as quick as a regular action film, but it still feels vibrant because the camera never stops moving as it follows Taylor and Zavalia into all sorts of crazy situations. There's plenty of suspenseful searches, all shot from the first person camera. There's also a few shootouts that place the audience in both the shoes of the cops and the criminals who also happen to have a camera with them. 

Occasionally, the director will give his own point of view. It is used mostly to give aerial shots of Los Angeles. These are wisely used to start and end scenes, giving the audience time to digest what they have seen and heard. The film doesn't sugarcoat the violence, which certainly takes its toll, but the director also gives the audience time to process his quick fire dialogue which, even in its crass delivery, gives plenty of food for thought: "You feel like a hero?"asks Taylor to his partner. They're both being called "heroes" but neither is comfortable with it, so they avoid the subject. In another touching scene, they discuss whether or not they would want their children to become police officers. 

Few films tackle what it means to be a police officer as well as "End of Watch." The police are shown as regular men and women. Taylor is a bachelor who's ready to settle down. Zavalia has a wife and a kid. The two are the most fleshed out characters, but we also get to see their "sarge", a good man whose job it is to keep the bash brothers under control, as well as Van Hauser, a stickler for the rules who complains when they get all the glory instead of being chastised, and Orozco, the toughest, female, cop. 

All of the cops have strengths, weaknesses, families, friends, and enemies (even amongst themselves), but it's amazing to watch how quickly Taylor and Zavala, along with every other police officer shown in the movie, drop their quibbles and personal feuds to do their job as soon as they're needed.

 "Behind my badge is a heart like yours. I bleed, I think, I love, and yes I can be killed. And although I am but one man, I have thousands of brothers and sisters who are the same as me." Taylor's speech at the start of the film is a beauty. Comprehensive, concise, thoughtful, badass. It neatly sums up what the film will be about, what the police is really about. The respect that the director has for the police is evident in every frame of the film, but it is most poignant in the final credits when the dedication of the film rolls by with the credits. 

Verdict- 3.5/4 

End of Watch (2012) 1h 49min R.