“I may disagree with the law but I will enforce it”

Although costing a relatively miniscule 7-million dollars, here is one of the best, most thrilling, heart-pounding action thrillers of the year. It also achieves this level of greatness in a sub-genre that is more often than not plagued with its own brand of clichés and predictable plot turns. But with End of Watch director David Ayer has made even the most obvious, tiresome formula with such style and panache that you will come out of the screening feeling richly rewarded and your pulses racing. It knows when to hold off on the action, it lets its characters develop and interact with one another, the dialogue is often sharp and witty, and when the much-anticipated ultimate shoot-out does grace the screen, it pays off, in its kinetic, resounding finale.

It starts off and does try its best to maintain its consistency to look and sound like the “found footage” type of film. We see Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal), a junior officer in the LAPD filming his daily police activities for a class he is attending. Whatever the excuse, the format works well as we follow the many long drives he and his close friend and partner Mike Zavala (Pena) share during their shifts. A lot of their days consist of the two of them driving around in their squad car, patrolling the neighbourhood as the two best friends casually trade insults and cheeky swipes at one another.

Gyllenhaal and Pena inhabit the roles as if they’ve been doing this for years, and the film has done well in securing these two actors and setting them up against one another. The fast-paced, humourous interplay between the two comes in incredibly handy as there is no shortage of aspects to enjoy even when there is a lack of bullets flying across the scene. But make no mistake in thinking they’re the corrupt, arrogant cops who run wild flashing their police badges. These two, along with the rest of their department, made up of similarly determined and serious-minded cops (both male and female), take their job and duty to serve and protect in the most genuine, honest way that they would lay down their lives without any hesitation.

Further building on their character before anything significant happens is the development of their other halves. Brian seems to be in between several women, whereas Mike has a wife. Things get certainly more amusing for Mike when Brian finds “the girl” in the form of Janet (Kendrick). Here we are given occasional breaks that see them out of their uniforms, where they go about the normal day-to-day lives, dealing with love, marriage, pregnancy, a newborn baby etc. The two women, Kendrick and Martinez (Mike’s wife) provide a welcome fresh air in the midst of some of the heavier, darker side of the film and they have their own moments of priceless addition to the more charming side of the nicely balanced script.

As the two dutifully go about their patrols, they seize a handful of drugs, money, gold-painted weapons, and even free some victims of human trafficking. And in doing so they alert the local Mexican cartel who aren’t all that enthusiastic about two eager cops messing with their business. And so the threats begin to mount, as it becomes all too clear that they are no longer safe.

Every so often we get treated to loud, intense action sequences, that come with plenty of bursts of energy, and, as they are saved up for more crucial scenes, their presence feels more significant. This is also where the documentary styletakes the backseat and this allows more room for the director to play around with as he can capture the thrilling events at various angles where Brian Taylor’s recording cameras aren’t necessarily there. It’s slightly cheating of course, but the feel of the “found footage” piece, its tight, narrow shots, the carefully controlled chaotic atmosphere are all still very much present, and the slight rule-bending turns out to be a massive plus, especially in the film’s climax.

The emotionally charged finish, the powerful punch in the end, comes thanks to the two outstanding performances and their ability to makeus believe everything they say, do and stand for. This is probably as raw, real, and involving as a cop drama can ever get, and for such an elusive line of workplace, we get a more than decent insight into what may be involved in what these men and women in uniform get up to in order to protect their districts.