End of Watch - Yes, it's a cop movie

I should probably find out more about a film before I watch it. I'm a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal ever since Donnie Darko and watched the film on his name alone. I didn't even pay much attention to the fact that there were two armed police officers on the front cover. Then, for some reason, I seemed surprised when the film was about the police.

And it is about the police. If ever there was more of a `police movie' then I have not seen it. End of Watch follows Jake and his police partner/best friend as they go about their duties, enforcing the law in Los Angeles. The first thing you should know about it is that it's shot like a documentary, i.e. plenty of shaky, handheld camera work. It's not supposed to BE a documentary (ala Blair Witch Project or Grave Encounters), it's just filmed like one. There's nothing wrong with filming it like this, it's just it seems a little pointless to me.

End of Watch is well-acted and you'll find yourself caring about the characters. I did enjoy it, although I felt there was something missing. It could be that the story was a little weaker than it could have been. Adding to the whole `documentary' feel, we're treated to many scenes that don't really advance the story much and seem like filler. There are only a few real scenes that link the whole `story' together.

It's not a bad movie - it's gritty, tough and pretty hard-hitting; it's just that with the obvious acting and film-making talent available, they could have kept the story a little tighter. People who really LOVE cop movies will probably think it's amazing. Anyone who doesn't like them will think it's awful. Personally, I'm in the middle. I can take or leave these `criminal-catching' films, so I certainly didn't think I wasted nearly two hours watching it (also, don't watch it if bad language offends you!).

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that