20131128: Drama Review--End of Watch

End of Watch

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2012, rated R, 109 minutes, crime, drama, thriller.
2. IMDB: 7.6/10.0 from 115,282 audience ratings.  Estimated budget, 7 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 85% on the meter; 86% liked it from 76,671 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 4.2/5.0 from 1,984,196 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: David Ayer.
6. Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal as Officer Brian Taylor, Michael Pena as Officer Mike Zavala, America Ferreira as Officer Orozco, Frank Grillo as Sarge, Natalie Martinez as Gabby, Anna Kendrick as Janet.


2. Setup and Plot
1. The film is about LAPD cops, and mostly about the partners, ex-Marine Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala.  They make some lucky and high-profile arrests and get some notoriety.  They also attract the attention of a Mexican drug kingpin.


2. There are some great arrests, as well as significant arrests foiled by federal agencies, plus loss of colleagues.  Taylor's wedding to Janet was quite a talk fest, but was reasonably written and acted.  The rotten camera work, throughout, just put a damper on everything.


3. They find more horrible things during routine investigations.  They learn from an informant that there is a paid hit out with their names on it.


4. The Mexican gang lures them into a trap and attacks with heavy weaponry. They get a message out calling for backup, which seems dreadfully slow in coming.  Taylor takes one in the hand and later one in the chest.  While Zavala tries to revive Taylor, he is surrounded by gang members who unload dozens of rounds into him.


5. Backup arrives and a fire fight immediately ensues.  The assassins are mostly killed.  There is a huge police event afterward for Zavalos, whose body shielded Taylor.


6. The last segment, shown after Taylor struggles to say what he feels at Zavala's ceremony, was perhaps the best segment of the film.  This was not so much for the content of their conversation, but for the evident bond between brothers-in-arms.


3. Conclusions
1. Demerits for being in the trash genre of found film.  Demerits for dropping the f-bomb well over 200 times.  After a while, the rough language is inert, meaningless, dead filler.


2. One line summary: A good script tarnished by terrible camera work.


3. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 0/10 The film used button cams, security footage, and various hand-held cameras to give a deeply incompetent presentation.


2. Sound: 8/10 Fairly good considering the video.


3. Acting: 6/10 Who can tell what the actors are doing when the cameras are out of control?  Gyllenhaal and Pena were great, despite the director's contempt for the viewer; otherwise I would give this category a zero.


4. Screenplay: 5/10 Way, way, way too many abrupt cuts.  The thing looks like a quilt made from left over cloth pieces put together with duct tape.