“End of Watch” was made in 2012 and is a movie about these two cops Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala who are as close as brothers. With a successful career for the both of them, it quickly turned into a tragedy waiting to happen.
The movie reached up to $57 million dollars profit after hitting the theaters. The movie begins in LAPD with officers Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) assigned to patrol in a high patrol area. Taylor, a former Marine Corp soldier, records there and documents their patrols and his overall life for college. They show their first big stop where a gang member attempted to shoot the both of them; they successfully took them down. As the movie progresses, they continue to catch criminals and stop violence, kidnappings and eventually get themselves involved with busting the cartel. They had their first close death, and it was with Zavala who felt obligated to run into a house fire to save a mother’s kids. Taylor came running in to save them, and they survived and became heroes around LA. Later, Taylor mentions to Zavala that he couldn’t let his brother die, so he followed and suggested they go to this house Taylor suspected to have some trouble. That’s when they got themselves involved with a group that did not come to play.
One downside about the movie is that the movie wasn’t as long as they could’ve made it. It was very emotional; although, they could’ve made it even more heartfelt if they extended the scenes where we see the characters building relationships. Towards the end of the movie specifically, something very depressing happens and the scene feels rushed.
Another thing that could be critiqued is the way they don’t go into depth about the cartel. They were the main “villian” other than the other gangsters and criminals, and we hardly know much about all their operations. It would’ve made the movie hit harder then what it did.
The movie deserves a 9.2/10. The way the movie makes you feel is very rare in movies; it really makes the viewer feel like they are there and bond with the characters.
