This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There were racist jokes, a gold-plated AK-47, a man who survives being stabbed in the eye with a knife. There's simply not enough of that in movies. Also, the bad guys were cast well. Big Evil plays big evil very well.… Expand

This film humanizes cops. Excellent movie! The movie contains a lot of criminal trends. It may seem fake to a lot of people but the truth is that what this movie contains in it is reality. When watching this movie people may say "that doesn't happen" the truth is that it does. I will watch this movie again in the next couple of days!!!

A good LA Police Department movie using the reality film point of view (although not overdone). A Bromance movie about 2 low level LAPD cops who get in over their head. In summary, it is a good story that show that in the end friendships and family are most important. It does a great job a showing parallels between the police vs. gang life (they are not that different). Good vs. Evil was well documented and shows that everyone wants to move up the food chain. The movie make you feel sad in parts where you know they pulled the story-lines from actual police reports.… Expand

After having just finished the 5th season of The Shield, I was skeptical that such a short feature would be able to capture the feeling of a small division within the LAPD. Instead, the film focuses on the chemistry and relationship between it's two leads, who are terrific in this film. There are more than a few genuinely funny moments, but there are also a few extremely intense and graphically violent scenes. Yet the nature of the unique relationship between the officers is what you leave the film with.… Expand

Mostly shot in a first person point of view giving way to a more realistic yet very shaky imagery, it started off by giving us short bursts/stories in the lives of the two cops and at first it felt it was going nowhere fast. However, as the movie went on, I started to realise that each story was merely a piece of a puzzle to help describe the protagonists through their daily actions which inevitably define who they truly are.… Expand

This movie is horrible. It starts out as a ripoff of the movie "Colors" and then the plot scatterbrains down different paths from there. Predictable, trite, inconsequential, unimportant, and annoying are some of the adjectives that come to mind when describing this awful attempt at cinematography. There are a few chuckles mixed among the ridiculous garbage. Don't waste your time on this nonsense.

You know how Training Day was a gritty well written neo-realistic law enforcement drama....well End of Watch isn't. It falls short, real short. Honestly, I fell asleep in the movie. Combination of bad writing, horrible cinematography, tired scenes of LA, and too much popcorn.

I watched the movie not knowing what to expect when the main characters were playing completely different type of roles than usual. It chronicled the lives of two cops caught in the war zone of crime, gangs, drugs, and violence and kept a light humor even during the worst scenes. The two young officers, their family involvement, their wives, the job, their fellow officers, personality profiles were set early and the action went from one dramatic scene to the next with gang bangers and street people actively involved in every aspect of their city's subculture. If you aren't ready for violent action, you might want to pass on this. Every minute there was constant action, dialogue, this movie had no dead air time with nothing but scenery. During the non action moments it was full of banter between the two about everything from their families to their sex lives. Some comedy but mostly drama and action.… Expand

It was difficult for me to to watch an amazingly talented actor like J. G. trudge his way through this extended episode of 'Cops'. He is the movie's only saving grace amidst a poorly written screenplay that feels cliché and strips the LAPD of an opportunity to be depicted somewhat accurately in a fictional setting. Yes, it's gunfights and bro-banter entertain, but are lost in a plot that is forgettable and disappointing.… Expand

I had no idea Anna Kendrick was in this movie. She is a doll with her pearly whites. I thought the movie gave us the fact that cops are human. Some truly are out there in the streets to do the right thing. This film showed us that they have families, and they struggle seeing death everyday. I enjoyed Gyllenhaal and Pena's performances. Having to keep the peace in the hood ain't easy. Just like some soldiers never come home from deployments alive. Some cops never make it home alive from the streets. Thumbs up! Check it out if you haven't yet.… Expand

Great movie (would have given it a 7 but took off one star for the following) but DON'T SIT CLOSE TO THE SCREEN (or rent it on DVD) if you are prone to motion sickness, like I am. Halfway through the movie, due to the way it is filmed with lots of camera panning I felt somewhat nauseous and kept hoping it would go away. However, the style of filming persists throughout the movie, so either sit far away or take some Dramamine before you go (I would recommend a half pill). It took me about a half hour after it ended before I felt okay again.… Expand

I was totally taken off guard by this movie! I honestly wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it, but man it surprised me! Sure the whole found footage concept is getting old, but if you take that concept and combine it with the concept of "C.O.P.S.", you get this: One solid, dynamic, and certainly interesting and different action film! With powerhouse performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, their partnership in this movie will leave you rooting for each one of them until the film's final minutes are up. The action is well paced, well developed, tense, and sure to entertain the biggest of die-hard fans of action. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Summing up, it's a film that has it all! Action, drama, humor, romance, you name it! It's one of the most entertaining and involving action films I've seen all year, and certainly one of the far superior cop films I've seen in a LONG time! HIGHLY recommended!!!… Collapse

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña are cop partners riding rough neighborhoods in LA. We get to know them mostly through their snappy banter in the patrol car, while most of the action is purportedly shot through their own cameras. We ride along as they encounter minor and major crimes, but also watch them interact with their fellow officers and their women. This camerawork and editing have a big-budget grittiness that keeps the film rooted in reality, but doesn't get in the way. Performances are outstanding and David Ayer's directorial style has become even more sophisticated, while staying "street." A solid film with modern sensibilities.… Expand

I found these two cops quite annoying with their lame, childish banter. The acting is fine but the dialouge seems a little unrealistic in parts. Not as gritty as it could be. I got bored and switched it off. Doesn't come close to a single episode of the Shield. Dissapointing

This a decent film, its gritty but ultimately it has an easily predictable ending. It's a good action / pseudo documentary film about 2 cops who are partners that find situation after situation of dealing with the worst criminals humanity has to offer in south central LA.

This movie is so bad, it is beyond bad. It is basically unwatchable. When every second word in the script is the F word, it makes you want to turn off the sound. The script seems to have been written by a 14 year old. The acting is atrocious. The photography is nauseating. How can anyone sit through the entire length of this shameful attempt ?

This movie manages to have a completely unreastic and a realistic feel at the same time. A very good cop movie. The only problem is the partners are a little too nice to each other. Like their trying to push the friendship too hard to lead to more emotion. Comes of as a little cheap.

I find the critic and audience score for this movie was overrated. But I must admit it's one of good movie. Tearjerking ending and captivated performance by Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Kendrick. But I don't find it's one good example of found footage entry.

It is good but left me struggling to think whether to recommend it. The middle slows down a bit while the ending is solid. Be prepared for the handheld camera moves that work for awhile... then your eyes tire and you have to look away just to focus. it has many great parts to it.

Weak story line, poor photography, mellow dramatic glorification of cops and gangs. It has been done many times before and done better. Nothing new here and nothing like the Movie Trailer. Absolute waste of time

Not since Training Day has a movie grown above the cliche'd cop storylines, and Ayer is a master of this genre. This is by far his best work, and it's a heartbreaker. Look for Gyllenhall this Oscar season.

Excellent film. Spot on performances by the main cast and secondary characters. Fresh take on the buddy cop film. More a character study of the two main subjects than focusing on the plot, which is fairly straight forward. Many of the incidents during the film don't get explained to any extent, and some characters pop into the film and then disappear without much information about them The pacing is really good but the camera work is not always successful. The over use of the hand held, shaky cam reduces the film to an episode of Southland and certain times. This is film, not TV. A bit of a splatter fest at times. A must see if you're into this genre of film.… Expand

This was a purely great film. Great performances delivered into a great story. It was thrilling, it was hilarious, and it was dramatic. The only issue i had with gthe movie was the annoyance of the switching of cameras, i wanted them to just stick to one but it kept switching but after a ways into the film i got used to it but other than that this movie was great. Im not a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal or Michael Pena fan but they were both perfect and hilarious in this film, they're "brotherhood" was so strong which made the film so much better because of how well they blended together. If you don't like violence or alot of strong language then don't bother with End of Watch, but if not then you must see this! Its well worth your money and your time! 9.5/10… Expand

this jerky camera crap was old with blair witch; unless you're 13 or enjoy that nonsense, give this film a skip. oh and if the excuse is "hey it's cause they're video-taping themselves" then get a camcorder and go out and make your own film; you couldn't do any worse than this.

Wow! I was pretty blown away by this! Great movie. Gyllenhall and Pena are amazing together. Fantastic cop movie, though the one negative for me was that there were some extremely grisly, upsetting scenes. One scene in particular affected me more than I can remember any scene in a movie affecting me in a long time(though I am kind of a wuss in that regard!). Definitely not something to take the kids to. But a really good movie.… Expand

End of Watch is one of the best cop films I've ever seen and it all starts with the fantastic cast. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña are both incredible actors and the supporting cast is just as great. Because of the entire cast's acting ability, the emotion and drama felt real and authentic and really pulled you in. The action sequences were also done really well. You felt the intensity tthrough the realism and the emoting and it really made you get on the edge of your seat at times. I also felt the the plot developed really well. Yes, the movie dragged a bit about two-thirds in but that was necessary for the development of the characters and their relationships. Without that portion, you may not care as much so I do not hold that against the movie. The only things that I do think brought the movie down were the extreme overuse of the shaky camera effect and some of the editing of scenes felt too episodic. When you're starting to almost feel a bit dizzy because the camera is shaking so much, I'm pretty sure that means dial it back a bit. I understand that there are plenty of handheld cameras used in the film as part of the plot but those are not the examples I'm referring to. The only other thing I felt was worth mentioning was the blatant foreshadowing in the film. There's a particular scene that essentially spoils the ending. I'm sure not everyone caught it but when I saw the scene I practically threw my hands into the air because I knew right then and there how the movie would end. I'm aware that directors love these little foreshadowing elements because it adds a certain level of cinematic quality but they're supposed to be subtle. Overall though, I'd say that this was a great movie and one that most people, at least those not easily offended by vulgar language and violence, would enjoy.… Expand

Best Movie of the Year, Period. 5 or 6 years down the line, ask any cop about his fav movie and there's a good chance that it's gonna be this one. One of the best Guy/Buddy movies of all times.

End of Watch is the big sorprise of this year -in my opinion- the story can have a simple development, but when the movie start you watch that have an intelligent development, and the performances of the cast are awesome, the script can have some mistakes, but is not much. End of Watch is interesting, funny and is a sorprise.