Movie · 2012 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 1h 49m · R · English
Curator score: 6.6/10 (568K ratings)
Every moment of your life they stand watch
Overview
Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.6/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.79/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Metacritic: 68
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
David Ayer
Production
5150 Action, Exclusive Media, Hedge Fund Film Partners, Crave Films, Knightsbridge Entertainment, Le Grisbi Productions
Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera, Cody H. Carolin, Shondrella Avery, Hugh Daly, Gene Hong, Cle Sloan, Jaime FitzSimons, Everton Lawrence, Zone, Alvin Norman, Richard Cabral, Diamonique, Maurice Compte, Flakiss
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A gritty, emotionally direct cop thriller with unusually strong buddy-movie chemistry and a documentary-like immediacy. It’s rough around the edges, but the performances, tension, and tragic payoff make it an easy recommendation for crime-drama fans.
Best for
Viewers who like tense street-level crime dramas
Fans of strong on-screen partnerships and banter
People who want a cop movie that turns unexpectedly emotional
Audiences drawn to handheld, immersive realism
Skip if
You dislike shaky, hyperactive camerawork
You want a polished, procedural-style police film
You’re turned off by macho banter and profanity
You prefer crime stories with a more detached, clinical tone
Overview
End of Watch works best as a lived-in friendship story disguised as a cop thriller. The movie leans hard on the chemistry between its two leads, and that chemistry gives the film its heart, humor, and eventual sting. Even when the filmmaking gets aggressive or messy, the relationship at the center keeps it grounded.
Worth noting
What makes it stand out is the sense of danger closing in on ordinary patrol work. Small encounters escalate into something far more volatile, and the film captures how quickly routine can turn fatal. It’s not subtle, but it is effective, and the emotional payoff lands because the characters feel so recognizable.
Bottom line
The movie’s flaws are mostly in style: the handheld approach and some heightened choices can feel distracting. Still, the rawness is part of the appeal, and the result is a tough, bruising crime film that earns its sentiment instead of smothering it.
It's really disappointing to me that a film like End of Watch is a better director away from being a really great movie. And I mean a REALLY GREAT MOVIE. Because if it weren't for the poor directorial choices that brought me out of the film, this easily could have been the best cop movie for the modern era. It's that good.
So what are the film's strengths that make it just that good? The writing is surprisingly good coming… more
Colin the dude (4★) · 1860 likes
No one warned me that tears were possible at the end of watch.
Buddy cop done right.
lauren (4★) · 1537 likes
"911, what's your emergency?"
me: WHERE IS JAKES OSCAR
tyler (3.5★) · 1376 likes
jake gyllenhaal playing a cop really brings new meaning to “fuck the police”