A bloody, exquisitely loose-limbed bromance that pulls us into the rollercoaster world of two South Central LA cops. One is Caucasian, one Latino. Imagine The Wire’s McNulty and Bunk as youngsters and you’ll have some idea of the warmth and edginess of the blue-collar bonhomie.
Taylor and Zavala are hard to resist, especially with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as the leads. So what’s wrong with this picture? As with the recent Argo, David Ayer’s offering wears its indie status on its sleeve but serves up a very mainstream kind of heroism. These guys are brave, adored by nice women and beautifully untouched by corruption. Truly, they’re babes in the hood.
Just as skewed is the presentation of the Mexican cartel stooges, who resemble the snarling, degenerate Latinos in Touch of Evil. Those bad guys were the one weak link in Orson Welles’s fabulously complex portrait of the drug trade. End of Watch simplifies the battle between Mexican gangsters and the police force at every turn.
By the by, the film’s central conceit — that what we are seeing is “found footage”, shot by Taylor for a drama class — is risible. One to watch, but through narrowed eyes.
