Here we go again.  Another flick that looked so damn good in trailers, but just did not deliver...at least did not deliver in what I was looking for and hoping for.

The movie did great with the critics, just not the paying public, but with an insanely low $7 Million budget, who really cares.  It's already more than doubled that, so congrats to the makers.

I'm not saying this is a poorly made movie, because it's definitely not.  There are fine performances on display everywhere. There's some great scenes as well, but I guess to me, nothing really came off as well as it should or could of, and that includes the potentially great scenes.

My biggest gripe is the way it was filmed, including a shitload of handheld "video", taken "supposedly" by the characters or stationary cams that are included in the scene.  It gets old to me and makes it tough to watch, even.  When shots or scenes aren't filmed in this manner, they look like they were anyways.  I just didn't like the look at all.

The plot or story, if you want to actually say there was one, is just all over the board.  We've got 1 random scene followed by another, and so on.  Much of the runtime is filled up with profanity laden banter between Gyllenhaal and Pena's buddy buddy cop characters.  They pull it off well, but does it really mean anything?

OK, sure it does, but in reality, it's pretty much all there to establish what great friends these 2 are and to show the grittiest of the gritty and super dangerous life of a cop working the streets of SOCAL.

The baddies here are so bad, it's downright scary...but they're not around enough to really succeed as they could have been.  What do I mean?  Well, when we first see any of these thugs, it's obvious who they are, but we don't get to see anything beyond that, and for me, it was a big mistake, because nothing as executed leaves much of a mark in being unique or even memorable.

The finale has some serious potential and when it begun, I scooched down in my seat and prepared myself for what I thought was going to resurrect the movie from the not so great taste I had in my mouth.  But, within mere minutes, it was all over and it didn't play out nearly as exciting as it should have or could have.

Writer/Director David Ayer has done far better in his earlier cop flicks.  He knows what he's doing but IMO, he just didn't deliver this time around.  For me, I was left thinking, so what?  As I walked out, I also thought to myself, damn, what a missed opportunity this was.

Just so I can hear you say it, can you name a movie David Ayer has done that could actually be classified as "good"? I'm not talking about entertaining or fun or enjoyable but good. The reason I ask is because I don't think he's written one good movie. I enjoy several of them but mostly it's because they're funny as hell.

I think Training Day was excellent and a flick I watch often, as well as seeing it at the theater.  It has many memorable scenes...scenes that are dark, gritty and memorable.  I can picture a bunch of them just thinking about it.

Street Kings was "good" goofy fun, but overall, way above the dreck we usually get spoon fed.  It worked for sure.

Harsh Times was a miss for me, but had potential.

Fast and Furious worked for what it was and wanted to be.

U571?  Well, I saw it at the theater and wasn't all that upset about it.  Potential was there again...

I watch Training Day a lot, too, but that is FAR from a good movie. Far. I can't figure out why people can't see how hilariously bad (Commando bad, not Street Fighter bad) it is.

I thought Street Kings was too average to be good.

Harsh Times was certainly a mess.

See, I thought, like all Rob Cohen movies, it felt boring. Exactly like XXX.

People from the UK certainly had a reason to be upset about it...

I'm disappointed you left out The Hair with Dark Blue. Certainly fun but once again, not good. Although I enjoy The Hair's final monologue.

The Hair?  Huh?  I don';t think I know that one.

Dark Blue?  Yeah...nothing very memorable.

The Hair = Kurt Russell. Greatest hair of all time. Only actor I've ever seen successfully rock the flattop twice.

I also noticed you didn't mention SWAT, the most fun (PG-13) of his movies.

No, SWAT is not for me.  No mention because IMO, it deserves no mention...but...it was what it was and did do well.

It was definitely weak, but that's what Ayer is. He knows how to create memorable scenes and interesting-ish characters but I don't think he can craft a completely solid movie.

the cinematography/editing annoyed the p iss out of me during the commercials. resembled crank and crank 2. so i'm staying far away from this one...no matter what the critics say. glad to hear that it's not worth my time.

Yep, it is kind of like Crank in the editing and filming, but I'd say it's actually worse, because the film stock here is all so cheap and even when it's not handheld footage, it looks much the same.

Quoted from Dreamscale U571?  Well, I saw it at the theater and wasn't all that upset about it.  Potential was there again...

I refuse to watch this movie out of principle.  It was us Brits that captured the enigma machine before the US even entered the war.

As for 'End of Watch', well I thought the trailers looked good.  Shame if it sucks balls.

Quoted from alffy As for 'End of Watch', well I thought the trailers looked good.  Shame if it sucks balls.

It does not suck balls.  Some may like the frenetic camera work.  I personally do not.

Quoted from alffy I refuse to watch this movie out of principle.  It was us Brits that captured the enigma machine before the US even entered the war.

Mostow admitted that was an embarassing decision but as far as I know, Ayer hasn't said anything particular on the subject. Then again, my knowledge in what he's said about it is highly limited.

I'm off topic as this thread is about End of Watch but I think U571 is disrespectful to the British heroes who captured the enigma.  I don't think you can just re-write history like that.

Anyway, Jeff.  I'll probably watch End of Watch anyway as I have a cinema pass and need to make sure I get my money's worth lol.

Caught this one over the holiday weekend...

And it certainly ain't no Training Day.
Heck, it's not even as fun as Street Kings.

But, I did hang in there and was engaged for the most part.
There were two things that annoyed me about the film...

1) The lame-o excuse for the shaky cam.

Jake's making movies for his class?
Don't think the L.A.P.D. would appreciate that, like at all.

2) And the steamy bromance got eye roll inducing, a lot.

It's like, OK, we get it.
They like everything about each other, just not the penises.

Despite this, there are riveting scenes that kept me watching.
The ending and who lives and why was supremely unclear.

This was a decent film.

E.D.

I thought this was great.

Really intense, with great acting and camaraderie.


Very entertaining.

I saw this back in 2012. Thought it was good. Nothing special but as far as found footage films go, which I hate, this is amongst the better ones.