End of Watch (2012)
87%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 10 nominations
End of Watch has the energy, devotion to characters, and charismatic performances to overcome the familiar pitfalls of its genre and handheld format
End of Watch is the kind of movie that makes you want to grab a beer with your best friend and go on a wild adventure. The bromance between Gyllenhaal and Peña is so real, you’ll forget they’re not actually cops. The action is heart-pumping and the cinematography is top-notch. It’s not just another buddy cop movie, it’s a buddy cop movie on steroids. So buckle up and get ready for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Open Road
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence, some disturbing images, pervasive language including sexual references, and some drug use
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Datasat Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 21, 2012 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 22, 2013
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, directed by David Ayer, written by David Ayer, action, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Francesca Steele, Bilge Ebiri, Elizabeth Weitzman, Michael Phillips, Richard Corliss, Tara Brady, Charlotte Harrison, Jason Best, Justin Brown, Brandon Collins, Katie Smith-Wong, Leigh Paatsch, R MPAA rating, LAPD, Mexican cartel, handheld format, buddy cop, police drama, honor, dedication, danger, Los Angeles, gritty, realism, camaraderie, street-level, ultraviolence, college course, documentary, shaky cam, banter, thriller, dark, intriguing, realistic
Worldwide gross: $55,078,146
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $71,008,091
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,188
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,743,521
US/Canada gross: $41,003,371
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $52,862,547
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,047
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,152,683
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $16,956,760
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 732
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $9,024,571
Production budget ranking: 1,713
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,859,731
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $57,123,789
ROI to date (est.): 411%
ROI ranking: 335
Michael Peña – Mike Zavala
Natalie Martinez – Gabby
Anna Kendrick – Janet
David Harbour – Van Hauser
Frank Grillo – Sarge
David Ayer – Director/Writer/Producer
John Lesher – Producer
Nigel Sinclair – Producer
Matt Jackson – Producer
Director(s)
David Ayer
Writer(s)
David Ayer
Producer(s)
John Lesher, David Ayer, Nigel Sinclair, Matt Jackson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 10 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (181) | Top Critics (59) | Fresh (154) | Rotten (27)
This is the thinking man’s action movie, a cop flick that takes us off the beaten track. Above all, though, it is a bromance.
August 11, 2017
Francesca Steele
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Ayer and his cast appear to have so convincingly nailed the way these characters talk and act that you might not even notice the film slipping from workaday grit into out-and-out myth.
January 8, 2013
Bilge Ebiri
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
The actors, both excellent, get right into Ayer’s groove. So by the time we arrive at the unsparing climax, we really know and care about these guys.
January 8, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Gyllenhaal and Pena are after a lived-in camaraderie and a street-level realism. Pena, especially, succeeds; you buy him every second.
January 8, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The performances here are so sharp that viewers may wish End of Watch has been shot by someone who knew how to find the right point of view for a scene and leave it there.
January 8, 2013
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Ayers’s warmest film to date finds meaning and depth in its “I love you, man” exchanges and rarely goes too long without staging some daring detective work and videogame ultraviolence.
November 24, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
There are countless buddy-cop action movies, but this one really is a bit different.
April 8, 2021
Charlotte Harrison
Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies
With throat-grabbing immediacy, giddily frenetic cop thriller End of Watch thrusts you into the front seat of an LA patrol car.
December 17, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Jason Best
Movie Talk
It holds up, it’s just a good movie…
May 11, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Justin Brown
Medium Popcorn
Really solid performances, and really solid cinematography with a heavy punch…there are very few movies we see lately that have actual stakes…
May 11, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Brandon Collins
Medium Popcorn
Fast-paced, entertaining with great performances from Gyllenhaal and Peña, End of Watch is more than your usual cop-partner/buddy flick.
December 9, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Katie Smith-Wong
Musings of Guitargalchina
A superior police drama rains down a hail of blows upon the viewer.
June 7, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)…
Plot
In South Central Los Angeles, street cops Brian and Mike are partners – balls-out cowboys patrolling the streets as Latino gangs are in a power struggle with Blacks. Brian and Mike get lucky a couple of times, making big drug and human-trafficking busts, so a Mexican cartel orders their deaths. We meet Mike’s pregnant wife (whom he married out of high school) and watch Brian’s search for a soul mate. There are internal squabbles within the ranks of the LAPD and lots of squad-car conversation. Can the lads escape the cartel’s murderous reach?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises the “charismatic performances” of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña in End of Watch.
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