In movies today there is often a similar storyline where there is a detective verses a criminal mastermind, but End of Watch is different.  The movie takes a unique perspective at the struggle between the law and criminals and takes the viewer through the eyes of an average patrol man in the bustling and often dangerous streets of Los Angeles.

The movie’s main character Brian Taylor is played by Jake Gyllenhaal who has been in films such as Donnie Darko, Day After Tomorrow, Jarhead, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.  His co-star and patrol partner, Mike Zavala, is played by the rising Hollywood star Michael Pena who was also in the Shooter, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Tower Heist.

The two main characters, Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala, are together assigned to patrol the South-Central part of Los Angeles which is in the middle of a gangland war. The two officers stumble upon a cash house and then are thrown even more into danger when gangsters from all over the city come after the officers.

The preformance by the two stars was incredible, and they were able to truly draw the audience in and make them sit on the edge of their seats throughout the entire movie.  The interaction between these two partners made it feel like these two guys were best friends or even family, not just coworkers.

In the opening weekend, this action packed film earned $13.2 million in revenue.  It also finished as the weekend’s number one movie slightly above The House on the End of the Street and Trouble with the Curve, which both raised around $ 13 million each.

End of Watch is shot differently than most current films.  The movie was shot from the perspective of handheld cameras that the characters have and that are in their patrol car.  There are also several different scenes that are filmed from surveillance cameras that are on the street.  This decision to film the movie with handheld cameras as opposed to the standard, steady cameras was intended to make the movie seem more realistic to the viewer and more intense.

Director David Ayer, who established his name in Hollywood by producing hard and often intense stories of crimes in the streets of Los Angeles, creates another epic crime drama.  People from around the country already know and are entranced by his written works.  Ayer has created the scripts for popular films such as Training Day, Dark Blue, S.W.A.T. and even The Fast and the Furious.

Despite the intense nature of the film and the several very brutal scenes, there are moments that are quite comical.  These moments come when the audience can hear the side commentary and the little jokes that are spoken softly underneath the character’s breath to each other.