End of Watch: David Ayer's Surprisingly Effective Cop Drama Comes to 4K (Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook)

The Film:

Writer/director David Ayer has had a curious roller coaster of a career, hitting a decent peak early on with the compelling cop drama "Training Day," but also delivering a number of sub-par films like his dreadful "Suicide Squad," his bland war flick "Fury," and most recently, a pair of standard Jason Statham shoot/beat-'em-ups with "The Beekeeper" & "A Working Man."

However, when you dig a little deeper into his filmography, you notice another little cop drama called "End of Watch," one that had him working across the board as writer, director, and producer. Many may have seen it as a basic police outing, but it actually received decent reviews from critics, on top of being a rather impressive hit at the box office that had it earning back its small production budget several times. To celebrate this smaller work of Ayer's, Shout! Studios is giving the film a grand 4K upgrade (with a light selection of extras), so once again it's time to go back and see if this seemingly-ordinary little cop flick is one that deserves the treatment and more attention from viewers than it normally gets.

The film follows LAPD officers Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena), partners who patrol a particularly dangerous part of Los Angeles. For one of his college classes, Brian has decided to record their activities, which include dealing with gangs, noise complaints, drug activities, and even checking up on the elderly (a call that turns into something else entirely). On and off their watch, we also learn about their private lives, with Mike being happily married to his wife Gabby (Natalie Martinez), who has recently given birth, and Brian currently dating Janet (Anna Kendrick). When they learn from a gang member that they're being targeted for assassination, the pair decide to shrug it off. However, they soon find out that the threat is very much real, forcing them into a fight for their lives.

"End of Watch" is one of those films that's not likely to score many points when it comes to originality. After all, it's more than fair to say that, for the most part, it plays out like a feature-length episode of "Cops," though it's also quite fair to say that it ends up being a surprisingly entertaining one. Sure, much of it consists of pretty standard cop material that has them dealing with gangs, drugs, etc., but Ayer has managed to balance out these exciting episodes with a fair amount of character development that gives the film a compelling human element to it. That is to say, he's able to humanize what could've easily been nothing more than two cliched cop characters going about their usual duties.

This is also thanks in no small part to the performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, who bring quite a lot to these characters with their personalities. Again, what could've been a simple, by-the-book cop outing ends up having a little extra oomph because of what these two invest in these rolls, making them more engaging and more emotionally-relatable than they otherwise might have been. That emotional investment from the audience is the key component that sets this apart from the more typical films of its kind, for without it, who would want to watch two humdrum cops running around doing their job for two hours?

Overall, it's rather easy to say that "End of Watch" is one of Ayer's much more successful endeavors. The screenplay may not go in any particularly surprising directions, but it fleshes out the characters quite well, an element that is only made more successful by the captivating performances from its two leads. With its new release on 4K, hopefully more people will discover it (or revisit it like I did after 14 years) so they can see an intriguing example of a sub-genre that's been done to death done right.

Video/Audio:

This Limited Edition Steelbook comes with the film on both 4K (2160p, UHD) and Blu-ray (1080p, HD) in 1.85:1 transfers of outstanding quality, featuring a picture that has been cleaned up beautifully for a sharp & clear presentation throughout its entire 109-minute duration. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks are fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Shout! Studios has done a wonderful job in both departments for the film's new upgrade.

Special Features:

Commentary with Writer/Director David Ayer

Fate with a Badge (2 Minutes), In the Streets (2 Minutes), Woman on Watch (2 Minutes), Watch Your Six (3 Minutes), and Honors (2 Minutes): All five of these featurettes are very brief looks behind the scenes of the film, featuring snippets of interviews with the cast & crew.

Deleted Scenes (17 Sequences, 47 Minutes)

Conclusion:

David Ayer's "End of Watch" is a surprisingly effective cop drama that rises on the strengths of its well-balanced screenplay, which fleshes out its characters quite well, and the strong, compelling performances from leads Jake Gyllenhaal & Michael Pena, who pour a fair amount of emotional investment into their roles, ultimately making for a film that's able to overcome the cliches and deliver an entertaining & captivating experience.

Score: 3.5/5

Now available on Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook.

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