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END OF WATCH

"A Story of Brotherhood"

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What You Need To Know:

END OF WATCH is an extremely intense movie about two cops in Los Angeles, Brian and Mike. Filmed like a documentary, it follows their day-to-day lives as partners on the force. Brian is a reckless risk taker and Mike is more cautious and wise, probably because he’s married. As they go about catching criminals and saving people from burning buildings, their bond as friends grows stronger. They work so well together that they end up crossing a Mexican drug cartel, which puts a bounty on their head. Mike and Brian find themselves in a situation more deadly than they’ve ever seen.

END OF WATCH is brilliantly made. The documentary style of filmmaking makes the action sequences more intense and the personal scenes more meaningful. It has a strong moral worldview with Christian aspects of sacrifice and courage. There’s also a strong message of taking marriage seriously and strong themes of what it means to be a good friend. Regrettably, END OF WATCH has excessive foul language, graphic violence and some sensuality.

Content:

(BB, CC, PP, Ho, LLL, VVV, SS, NN, A, DD, M) Strong moral worldview with some overt Christian content and positive Pro-American pro-police content such as marriage is extolled as a very good thing, one character says marriage is a lifelong commitment and a promise made before God, children are seen positively, a church scene has a large cross as the focal point, there is a strong message of courage and sacrifice, plus brief homosexual elements when two women kiss at a gang party; more than 415 obscenities (including at least 315 “f” words), 10 profanities, and multiple middle fingers; very strong violence includes people getting shot gruesomely, we seen body parts scattered through a room including severed heads, a live baby is found in a closet tied up with duct tape, a body is wrapped in plastic, female cop brutally beaten by a gang member, her face is extremely beat up and camera lingers on it for quite a while, a police officer has a knife stick out of his eye; Implied fornication, two women kiss at a gang party, women dance suggestively, strong sexual dialogue; some moderate nudity with dancers dressed provocatively and some female cleavage, plus upper male nudity; drinking; some drug use; and, police officers sometimes twist the law unjustly to catch the criminals.

More Detail:

END OF WATCH is a cop movie filmed like a documentary and set in Los Angeles.

A police car pursues a car through the ghetto in South Central Los Angeles. Brian Taylor describes in a narration during the car chase the lengths they, the police, will go to punish crime. The car crashes, the criminals jump out and shoot at the police, but the police overpower and kill the criminals.

Cut to the police station. Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a young police officer filming a documentary for a film school project. His partner is Mike Zavala (Michael Pena), a married Hispanic man with his first child on the way. The movie follows these two police officers through the lens of Jake’s camera.

Right off the bat, the camera shows these two guys are very different. Brian is irresponsible and reckless, with no sense of good judgment. Unlike Mike, Brian has trouble finding meaningful relationships, even though he’s now dating a girl who might have potential. Mike is very happy with his relationship with his wife. He seems content with his life. The movie shows all this through the conversations Mike and Brian have in their squad car while cruising around the city.

Through different situations they go through, Brian and Mike grow closer together as friends, always watching each other’s back in the field. One night they hear over their radio about a nearby fire. They rush to the scene to find a house ablaze. A woman stands outside screaming for her children. Instinctively, Mike rushes into the burning building with Brian screaming for him to come back.

Mike finds the children, but gets lost in the smoke. Brian saves him just in time, but not without hurting himself in the process by inhaling excessive amount of smoke. Because of this act of courage, the city awards medals to both Brian and Mike. More importantly, their bond of brotherhood grows even stronger.

Brian finally gets married to his girlfriend, Janet. Eventually, they discover she’s pregnant. With both men now having families to protect, they have much more reason to live.

Things start going bad after Brian and Mike discover a major cartel hiding spot with drugs, money and sex slaves. Their discovery makes them targets for the cartel. Soon, they soon have a bounty on their head. Brian and Mike continue their work in the ghetto with no idea what’s coming for them, and what does come for them will test everything they hold dear.

END OF WATCH is brilliantly made. The characters are naturally developed and the story is very moving. The movie very much feels like a documentary, with shaky camera work and long sequences of people talking. This makes the movie feel incredibly real, which increases the tension immensely. There are strong moral elements with Christian aspects of sacrifice and courage. There’s also a conversation where Mike tells Brian about taking marriage seriously. He goes on to say that marriage is a “lifelong commitment and a promise before God.” Both men care deeply for their family, and children are seen as a good thing. There’s also a scene in a church where a large cross is the focal point. The movie strongly relates to the struggles that inner city police officers face.

Even so, as touching as END OF WATCH was, it will be too excessive for media wise viewers because of an excessive amount of language, including over 300 f-bombs. There’s also extreme gruesome violence (though not gratuitous) and some sexuality and sensuality (though no extreme nudity). END OF WATCH would get a much larger audience if it eliminated most of this negative content, or at least toned it down a bit. As it is, extreme caution is advised.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.