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END OF WATCHMovie Reviews
Drama about two dedicated police officers in south central LA, told through one partner's handheld camera footage as he records their patrols. Cast:Michael Pena, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera, Frank Grillo, David HarbourDirector:David AyerRelease Date:September 21, 2012DVD Release:January 15, 2013From:Open Road FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr. 49 min.
End of Watch played to very good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...a visceral punch not for the faint of heart... The actors' outstanding work makes it a victory of craft over clichés." • And Mara Reinstein wrote in Us Weekly, "We've seen it all before in (insert any cop drama here)." More Reviews Below...
End of Watch Positive Reviews (45 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...alternately engrossing and annoying... the performances are so sharp that viewers may wish it had been shot by someone who knew how to find the right point of view..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 964 words, 09/21/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the found-footage aesthetic infuses the film with both intimacy and vibrancy; it creates the illusion that what we're watching is unscripted... thrilling, uncompromising."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 715 words, 09/20/12
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "...desperately wants to be a gritty take on the LAPD crime unit. The problem? We've seen it all before in (insert any cop drama here)."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 121 words, 09/13/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Nerve-rattling in the best way... sharp, visceral... one of the best American cop movies I've seen in a long time.... builds to a powerful conclusion."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 239 words, 09/21/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "David Ayer raises the bar with a script that bristles with life.... Sins of cop clichés can be forgiven when a movie pays honest tribute to police on the line."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 332 words, 09/14/12
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...one of the best police movies in recent years... it's inspiring to realize that these men take their mission with such seriousness they're willing to risk their lives."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 525 words, 09/21/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Sadly, deep for Ayer is pretty shallow. What saves this cop show from its predictable tropes and cliches are terrific performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena..."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 09/20/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...gripping... boasts surprising emotional heft. This is as much about the humanity of the people in the police cars as it is about the job they do."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 09/20/12
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Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...rare in its sensitivity, rash in its violence and raw in its humor.... unexpectedly moving... different -- distinctive and street worthy."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 09/21/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...think TV's 'Cops' with a pair of very good actors behind the wheel.... Gyllenhaal and Pena have great chemistry together, in their best performances to date."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 459 words, 09/21/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a full load of self-conscious faux realism... Michael Pena, especially, succeeds.... The drawback of the film's visual approach, however, is a considerable one."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 460 words, 09/21/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "...an attempt to update a creaky script in a trendy style... it might have worked if writer-director David Ayer had stayed true to his conceit."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 303 words, 09/21/12
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: VERY GOOD "There's nothing in David Ayer's cop drama that you haven't already seen, but the film has moments so riveting that you might not care too much.... dizzyingly intense."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 688 words, 09/21/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...one of the best police movies in recent years... it's inspiring to realize that these men take their mission with such seriousness they're willing to risk their lives."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 525 words, 09/21/12
Chuck Wilson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "As social insight, it is useless, but as engrossing entertainment, it's irresistible, thanks to Ayer's gift for dialogue, gorgeous performances by Gyllenhaal and Peña..."(See all of Chuck Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 09/26/12
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...begins as just another LAPD cop story... Thankfully, you don't have to get too far into it before it changes into something far more interesting..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 531 words, 09/21/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The dialogue is quick, witty and entirely credible. So are the lead performances.... Still, the film suffers from no end of sanctimony."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 579 words, 09/21/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "Ayer continues to make movies about the complex awesomeness of men with guns, which would be terrific if he'd ever had a single thing to say."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 09/20/12
KEY CITIES (10 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...tense, violent -- and surprisingly affecting... Thankfully, Ayer allows Brian and Mike some time to simply talk.... The best thing about it is not the action, but the inaction."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 552 words, 09/21/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Ayer delivers a film of extraordinary fire power... Visceral and violent, but anchored in the humanity of its two leads... pretty awesome..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 534 words, 09/21/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This is 10 cups of coffee in cinema form, a visceral punch not for the faint of heart... The actors' outstanding work makes it a victory of craft over clichés."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 421 words, 09/21/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "Ayer manages to overcome the shortcomings of the genre, many of which are present here, with great chemistry between his actors and sheer momentum."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 612 words, 09/21/12
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it's the bond between Taylor and Zavala that's the heart of the movie... But the movie is often a mess of bad camerawork and insecure editing."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 09/21/12
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The best scenes are filmed inside the cruiser... moments so playful and true they make all other buddy cops look bogus by comparison."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 423 words, 09/21/12
Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...feels new. Fresh. Immediate.... its grittiness and raw honesty of the portrayal of its characters make 'End of Watch' so powerfully compelling."(See all of Soren Andersen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 369 words, 09/21/12
Roger Moore, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Pena and Gyllenhaal so fully inhabit these well-rounded characters that you worry for them... worry about what will become of them by the end of this watch."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 09/21/12
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: POOR(cg) "...a repellent movie... 'End of Watch' feels basely cruel... it contains no discernible plot, only a procession of inner city horrors..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 509 words, 09/21/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a gritty, grim cop story blessed with great chemistry between its actors and a novel approach.... riveting.... Ayers is outright celebrating cops..."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 555 words, 09/21/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (10 Reviews)
Chuck Wilson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "As social insight, it is useless, but as engrossing entertainment, it's irresistible, thanks to Ayer's gift for dialogue, gorgeous performances by Gyllenhaal and Peña..."(See all of Chuck Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 09/26/12
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Ayer gambles constantly... it's impressive how many of those gambles pay off.... this movie is intense, gripping, funny, and absolutely fantastic."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 628 words, 09/21/12
Jake Mulligan, Boston Phoenix: POOR(cg) "Gyllenhaal and Peña aren't exactly corrupt cops in this self-important police drama, they're just fascistic assholes.... made worse by David Ayer's incompetent direction."(See all of Jake Mulligan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 154 words, 09/20/12
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...disappointingly TV-sized... feels less like the resolution of a de facto trilogy than like a rerun limply recycling characters and situations..."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 416 words, 09/20/12
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: MODERATE(cg) "It is about watching in every way -- on what it means to be 'fate with a badge and a gun,' but also what it means to watch that fate pitch and stagger, rush and boom."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 851 words, 09/21/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: VERY GOOD(cg) "...manages to give a startling sense of a changing of the LAPD guard... The film's found footage aesthetic speaks to its refreshing next-gen spirit..."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 896 words, 09/20/12
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant: WEAK(cg) "Ayer's fidgety promo genre exercise, essentially a found-footage cop film, never sits still long enough to ponder anything deeper than surface chaos."(See all of Glenn Heath Jr.'s reviews...)(Read the full review...) 565 words, 09/19/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "Ayer continues to make movies about the complex awesomeness of men with guns, which would be terrific if he'd ever had a single thing to say."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 09/20/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Oh my.... Ayer has pulled off all this newness with a vibrancy so electric that the screen seems to sing from the film's opening moments..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 786 words, 09/17/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (6 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a music-video Frappuccino of quick cuts, sparkling banter, serial crises, grisly violence and tongue-jerk profanity... the film is exciting, in its manipulative way..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 09/21/12
Stephanie Zacharek, NPR: EXCELLENT "...one of a kind... by turns clever, compelling and unconscionable, so artful in its artifice that sometimes it almost fools you into believing that it's reality."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 09/20/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...rare in its sensitivity, rash in its violence and raw in its humor.... unexpectedly moving... different -- distinctive and street worthy."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 09/21/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: OUTSTANDING "...thrilling and brilliantly made... at least the best cop movie since James Gray's 'We Own the Night,' and very likely since Antoine Fuqua's memorable 'Training Day'..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,151 words, 09/20/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...a visceral ride-along with two thrill-seeking cops.... Gyllenhaal and Pena completely reinvent themselves in-character.... they let the job seep into their skin..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 753 words, 09/08/12
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "Ayer has managed to involve us in the lives of his characters -- whose storylines may be familiar, but are played out in a world that for the most part feels real."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 655 words, 09/08/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...rare in its sensitivity, rash in its violence and raw in its humor.... unexpectedly moving... different -- distinctive and street worthy."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 09/21/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a touching tribute to policemen.... adds an honorable panel to the genres of the male buddy as well as urban procedural policier."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 475 words, 09/10/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a music-video Frappuccino of quick cuts, sparkling banter, serial crises, grisly violence and tongue-jerk profanity... the film is exciting, in its manipulative way..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 09/21/12
22.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
End of Watch's reviews are separated by an average 22.2 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
End of Watch (45 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:End of Watch's reviews cover 96.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 24,219 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 526 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
End of Watch Coverage, Volume & Length (45 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 36.3 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
End of Watch's reviews on average broke 36.3 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is End of Watch's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
End of Watch (45 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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