End of WatchMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 68 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 not for kids
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Amy Biancolli

    The best scenes are filmed inside the cruiser, dashboard shots that face inward instead of out, catching Gyllenhaal and Peña in moments so playful and true they make all other buddy cops look bogus by comparison. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Nerve-rattling in the best way, the sharp, visceral urban police procedural End of Watch is one of the best American cop movies I've seen in a long time. Read full review

  • 88
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    David Ayer, the writer of "Training Day," director of "Street Kings," writer/director of "Harsh Times," does not make movies about princesses with witchy curses, about yuppie commitment-phobes, about talking plush toys. His territory is narrow, but he owns it: cops, in Los Angeles. Read full review

  • 80
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    If Ayer had taken as much care with his bad guys as he does with his leads (and their deftly sketched wives and colleagues, played by Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera and Frank Grillo, among others), he might have crafted a seamless picture. Read full review

  • 75
    Movieline |

    The two cops are cocky and funny and young, and it still takes a good half hour to accept that they may be as forthright and dedicated to their jobs as they appear to be. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Unlike many action thrillers where the viewer is fairly certain that no real harm can come to the protagonists, such is never the case here. In this gritty ride-along, we sense that anything can happen, which adds to the propulsive momentum of a riveting story. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | John DeFore

    In the last 15 minutes of the film, he burns up some of the credibility he established by not pushing extreme situations too far earlier on. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    End of Watch gives you the savage whoosh of being on a job that can get you killed. Sins of cop clichés can be forgiven when a movie pays honest tribute to police on the line. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    The camera is just everywhere, from the point of view of everything. When I left the movie the other night, people complained of seasickness. Read full review

  • 50
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    Shallow down inside, End of Watch is a music-video Frappuccino of quick cuts, sparkling banter, serial crises, grisly violence and tongue-jerk profanity. But the film is exciting, in its manipulative way, and exhausting. Read full review

View more reviews for End of Watch on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says not for kids Disturbingly violent but heroic depiction of L.A. cops.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that End of Watch -- a handheld-footage-style drama about two L.A. police officers -- has all of the violence you'd expect from a mature cop story (guns, shooting, blood, dead bodies, etc.) and then some: Gruesome and horrific violence is committed against women, children, and others. The language, too, is extremely strong and constant, with what seems like hundreds of uses of "f--k" (and plenty other salty words, too). There's strong sexual innuendo, and the main characters are shown to be intimate and affectionate with their wives/girlfriends. No nudity is shown, but there are scantily clad women in a dance club, and two women kiss. Drugs (pot, cocaine) are shown and discussed. Still, End of Watch has a genuine high regard for the bravery and teamwork of police officers.
  • Families can talk about End of Watch's extreme violence. How much of it was necessary to tell the story? Was it thrilling or frightening? How does its impact compare to the gore of a horror movie?
  • Are these characters role models? How does the movie make you feel about police officers?
  • Why do you think language and sexual innuendo are so strong in this movie? Do these characters need it for a release from the pressures of their job? Why?
  • The characters place a great deal of importance on family, wives, and children. Does their job's dangerous nature increase the need for a family?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Despite its strong violence and subject matter, End of Watch has a heartfelt appreciation for the bravery, dedication, and heroism of police officers (without being preachy). Cops are shown risking their lives, saving others, and working together.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Though the two main characters are in a dangerous occupation and could get killed at any moment -- and are prone to using foul language and having occasional outbursts of temper -- they're genuinely brave and heroic, and they work together extremely well. They have a strong, supportive friendship.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: End of Watch goes above and beyond the type of gun violence, shootings, deaths, and blood you'd expect from a cop movie. While on patrol, cops discover horrific scenes -- like two small children tied up with duct tape and locked in a closet, a human trafficking ring with people locked up in inhuman conditions, and mutilated bodies. One character is shown with a knife sticking out of his eye. A huge male thug beats a female cop senseless, battering her face in.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Heavy sexual innuendo; characters discuss their sexual relationships frankly. The main character is shown kissing and engaging in foreplay with his girlfriend; sex is implied. The other main character is shown to be affectionate with his wife (who's pregnant). One scene takes place inside a dance club with scantily clad women. Two women kiss during this scene.
  • language false5 Language: A constant stream of language includes hundreds of uses of "f--k" and "s--t," as well as "motherf----r," "bitch," "d--k," "ass," "a--hole," "c--k," "hell," "damn," the "N" word, "p---y," "goddamn," "oh my God," and Spanish slang like "puto." "Jesus" and "God" are also used as exclamations.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Mentions of Home Depot and Starbucks.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: In a dance club, a character lights up what looks to be a joint. A stash of cocaine is found and shown. Some minor characters are (alleged) drug dealers.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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