68
Metascore
37 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumNerve-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.
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeUltimately, the mock-doc device works because Gyllenhaal and Pena so completely reinvent themselves in-character. Instead of wearing the roles like costumes or uniforms, they let the job seep into their skin, a feat without which "End of Watch's" pseudo-reality never would have worked.
- 80Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondBoxoffice MagazinePete HammondEasily one of the year's best films and one of the best ever in the well-worn cop genre.
- 80Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzThe action and the chemistry is stronger than the story, because Gyllenhaal and Peña are good. In that respect End of Watch works better as a series of vignettes held together somewhat loosely by a larger story.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceAs social insight, End of Watch is useless, but as engrossing entertainment, it's irresistible, thanks to Ayer's gift for dialogue, the relentless pacing set by film editor Dody Dorn, and gorgeous performances by Gyllenhaal and Peña.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeIn 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.
- 40The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawDespite the violence and procedural detail, this is about as gritty as Dixon of Dock Green.
- 40Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichIt almost becomes comical to count the number of "who's holding the camera now?" reverse shots that the filmmaker haphazardly inserts to propel the story forward. Such visual ineptitude, like much else in this tediously cocky enterprise, is downright criminal.
- 38Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.End of Watch is pure frat-boy fantasy, the video game to Southland's great American novel.