I don’t know how to explain this, but bear with me—sometimes, I unironically love really trashy, really macho action thrillers. I’m a huge fan of David Ayer’s Sabotage, a testosterone-fueled riff on Agatha Christie, and maybe I’ve seen every film in the Escape Plan series, including the two direct-to-video sequels. On any given weeknight, there’s a solid chance I’m streaming some random Gerard Butler movie where he’s up against some natural disaster or terrorist plot in London.
I love some schlock, okay, especially when greased-up men are getting down and dirty. I try not to think too hard about them because I’m not sure I’d like what kind of messages I find hidden beneath the surface, but we all have guilty pleasures. And that includes the aforementioned David Ayers’ End of Watch, now topping the charts on Max. Check out more about the film below:
Per Max: Two best-friend cops stationed in a high-crime section of South Central LA find themselves in the crosshairs of a drug cartel.
I much prefer Jake Gyllenhaal when he’s being a certified weirdo, but he’s angry and impassioned enough in End of Watch to scratch that Nightcrawler itch. Michael Peña is a formidable match, and to End of Watch’s credit, for all the cartel malarkey and LA movie crime, there’s a solid friendship at the core of the story. While it adheres to all the police procedural beats, both the good and the bad, the relationship between Gyllenhaal and Peña is strong enough to bolster End of Watch’s more familiar beats.
End of Watch is also a fantastic exercise in gritty, guerilla filmmaking. While Ayer was used to larger budgets with scripted titles like Training Day and directorial efforts including Street Kings, End of Watch had a meager $7 million budget, even more astounding considering the talent attached. It’s not Ayer’s best movie by any metric, but it’s a solid enough watch for your weekend, especially if you’re a secret action fan like I am. And, hey, why not pair it with David Ayers’ The Beekeeper, now streaming on MGM+? I’m an unironic fan of anything Jason Statham.
What do you think? Do you have any plans to check out End of Watch on Max? If you do, let me know whether it’s the macho nonsense you’re looking for over on Twitter @Chadiscollins. I’m always down to talk ridiculous action and gritty, lo-fi filmmaking, after all.
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