One Adam 12

When I was a kid, I loved "Adam-12."  One of those cookie-cutter slices of police life in Los Angeles, courtesy of Jack Webb.  Investigating jewelry store hold-ups.  Chasing a speeding motorist.  Breaking up a marital squabble that has spilled over into the backyard. 

Well, times have changed. 

"End of Watch" takes an "Adam-12" episode and updates it to the terror that is current day LA.  When you see a movie like this, you have two immediate reactions if you have to live in the city depicted on screen.  One, you develop a new and totally enhanced appreciation of the Los Angeles Police Department.  And, two, after watching the thugs and lowlifes that walk amongst us, you want to run home and hide under your bed.  Yes, it's that ugly.

Indeed, at its basic premise, "End of Watch" is no different than any other urban police drama you've seen over the past twenty years.  Gangs are all around us, assembling arsenals of machine guns and other weaponry thanks to million dollar sales of illegal drugs.  Gee, nothing new there.  People are rotten.  And, oh, yeah, there are probably a couple of cops on the take.

The way "End of Watch" does a great spin on that usual tale is that these cops are not all crooked.  And they are totally devoted to defending you and me.  Folks putting their lives on the line every single day.  Because, in Los Angeles, there are bad people in every single alleyway.

Nope, the police in "End of Watch" are mostly good guys.  Family men and women.  Young and idealistic.  If not married yet, they are making plans to do so.  Learning new trades that they can adopt for that inevitable day when they no longer can chase an armed hoodlam down a darkened street.  Folks with hopes and dreams.  Just like you and me.

The cops at the core of this movie are longtime friends and fellow squad car inhabitants played marvelously by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena.  Pena is the married one, a young and gritty Hispanic with a new baby at home.  Gyllenhaal is taking a film class and also debating the pros and cons of being a bachelor.  He is now dating a girl who might be the one, portrayed by the always welcome Anna Kendrick, and he tries to figure out if he should take the marital plunge.  The two policemen use their cruising time to discuss their lives, yet always aware that danger might lie just past the next intersection.

There's plenty of action, violence, and profanity in "End of Watch."  Heck, after all, this is the south side of Los Angeles.  But, aside from the typical plot of a gang gone crazy, there are the moments where the two cops just talk.  And you learn so much about their lives, their fears, and the love that these two have for each other.  There is a unique bond between all folks in this line of work, whether it be police or firefighters.  These are the people truly saving lives.  And, aside from 9/11 and its remnants, a world that largely is ignored by the public.  "End of Watch" marvelously gives you the look and feel of their world.

As you watch each time these cops are called into action, you fear for them.  The hand-held camera that film buff Gyllenhaal wears takes you deep into the belly of the urban piece.  Be careful if you see this movie after dinner and from a seat too close to the screen.  You will lose that pepperoni pizza you just had at the food court.  But, thanks to this screen device, you get the authenticity that takes you right into direct gunfire.

When you see "End of Watch," you expect a downer of an ending that is telegraphed right from the mid-way point of the film.  But, just to show you that these lives are never predictable or routine, director David Ayers takes you a completely different way to the film's conclusion.  I was surprised.  But, then again, so are the police.  Every day, minute, and hour that they are on-duty.

If you want to learn how to appreciate the police or remember how you used to, "End of Watch" is a must-see.

Dinner last night:  Super Dodger Dog at the last game of the season.