End of Watch - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook

There are countless movies about crooked, corrupt cops readily available for moviegoers to enjoy, but End of Watch offers a breath of fresh air while still keeping to genre expectations and filming in the otherwise trite "found footage" style. Only, the filmmakers manage to make this style seem novel, mixing the POV with more traditional camera views and angles, making an attempt for some semblance of realism. And for the most part, it works to riveting effect. In this day and age, when everyone seems to carry a camera on a variety of devices, it's none too surprising that even criminals would be stupid enough to record their own unlawful activities. And many of them really do walk around with the camera always on.

Framing the buddy cop charm with a dark procedural thriller, David Ayer, who made a name for himself with the Denzel Washington-starrer Training Day, takes audiences on a gripping, edge-of-your-seat ride-along with a pair of beat cops drawing undue attention from a dangerous cartel. Ayer also penned this "day in the life" portrait of the courageous men and women who risk their lives protecting the community and upholding the law, recognizing the real civil service they actually provide. We're also granted glimpses into their personal lives and the sort of familial bond they share with others who proudly wear the badge, admiring their humanity and the daily sacrifice they make.

Previous movies from Ayer explore the dark underbelly of The City of Angels and the corrupt cops who monitor its streets. In End of Watch, he shows the other side of that coin, following Officer Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his partner Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) working diligently, though not without a bit of hot-headedness, to clean up those streets and save the lives of innocent, little children from burning houses. While Taylor ponders on whether his new girlfriend Janet (Anna Kendrick) could be the one, Zavala is happily married to Gabby (Natalie Martinez) and waits for the arrival of their first child.

A major part of what makes this film work so well is the chemistry between Gyllenhaal, giving one of his best dramatic performances in years, and Peña, who does an excellent job of keeping pace with Gyllenhaal. They're a likeable pair who we quickly come to admire and respect. Ayer adds a nice touch by also making them public heroes, winning well-earned recognition for their service.

In the middle of this, the two best chums, who spend each day confiding in one another like brothers, slowly find themselves wrapped up in a major criminal ring, accidentally busting one operation after another. They are grisly, horrifying scenes of human trafficking, drugs, mutilated corpses and gold-plated assault rifles. Those we suspect behind the disturbing crimes are a frightening maniac aptly named Big Evil (Maurice Compte) and his equally scary second in command, La La (Yahira 'Flakiss' Garcia), who has a penchant for using stolen minivans in drive-by shootings. One scene at a house party where our two everyday heroes have a stare-down with the pair of vicious gangbangers is a terrifically tense moment, cueing in on the inevitable showdown.

This is where Ayer gradually turns his gritty police drama into a standard action thriller, and the transition between genres is seamless. We're too caught up in the moment to even notice the shift or the fact that there's no possible way a camera would be filming at that precise moment. But this is also part of the film's success, establishing a feeling of authenticity as two characters we've come to sympathize with intersect with the real dangers of their job. Ayer underscores the directness and straightforward approach of his plot with this tragic irony: the more good deeds they perform, the more they inadvertently put themselves in jeopardy.

The film opens with a sensationalized chase through the streets of Los Angeles, which ends in a heart-stopping shootout (the action recorded by the dash camera of the squad car), and Officer Taylor (Gyllenhaal) explains the hazards of the job. The sequence seems like the typical voiceover device, but it's not, as the screen weaves around the mayhem created by the black Monte Carlo, making viewers feel as if they're in the driver's seat. It's not until the end that we reflect on the somber, depressed tone in Taylor's voice, contradicting the thrilling action on screen. End of Watch is exhilarating and engrossing, but for the real cops experiencing the dangers every day, it's not an easy ride because they don't always walk away unscathed or unaffected by the evil of some people.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Courtesy of Shout! Factory, David Ayer's End of Watch patrols the mean streets of 4K Ultra HD as a two-disc SteelBook. The triple-layered UHD100 disc sits comfortably atop a Region Free, BD50 disc on the same panel, and both are housed inside an attractive blue and fiery orange SteelBook. At startup, the UHD goes straight to a static menu screen with the usual options along the bottom and music playing in the background.

As mentioned in my review of the Blu-ray release, it is worth considering the movie's unique visual style and reasonably set expectations for that, meaning that this 4K Ultra HD version was never going to compare to newer, higher-quality shot films. The filmmakers shot on a variety of inexpensive digital cameras with lots of jerky movements and meant to be of amateur quality, so the source is forever locked at HD resolution quality and mastered at 2K digital intermediate. 

Thankfully, the 1.85:1 image offers plenty to admire and appreciate in this upscaled 4K transfer, starting with an improved contrast and brightness balance. In fact, the biggest and most notable step-up is the enhanced specular highlights, allowing for better visibility of the background information within the hottest spots, especially in daylight sequences from inside the patrol vehicle. Also, the Dolby Vision HDR presentation delivers significantly richer and inkier black levels with deep, velvety shadows that maintain incredible detailing within the darkest, murkiest corners. Colors are fuller and bolder but still within the intended stylized photography, and facial complexions appear more natural and true to the L.A. climate. Overall, fine lines and details don't look much sharper than in its HD SDR predecessor, but the HEVC H.265 encode is nonetheless beautiful and a great upgrade from the previous Blu-ray. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 84/100)

Danger and chaos erupt in home theaters with a fantastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, which, like the video, was intentionally designed for the purpose of creating a realistic environment, not really for pushing the limits of one's sound system.

It's a front-heavy presentation, as it should be considering the filming methods used, but it's highly engaging as well with excellent channel separation and superb dialogue reproduction. A variety of discrete effects, mostly the random, chaotic noises of the city, move around the soundstage with convincing clarity and directionality. Dynamics and acoustics are precise and detailed while the low-end is powerful and terrifically responsive, giving each gunshot a serious punch and the song selections plenty of weight.

As an added bonus, the lossless mix also comes with several great splatters of rear activity. Atmospherics are nicely employed while pans are seamless, and the music also bleeds subtly into the side speakers, generating a satisfyingly effective soundfield that keeps viewers engaged until the final, gripping moments. (Audio Rating: 80/100)

The same set of bonuses is ported over for this UHD edition.

• Audio Commentary with writer and director David Ayer
• Featurettes (HD, 10 min)
• Deleted Scenes (HD)

Despite featuring a very familiar plot, End of Watch is a heart-stopping, compelling action thriller that feels fresh, thanks in large part to the energized feel of the "found footage" camerawork. At the center, the chemistry-driven and excellent performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña keep the narrative at a captivating pace until the emotionally shocking final moments. Courtesy of Shout! Factory, the crime thriller patrols the mean streets of 4K Ultra HD, equipped with a highly-stylized but beautiful Dolby Vision HDR presentation and a terrifically engaging DTS-HD MA soundtrack. Although featuring the same disappointingly sparse collection of supplements, the buddy-cop drama is a pleasant Recommended surprise to the UHD library.

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.