Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2013

Two diligent LAPD cruiser cops (Jake Gyllenhaal & Michel Pena, showing natural chemistry) sometimes bend the rules but are dead serious about the “protect and serve” thing. One “normal” day in South Central their diligence works against them when they unintentionally step on the toes of a Mexican drug cartel. This brilliantly written and finely crafted film by David Ayer, who directed Street Kings and screen-wrote Training Day, offers little you haven’t seen before. You just haven’t seen it done this well. Sure it looks at first like a cop-buddy movie, but it’s so much more. After taking the time to develop believable characters, Ayer slowly ratchets up the suspense and tension to the point where the riveting final 30 minutes are almost unbearable. And don’t think you know what’s going to happen. Quibbles: Some may have a problem with the hand-held, multiple-POV camerawork, which is a bit too clever and sometimes even resembles found footage, but it’s startlingly effective. And the gang-banger villains are a bit cartoonish. Emotionally hefty, visceral, and done on a human scale, this gritty ride-along is irresistibly entertaining. Also Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, Frank Grillo, David Harbour and America Ferrera.