There isn’t a genre more steeped in clichés than the cop movie. From gritty “Dirty Harry” to buddy movies like “Lethal Weapon” and “Bad Boys,” they all get trapped into the same plots and characters that we’ve seen time and time again.
Some movies try to stay as far from them as possible, like “End of Watch” (opening Friday), the gritty Jake Gyllenhaal/Michael Peña thriller that follows life as an LAPD officer patrolling South Central. With its shaky handheld camera work and realistic plot, it is unlike most cop movies you’ve seen. But we’ll be honest, as much as it tried, a couple clichés did find their way into this one too. We won’t tell you which ones, though. You’ll just have to see for yourself.