Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña aren't exactly corrupt cops in this self-important police drama, they're just fascistic assholes. As Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala, they spout faux-philosophical one-liners like "I am the fate of a badge and a gun," use hidden cameras to record themselves beating up criminals, and generally do everything they can to embody the spirit of Dirty Harry for the YouTube generation. Their brainless battling with a racially diverse cast of villains (who themselves are saddled with fake ethnic dialogue — try and keep track of how many times the Hispanic crew says "puto") is only made worse by David Ayer's incompetent direction. He begins with dashboard and "self-shot" footage by the characters, but the cinematography soon devolves into standard shaky hand-held, with flat compositions and no explanation as to where the "found footage" is even coming from. It leaves you wondering — who is filming the Gyllenhaal/Anna Kendrick love scenes?
