Customer Reviews

Operation: Endgame [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

OK, first it's not 'terms of endearment'. Next off, it's an ation movie, with some black comedic elements. It's a wise ass, kill everyone, pseudo-psycholigcal actionfest.

There aren't a lot of surprises once the action starts, and it is definitely violent, and bloody, but in a 'im gonna kill you creatively, and make cracks and wise-ass comments while I do it' kind of way.

If you are looking for friend green tomatoes, look elsewhere. If you have a dark sense of humor, then you should enjoy every last minute of it.

Enjoy Rob Corddry in his best role since H&K Guantanmo.

Seventy-nine minutes of mindless froth that, on second viewing, was slightly more entertaining than the first. I believe this is director Fouad Mikati's first film (and hopefully last?) and he goes at it with gusto as do the cast who seem to be enjoying themselves doing nothing in particular and they get paid for it, too.

Rob Corddry hams it up best of all and Ellen Barkin, Odette Annable plus Emilie de Ravin provide the eye candy. Zach Galifianakis seemed rather out of place as if he strolled onto the set from some other production nearby. Ving Rhames and Jeffrey Tambor have so little time on screen that their talents are wasted.

The two teams of assassins slug it out in an underground bunker and that really is all there is to it except that the death of each seems to provide vicarious thrills to each killer. The storyline is so paper-thin that I can't see how the production could be anything other than fun froth.

Operation Endgame is a fun, funny and violent action/mystery movie that suffers from the inclusion of a horribly tacked on character played by someone who was obviously looking to collect a pay check. Zach Galifianakis is a complete waste of space in this movie. In fact, his role in this movie could be completely eliminated without changing the story one bit. It's as if some movie executive was given the script for this film and said, "Let's hire that fat, bearded guy from The Hangover and put him in this movie. What, there is no role for him to play? Well let's just add one." Thank god Mr. Galifianakis is only in the movie for 5 minutes. But it's 5 minutes of horrible acting that doesn't add anything to the movie. Seriously, my grandmother could put on a better performance in this role and she's been dead for 2 years.

As for the rest of the movie, it's mostly great. Mostly. Chock full of black humor and over the top violence, it had me chuckling until the last 15 minutes. That's where things start to fall apart. The last 15 minutes feel very rushed, slapping the audience in the face with story elements that are meant to tie up the plot. Part of this is of course the writer trying desperately to explain why Zach Galifianakis' character, the Hermit, was even there to begin with, as "the movie studio made me do it" wouldn't have been an acceptable reason. (Even though it would have been the most valid reason.) What it ultimately boils down to is one man with great power suddenly developing a conscience and deciding to put an end to the manipulation of the world. But the manner in which the movie brings us to this end is a bit convoluted. No more insane and illogical than your average anime movie, mind you. But definitely not a simple, spoon-fed answer that we're used to getting in American cinema.

This is a funny movie IF you like black humor. It's dark, gritty, cynical, and obscene. If you're watching this because Zach Galifianakis is in it and you're expecting The Hangover 2, you're going to be very disappointed. But get beyond him and you've got an entertaining, if violent, hour and a half ahead of you.

This movie has a great storyline that meshes just how corrupt our system is in America. Do not believe the critics about the bad acting nor the storyline! This movie will tick off conservatives because it inadvertently displays the conspiracy of the majority of our elected leaders. I found it to be very entertaining, and all of the people that I have suggested it to, enjoyed the movie!

[...]

Operation Endgame

Directed by: Fouad Mikati
Written by: Sam Levinson & Bran Watanabe
Run Time: 87 minutes
Release Date: July 16, 2010
MPAA: R


Originally titled Rogues Gallery, Operation Endgame is an action comedy staring Joe Anderson (The Crazies & Across the Universe) as Fool a thief hired by a secret government agency known as The Factory. Located deep underground The Factory is divided into two teams Alpha & Omega that counter act each other in a system of checks and balances.
Also in the facility is Hermit a simple minded if not ruthless assassin that has been relegated to desk duty due to diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome. Hermit is not a member of either team and spends most of his time hidden within the confines of the facility.
Shortly after Fool arrives at The Factory it is discovered that The Devil (Jeffrey Tambor) has been assassinated and has started Project Endgame, which traps both teams underground and triggered a bomb that threatens to destroy The Factory, everyone, and everything inside.
Members of Alpha & Omega begin battling each other while attempting to uncover who murdered The Devil and trying to find a means of escape.

The flick has an awesome cast that you may not know by name but when you see them you will recognize them. Well written, with Rob Corddry delivering some of his patented off the wall lines through out. The are no weapons allowed in The Factory so the fights scene are made all the more interesting with the various "weapons" used to dispose of each other. I watched this streaming from Netflix and it flew by. If you like fast paced action movies you'll like this flick!

First off, I picked this off the shelf at the video store primarily because it has Zach G featured dead center on the cover -- and given top billing on the cover credits!!! (He's in the movie for about 2 minutes.) On the back of the DVD were the words "Hilarious!!" Not knowing anything about it, I rented it because I think Zach G (can't spell or even pronounce his last name) is pretty funny.

If you think this movie is funny, you're a jackwagon. The movie is about nothing but gore, blood and killing. Nothing funny at all. Except, maybe, the acting. The only thing worse than the script was the acting -- shame on the entire cast! I know most of them and know they can do much better. (But, then again, maybe they knew the script was horrible, too.)

What I think happened is that this movie came out and crashed and burned (as it should have). But then a movie called The Hangover comes out, is an overwhelming HIT and Zach G is now a superstar!! The crappy movie studio, goes, "HEY!! That Zach G guy was in our movie, too! We own the rights!!! Let's reshoot the cover -- feature Zach G in the center shot and give him top billing!! At least we'll sell more of these movies to idiots (like me) who will think this is a comedy!! In fact, let's actually write 'Hilarious!!!' on the back cover!" For real, I believe that is exactly what happened. And that is why I feel RIPPED OFF!!!!

I am very surprised at all the negative reviews of this movie. I almost didn't watch it based on what I read here but I am very glad I did. This movie is destined for cult status. It was a fast paced, twisted little tale of modern day life. Everything you feared about politics, democracy and how corporations are run today is true in this snarkfest filled film that makes the horror of it all laughable.

You know those conspiracy rumors about the government having super secret black op branches? Well it's true and they are Alpha, who want to destroy anything that gets in the way of American interests, and Omega, who tries to stop them. The new guy joining the Omega team notes that they cancel each other out then? and his mentor (Chariot) gleeful tells him that's what lays at the black heart of democracy - two opposing factions canceling each other out, if we're lucky. These two teams are headed by a man with the codename of the Devil. Hmmmm. Social commentary is a key factor in this movie so if that's not your cup of tea, then you might want to pass on this movie. I would also advise those who dislike anti-Chaney comments to pass since there are plenty of those. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the action filled plot of a 2 hour deadline for doomsday.

The characters in this film are hilarious and foul mouthed with Chariot and Empresses leading the way. The dialogue is rich with rants and philosophical gems but goes by quick so you need to pay attention. This highly original film managed to juxtapose Obama's inaugural speech with promises of transparency with what was happening onscreen. Kudos! It's not perfect (how about when the new guy -the Fool- meets his second Alpha member after "Operation: Endgame" begins?) but it was great fun to watch. This film is filled with interesting characters and most of them cut throat but the creepiest two were the everyday corporate Joes that manned the surveillance cameras. Their conversations were the scariest and funniest.

This movie can be viewed more then once to enjoy the many layers and I highly recommend it. This movie starts out with fast paced witty dialogue and runs full steam into a bloody battle between the Alphas (Republicans) and Omegas (Democrats). I never saw the ending coming, I thought it was classic Hollywood and then it took a sharp turn. Anyone who enjoys black comedy will love this movie!

About this film:

- Bad acting
- Not funny. The comedy timing is off most of the time. I did crack a smile, but only twice!
- Boring

Like many others, I watched this movie because the story sounded interesting enough, the flashy cover reminded me movies I'd seen previously and big Zach was right up front. That guy is pure comedic gold, right? RIGHT?

Wrong...

While Zach's minor time on the screen playing the same aloof, out of touch character as always fits him...the rest of the movie was unfortunately a waste. And while there will be defenders of this film claiming that this is a black comedy, the only thing that's black is the hole in my soul where happiness used to reside until this movie devoured it.

I kept watching with the hope that somehow the movie would eventually redeem itself. With a cast like this you'd think SOMEONE could make this movie worthwhile.

In the end I'm left wishing the cover would have been as bland as the movie and saved myself the torture of watching it...At least there's still hope for you. Flee now!

It's rare that I watch a film and can't find something good about it. I mean there have been some truly horrendous films that have offered great cinematography, a good piece of acting, great direction or even a plot twist that made the movie worth watching for. But OPERATION ENDGAME felt like a total waste of time for me, even while I wanted to like it.

The movie takes place in a hidden facility and involves a clandestine organization of spies/assassins who apparently control most of what goes on in the world. Established in the early sixties, this organization is composed of two teams. Team Alpha is a more active group that likes to spur things on and make things happen. Team Omega is their counter group, one that keeps things in check should Team Alpha overstep their bounds. This point/counter point organization has pretty much kept things on an even keel.

Beginning his first day is the Fool (Joe Anderson), so named because each agent is named after a tarot card. He is brought into the Facility by long time agent Chariot (Rob Corddry) and agent High Priestess (Maggie Q). Down a deep elevator and into a waiting room where two agents watch their every move, they arrive and Chariot shows him around and introduces him.

For team Alpha he meets Magician (Adam Scott), Heirophant (Emilie de Ravin), Tower (Brandon T. Jackson) and their leader Empress (Ellen Barkin). On the opposing Omega team, of which he has met the top two members, he meets Judgment (Ving Rhames) and eventually Emperor (Bob Odenkirk). Supervising both teams and running things in general is Devil (Jeffery Tambor). While in his office, Fool meets the last Alpha member Temperance (Odette Yustman), an ex-lover, which surprises both of them.

Fool's first day turns rather exciting as the two teams wait for Devil to show for a meeting. When alarms sound they discover that someone has murdered Devil but before passing away he initiated Operation Endgame. This means that the entire system and building is on lockdown and within two hours the entire building and its contents, including agents, will be obliterated via napalm. This is all the time they have to find an escape hatch. They pair up, a member from each side, and begin their search.

But that would be a simple film. Instead we discover that the Alpha team was the one behind the murder and are in the midst of taking out each of the Omega members while conducting their search. Just to make things interesting there is an independent member named Hermit (Zach Galifianakis), the best of them all, wandering the halls as a wild card.

Now, all of this sounds like it would be an interesting movie. And in truth, perhaps there was a good movie at the base of it all. But rather than portray these character seriously we instead get a group that seems a bit unhinged for the most part and foul mouthed to the extreme. While not a prude I find it the sign of a weak writer who relies on every fourth word being an expletive, almost always beginning with F. As if we weren't smart enough to witness what was going on and decide how horrible it was, we get running commentary from the two watch dogs viewing the carnage on security monitors offering attempts at humorous comments throughout. They fail.

The acting might be decent but the script is so bad that who can pay attention? No clues as to what is going on are presented until the third act but by then you've lost interest and have no connection to any of the characters. And comic actors who never get the chance to deliver comic lines are a waste.

Viewers who rent this at the local video store will be wasting far more money than those who use a dollar Redbox. But even those who lose a dollar will realize that a drink at the local McD would have been money better well spent. This is one movie I doubt I will ever feel a desire to watch even a portion of. Don't waste your time or money.