Review of Operation: Endgame (2010) by Triantafillos P — 19 Jan 2011

Magician: Hey, just out of curiosity, what happened to you? I mean, when I first got here, you were the shit, I mean, I wanted to be you. Now, you know, you're like - I don't know. You're like... borderline homeless. You're a fucking... deadbeat.

Chariot: Yeah, well, look on the bright side. My poetry's really coming along.

Chariot: Little baby dick grew some balls?

Magician: Just orders, man. Just following orders.

Chariot: Well, your subservience will be the death of you.

Imagine first day at work, the new guy and everyone is the suspect besides minor note you are all assassins now tell me what are the odds LOL. and that is what we have here funny blender script action and in dialogue too.

Operation Endgame, a satirical workplace comedy with a slick action twist is not without it's flaws. The plot is convoluted, most of the dialog is incredibly silly and the whole thing isn't that funny. Having said that, the film is damn entertaining. The cast is composed, among others, by Odette Yustman, Zach Galifiankis, Maggie Q, Rob Corddry, Adam Scott, Brandon T. Jackson, Emilie de Ravin, Ving Rhames, Jeffrey Tambor. There's plenty of star power here but, while some of the actors were delightful, others were completely underused. Being a battle royale of sorts, the deaths kept piling up and therefor some brilliant actors like Bob Odenkirk (who has been phenomenal in the TV show Breaking Bad) had very little screen time.

Rob Corddry is very funny in the movie and reminded me of his role in Hot Tub Time Machine. He is very rude, but that's the reason it will make you laugh. I thought he was the best thing in this movie.

The acting is all decent but the story (from first time script writers Sam Levinson and Brain Watanabe) is a bit of a mixed bag. The directing is also a bit odd as the viewer never quite knows how to feel with parts of the film being humorous slapstick and others being more dark action. I'm sure the action scenes were intended to play comedic as well but the way their handled, with the choice of score music used (by Ian Honeyman), they don't quite play out that way.

Joe Anderson has the lead role playing a new recruit to a government agency consisting of two teams of spies based in an underground compound. Each of the spies goes by a code name and the Anderson character is code named 'Fool'. As 'Fool' reports to work for his first day he learns that the boss 'Devil' (Tambor) has been murdered mysteriously and that one team has been assigned to kill the other. He and others must now fight for their lives against their counterpart from the other team as well as escape the facility before a bomb goes off. This all plays out while President Obama is being inaugurated.

The movie is a bit complicated and hard to follow, mostly the ending which leaves a lot of interpretation to the viewer, and it's also laced with political commentary. I have no problem with films jumping genres like this does, from silly comedy to violent political thriller, but it doesn't quite mesh the way it should. The combination kind of detracts from both styles of the film. The comedy is funny in places but not funny enough in others and it's weakened by the violence. The action scenes are kind of cool in a way at times but they're softened by the slapstick humor. If they would have just played the violence completely comedic the whole time it would have worked much better. Coddry is hilarious though,.

I can see why so many people would not enjoy this film, as not everyone is able to understand/appreciate this sort of dry humour. For anyone who works/has worked in a typical office setting, and enjoyed Hot Tub Time Machine, will surely appreciate this movie.

With so many stars present, it's almost impossible to make them all shine equally bright. The director made effective use of Robert Corddry, as many of the funniest moments centre around him. Better use could have been made with Zach Galifianakis, as he is immensely funny and only gets a short amount of screen time. Also, Bob Odenkirk has proved his ability in Breaking Bad and I would have like to see more of him in this film. However, the director makes a good job of actually making you care about the characters.

Much of the comedy revolves around every-day office routines. Some of the funniest moments that spring to mind are the 'corporate meeting' scene, as well as the 'water-cooler' scene, both situations that my fellow working man surely knows much about.

The plot kept me totally engaged, and the acting was very believable. With such a strong screenplay, amazing cast, and high production values, the only thing I could think of that prevented this movie from hitting the theaters is the political commentary throughout the film.

A dry action-comedy about two teams of government assassins working out of a top-secret underground facility using code names from the Tarot deck. When our hero--The Fool--arrives for his first day at work to find that the boss has been killed under mysterious circumstances, he must find the killer before the whole place blows up.

A satirical workplace comedy with a slick action twist, Fouad Mikati's OPERATION: ENDGAME explores the violence that erupts when the organization charged with protecting America implodes, and the employees turn their guns on each other instead of their enemies. Somewhere beneath Washington, D.C., an intense rivalry is heating up between two opposing teams of government assassins. The hired killers in the organizations take their names from Tarot cards. The Fool (Joe Anderson) is the latest recruit. Reporting for his first day on the job, The Fool is shocked to find that his boss is dead, and the office is on lockdown. To make matters worse, the building has been rigged with explosives, and it's going to blow soon. Now, in order to get out alive, The Fool will have to root out the killer in his midst, and make a quick escape before his co-workers catch him in their crosshairs. Ellen Barkin, Zack Galifianakis, Rob Corddry, and Jeffrey Tambor star.