Operation: Endgame [Celluloid Hero]

Operation: Endgame (2010)

Have you ever wanted to kill your coworkers?  You don't have to admit it, we all know it's true. It would probably be easier if you were a trained assassin, but what would happen if your coworkers were also trained assassins? "Operation: Endgame" follows two teams of top-secret government agents trying to outlive one another.

The Factory consists of two teams: Team Alpha and Team Omega. Alpha is made up of the wild bunch, a team that operates by their own rules and creates havoc across the globe. Omega is the balance, there to keep check on Alpha but also pull off their own hits.

The movie starts off pretty heavy on the comedy, featuring The Daily Show's Rob Corddry as a veteran agent who is constantly drunk. The other members of the teams range from deceivingly cute girls to big tough guys, quiet nerdy guys to seductive vixens. Once the meat of the story kicks in, things get a bit less funny and turn a bit more action-packed. Blood and violence abound, with some great fight scenes.

I did laugh out loud a few times, pretty much all at Corddry's lines. The rest of the cast was uninspiring, and I especially didn't enjoy Ellen Barkin's work. Everyone else had their ups and downs, but I think most of it can be credited to the writer. The movie started off as an action-spy-comedy, but then tried to force in a thriller angle with a twist ending. Things got a bit convoluted towards the end.

On the [Celluloid Hero] scale, "Operation: Endgame" gets a 6 out of 10.

[Each week, Varacchi explores cinema from his own perspective. From indie to foreign to mainstream, he'll watch it all. Suggestions and recommendations are welcome, leave a comment below. CLICK HERE for the Celluloid Hero archives]