End Game: Crime Perfeito

This film premiered at the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival and then dropped out of sight, not opening in theaters, but going straight to video. Probably a wise choice. It is good enough for video and TV, but not quite good enough for the screen. It just doesn't have that something extra to make it a great film, but it is not a total waste of time, either.

I have to admit that I tuned in to see Christa Campbell, who plays the President's mistress. I didn't get to see anything more than her lips talking into the telephone. Big disappointment, but hey, it's Christa. It will keep me satisfied until my copy of Death By Engagement arrives.

It is the first I have seen of Cuba Gooding, Jr. in a long time, and he did a good job. Plenty of action as he goes after those responsible for the assignation of the President. Angie Harmon, one of the best Assistant DAs on Law and Order, was great as his partner in solving the mystery of who killed the President. Certainly an interesting twist to the usual assignation plot.

Always like seeing Anne Archer, and she was classy as a First lady. James Woods and Burt Reynolds had small but interesting parts.

Apparently most of the money spent in making "End Game" went to pay the stars. With such adept actors as Cuba Gooding Jr., James Wood, Anne Archer, and a pasty-faced Burt Reynolds literally having a bad-hair day, this movie should have been much better. None of the others looks quite as shopworn as Burt but they do give the appearance of being tired and bored. Cuba almost walks through his lines as if reading from a cue card.

The story is trite and lackluster, with only a few exciting scenes such as the opening assassination. Both writers, J.C. Pollock and stunt man Andy Cheng, are novices and it shows. Even the title is lame. Of what relevance is "End Game," and what exactly is the story? This viewer got confused, especially toward the end.

Vaguely, the film is about the assassination of a President and a personal investigation by the secret service man, Alex Thomas (Gooding), who did take a bullet for the President. But the bullet pierced Thomas' hand and then hit the President, ergo Thomas feels responsible for the Chief Executive's death, that he also let the First Lady down. He is joined in his manhunt by a reporter, Kate Crawford (Angie Harmon), who is determined to crack the case and get her scoop even at the risk of her own life. The situation becomes extremely hazardous as more and more evidence is uncovered pointing a finger to those in high places of our government. How the case is resolved at the end of the game leaves several unanswered questions. That all this sounds familiar indicates the picture's lack of originality and creativity.

The hackneyed script does provide a few good lines such as when Kate is interrogating an indigent person who keeps asking her for money. When she wants him to keep a house under surveillance, he tells her he would be glad to help anytime. She mumbles under her breath,"And how much will that cost me?"

Rather than waste time watching "End Game," why not rent other better movies on the topic such as "In The Line Of Fire," starring Clint Eastwood?

I argued with myself whether to rent this or not. I'm always afraid of renting something I've never heard of (don't remember this being in theaters). Great cast...that's what tipped the scales. 30 minutes in, I almost stopped watching it. The first few minutes are fun to watch, but unbelievable. It only gets worse after that. The writers of this movie could do a little research on future projects if they want to make their movies even a little better. Or they could just try writing something just a little bit believable. I give it a 3....a 1 for the writing (only because there are words)and a 2 for being able to get so many good actors to agree to do this movie despite having to read the script. Oh my god this movie sucks.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is a secret service agent who blames himself over the assassination of the U.S. President, i'll point out straight away that this is not the type of role that this very talented actor is noted for, and this film shows us why. He teams up with a persistent news reporter (Angie Harmon) to uncover the conspiracy surrounding the president's death, and so on, blah, blah, blah.

Even with a cast of James Woods, Cuba Gooding Jr, Anne Archer and Angie Harmon 'End Game' fails to grab your attention, plain and simple; some of the action is good, the acting isn't all bad and the story although clichéd and done before could have lead to an entertaining and enjoyable movie - WELL IT DOESN'T! The writing of the script and the direction makes absolutely sure of that, at no point does it suck you into the story or make you give the slightest thought to any of the characters.

4/10 It's Boring, Predictable and Dull.

i guess its possible that I've seen worse movies, but this one is a real stinker! the plot is unremarkable but thats not the worst of it. the directing is no where close to what you would expect from andy ching. he's capable of good work but failed to pull this movie together.

angie harmon, playing the female lead as a reporter dogging into who's behind the assassination of the president, truly butchered the role. there was no chemistry with gooding, her demeanor was flat and wooden, and the 5 inch spike heels she wore throughout the movie were absurd. this outing for harmon places her solidly at the bottom of the "b" list.

and what was cuba gooding thinking??? he has to his credit a number of outstanding performances, but this was far beneath what we've come to expect from him.

poor james woods and burt reynolds. poor poor poor poor poor.