End Game
Sometimes in filmmaking, it becomes obvious that certain scripts are just NOT cut out for the low-budget independent circuit, and this is a perfect example, because while having a sound premise and workable final twist, is seriously hampered by the cheap quality right from the very first frame along with a story that could have used some serious doctoring to make it actually resemble a real Hollywood action / suspense thriller. It does for the most part have a perfectly serviceable cast that no doubt would have performed better given better financial circumstances: Cuba Gooding Jr. (a long way from his Jerry Maguire Oscar win) plays a secret service agent who maintains a close friendship with the U.S. President (named Harmon Howard!?) only to see the Prez get assassinated in broad daylight while out in front of a large crowd. The assassin (dying of lung cancer) is quickly shot dead as well, and it would appear that the lone gunman theory is a relatively easy one, if not for the snooping of a âPulitzer Prize-winningâ girl reporter (Angie Harmon, showing us why she should never stray too far from the Law & Order TV show), who gets on the case by finding out valuable information from a homeless bum and later from the assassinâs family living in a trailer, all of whom are promptly blown to smithereens by a hit squad whose job is to clean up all the loose ends (though why they donât just have Harmon meet with an accident and save themselves some trouble is the filmâs biggest mystery). Meanwhile the Gooding character (who has a psychic twinkle for jumping to safety any time a bomb is about to go off near him) has reduced himself to a drunken stupor when Harmon comes calling, and the hit squad soon after, which leads to the two of them teaming up to solve the case. Sloppily directed by Andy Cheng (a former stunt double for Jackie Chan whose promotion to director is baffling), the film features several fine actors who try their best despite the crappy execution: James Woods plays the Head of the Secret Service and Goodingâs boss who may be involved in the conspiracy (with Woods in the role, how could he not?) who gets one of the more awkward moments in the script when he contradicts himself in one scene (Gooding tells him thereâs a conspiracy, to which Woods starts laughing and saying âOh, let me guess, the FBI, the CIA? Hahaâ only to change his demeanor to deadly serious when Gooding fills him in and actually says âOh, you have to be careful, this could involve the FBI AND CIA!â all with a straight face); Anne Archer does some cleanup work for a quick payday as The First Lady, happily painting away within days of her husbandâs killing; Burt Reynolds makes his accountant proud as a cut the bullshit general (and red herring) with valuable information; and Peter âZedâ Greene (who singlehandedly became an acting legend with his ten minute role in Pulp Fiction) turns out to be the saving grace of the film as the coldblooded leader of the hit squad, bringing some suavely evil nuances to the film. Nonetheless, the film features many moments that are truly laughable, as when a secret service agent gets set on fire and spends a couple of minutes running back and forth screaming like a girl before Gooding saves him, or when Gooding and Harmon spot an important lead walking along only to have him get immediately hit by a car 30 seconds before they can even approach him, or how about when Gooding is in a car chase with the villain only to have him start blasting the cars coming in the opposite lane so that they can explode and slow down Gooding (âYouâd better let him go! Thatâs a school bus!!â). The final revelations, where Harmon realizes that the assassin was handed a gun ON CAMERA and a random character comes in out of nowhere to make the explanation more convoluted than it already is, definitely shows signs that not too much work was done to polish this script before it went into production, and it shows in the final product, right down to the moronic open-ended final scene with the two main characters having dinner together. Overall, an enjoyable romp for those who enjoy Ed Wood-style bad movies, but a real chore for anyone elseâŚ
4/10