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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 32498
Released: May 2, 2006 |
| Our Price: $4.69 |
| Used Price: $1.95 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Jerry Maguire, Pearl Harbor) leads an all-star cast which includes Burt Reynolds (The Longest Yard, The Dukes of Hazzard), James Woods (Any Given Sunday, John Q), Anne Archer (Clear and Present Danger) and Angie Harmon (TV's 'Law and Order') in this political action/thriller opening with a presidential assassination and following a perilous path of intrigue. The Secret Service agent (Gooding, Jr.) in charge of the president's protection detail blames himself for his team's failure and quits his post only to become obsessed with solving the crime. A tenacious reporter (Harmon) aids him in his quest. Together they unravel a web of lies as they try to divine the truth behind the conspiracy among shadowy assassins and ex-special ops.
Description of End Game:
An assassination whodunit, End Game stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as Alex Thomas, a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the president of the United States. When the president is killed during his watch, Alex is wracked with guilt. Plucky investigative reporter Kate Crawford (Angie Harmon from Law & Order) convinces him that the gunman didn't act alone and that a conspiracy theory in this case is valid. Gooding plays his role with quiet reserve, a 180-degree departure from his over-the-top Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire. Harmon displays charm as the award-winning and highly unrealistic journalist. And Burt Reynolds shows up for a few minutes here and there to chew up the scenery as a general who may or may not be a rogue agent. Directed and co-written by Andy Cheng, the film has some thrilling action sequences. But its plot is transparent and when the mastermind behind the assassination is revealed, no one will be surprised. --Jae-Ha Kim
End Game Reviews:
Show Me the Plot ... and a Decent One 
2008-01-03 - Cuba Gooding Jr. stars this direct-to-video political/action thriller as Alex, dedicated Secret Service agent. Angie Harmon is Kate, Pulitzer-winning writer working for the newspaper "Washington Insider," who gets wind of a story when President of the United States is assassinated. James Woods plays the boss of Alex; Burt Reynolds is a retired general and Anne Archer is The First Lady.
The cast of "End Game" is reasonable, but none of them is allowed to show what they can do in this meandering, cliché-ridden story where nothing makes sense. Characters (both "good" ones and "bad" ones) repeatedly do what they don't need to do. It's a kind of plot in which a hero and a heroine can find clues as to the mastermind(s) and dodge the bullets of the baddies so easily, but audiences are not interested at all because of the lack of mystery and suspense.
The film (directed by stunt-turned-director Andy Cheng) has several decent action sequences including car actions and shooting, but not enough to make up for the poorly written script.
Good movie 
2007-10-24 - I actually caught part of this movie on Lifetime, but as with other lifetime movies they don't show too often. So came to amazon to purchase. It was really a good movie. Lots of action and the storyline was good.
End Game - Synopsis and Review 
2007-10-12 - The Not-Too-Revealing-Synopsis:
Secret Service investigation into an assassination. Conspiracy theories, hit men who is your ally and who is your friend.
Review:
The plot was interesting enough to want to know who did it. The acting was good, characters were above average. The bad guy coverup just seemed half-hearted and full of holes. The interplay between reporter and secret service agent was questionable and the ending is unsatisfying. If you watch it you can enjoy it, if you miss it there is no real loss.
In search of a screenwriter
2007-07-06 - End Game is underrated because of the lack of a good ending. The movie itself moves along and follows a decent plot. The acting isn't bad at all. It reminded me of movies like "Absolute Power", "The Sentinel", "Line of Fire", and most recently "Vantage Point". The only problem is those movies had solid endings, and this one does not. Cuba Gooding turns in a good performance and this could have been a hit for him if they and went a little further with the conclusion. What you don't think it would have hurt for them to go in the slammer because of their "position". In they would have went had it been my movie and I bet audiences would have liked it. As it is the ending seems weak. Up to that point I found it good with plenty of action and decent dialogue. Even with the weak ending I think it is worth seeing. Gooding, Woods, Reynolds, and Harmon give good performances no matter what the critics say. You will truly be wondering to the end of the movie who was responsible for the assassination of the President. Good rental, but wait till you see it to buy it. If you enjoyed this catch the movies I mentioned above or "Murder of Crows" and "Chill Factor".
gee, maybe I can make a movie too....
2007-06-04 - Easily, one of the worst movies of its genre. Does it rise to the level of unintentially hilarious?--for me, yes.
