Operation: Endgame
| Operation: Endgame | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Fouad Mikati |
| Written by | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Arnaud Stefani |
| Edited by | Joshua Ferrazzano |
| Music by | Ian Honeyman |
Production companies | Infinity Media Scion Films Darko Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | Template:FilmUS |
| Language | English |
Operation: Endgame is a 2010 action-comedy film directed by Fouad Mikati featuring an ensemble cast. It premiered on November 5, 2009 at the American Film Market and had a limited release in the US on July 16, 2010[1] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 27, 2010.
Plot
 | This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2010) |
It's inauguration day for President Barack Obama and the first day of work for the Fool (Joe Anderson). He's been hired as a thief by the Factory, a secret office of government agents. He's met by the beautiful High Priestess (Maggie Q) and the caustic Chariot (Rob Corddry). They enter the secret underground offices of the Factory and we learn the entire office is under surveillance by Neal (Michael Hitchcock), Carl (Tim Bagley), and their boss Susan (Beth Grant).
The Factory is separated into two teams, Alpha and Omega. The two teams specialize in black ops and oppose each other in a bureaucratic system of checks and balances. Omega Team consists of the Fool, Chariot, High Priestess, Judgement (Ving Rhames) who repeats his name whenever he can, and the Emperor (Bob Odenkirk). Alpha Team consists of the Fool's old flame, Temperance (Odette Yustman), the Empress (Ellen Barkin), Magician (Adam Scott), Tower (Brandon T. Jackson), and Hierophant (Emilie de Ravin). The head of the Factory is the Devil (Jeffrey Tambor). The wildcard of the office is the Hermit (Zach Galifianakis) who's an extremely dangerous assassin with diabetes and occasional irritable bowel syndrome.
Not long after the Fool is introduced to everyone, Alpha and Omega find the Devil murdered and he has initiated Project Endgame, which has trapped both teams underground and triggered a bomb that threatens to destroy the Factory and kill everyone. The agents need to find a way out. They decide to work in pairs with their opposing mirror agents to escape.
As they explore the office, members of Alpha Team begin to kill their Omega Team counterparts in gruesome fashion, with Empress killing Emperor, Hierophant killing Judgement, Tower killing High Priestess who is then killed by Chariot and Chariot almost being killed by Magician. Since there are no weapons allowed in the Factory, weapons of death include a memo spike, a paper shredder, and a table leg. Back in the surveillance room, Carl, Neil and Susan watch the carnage between the agents. The system has been corrupted and Susan realizes that the clearance codes have been switched in conjunction with the inauguration.
Temperance reveals that Alpha Team was ordered to eliminate Omega Team today. The Fool, Chariot and Temperance face off against the remaining members of Alpha: The Empress, Magician and the mysterious Hermit. The Fool cracks a safe in the Devil's office and obtains a disc and a map to an exit. After more fighting, such as Chariot setting Magician on fire, Hermit killing Chariot by throwing a pair of scissors into his eye, Temperance shooting Hermit in the pelvis with her lipstick gun and Temperance killing Empress by shoving a water cooler bottle down her throat causing her to drown, Fool and Temperance are the only ones left standing. They both enter the exit elevator and escape. They kiss as the bomb goes off, destroying the Factory.
Meanwhile, Carl and Neil uncover an audio tape made by Devil before his death. The Devil reveals he has a disc with every dirty secret from the last eight years of the Bush administration. He also professes his love for Susan. The elevator emerges from a bathroom stall and it is revealed the Fool has killed Temperance. He kills a man in the bathroom and takes his jacket, then he calls Susan, and tells her (in an English accent using the British pronunciation of ma'am as the American sound of "mom") that he has the disc, which contains "every single one of their fuck-ups." Susan reveals that she hired, the Fool, specifically to enter the Factory and retrieve the files. She then shoots Carl and Neil. The film ends with the Fool confidently walking out of the building, stepping into a cab, and driving off and the screen turns black. In the credits bits of a will one recorded by Emperor and the other Chariot reveal that Emperor plans to leave his holiday home to his dog and give wine in his wine cellar to the widows of the men he killed, while Chariot promises that he will return as an evil ghost and will eat hearts for an eternity.[2]
Cast
- Joe Anderson[2] as Fool
- Odette Yustman[2] as Temperance
- Adam Scott[2] as Magician
- Zach Galifianakis[2] as The Hermit
- Emilie de Ravin[2] as Hierophant
- Maggie Q[2] as High Priestess
- Ving Rhames[2] as Judgement
- Ellen Barkin[2] as Empress
- Bob Odenkirk[2] as Emperor
- Rob Corddry[2] as Chariot
- Brandon T. Jackson[2] as Tower
- Jeffrey Tambor[2] as Devil
- Michael Hitchcock[2] as "Neal"
- Tim Bagley[2] as "Carl"
Production
Filming took place in Los Angeles.[2]
The original screenplay for Operation: Endgame was titled The Rogues Gallery. The script tied for "Best Comedy" at the Screenwriting Expo 3 Screenwriting Contest and 2nd place at the 1st Screenplay Shootout.[3] It was also a 2004 Scriptapalooza finalist.[4]