Operation: Endgame [Blu-ray]

There are times when you want to watch a film that doesn't rely on intricate plot twists, where the budget isn't huge and it entertains without any real brain power required.

That's exactly what you get with this title and whilst the DVD cover is misleading the title does pretty much what the viewer wants: Trained Assassin's murdering each other with everyday office items.

It did what I wanted, it kept me amused and whilst the characters were acceptable (although to be honest I wanted more Ving Rhames) for the budget it wasn't that bad especially when it chose to rely on traditional Effects over the all too common computer generated ones. Whilst it won't set the world alight it will keep a certain percentage of the audience happy. If you want a thriller with more twists which keeps you going longer, then you might want to try Salt.

In an agency where everyone is named after a Tarot card; newboy 'The Fool' finds himself in at the deep-end on his first day. With the boss 'The Devil' murdered by an unknown, the underground facility has started ticking down to self-destruct in a contingency plan known as 'Operation Endgame'. The two resident teams of agents, Alpha & Omega begin to plot against each other in competition to try and escape before it's too late.

O:E is a highly amusing romp as many familiar faces try and bump each other off in increasingly innovative methods, locked inside the facility with no guns (please don't ask me why the characters are firing guns on the DVD sleeve, I honestly have no idea, bad call from the marketing department I think!!) the teams of governmental assassins slowly whittle each other away desperately looking for the exit. Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine) plays 'Chariot', an experienced and abusive alcoholic agent who heads the Omega team, his opposite number is played by Ellen Barkin (Ocean's Thirteen) the lascivious 'Empress', the head of the Alpha team. Other actors fill in the bit parts like 'Judgement' Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible) who has a fetish for dropping some variant of his name into his one-liners ("It's Judgement day" etc). 'Hierophant' is played by the beautiful Emilie de Ravin (Claire from Lost) and last but not least Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) plays the socially-inept 'Hermit' - although he doesn't seem to be developing his acting range as he still has the beard from the Hangover and has about 5 lines, all delivered in that wild-eyed dead-pan manner he has down to a T.

This film is not going to amaze you in any respect, but it's very entertaining whilst it all plays out. The tension is held in place the whole time as you wonder whether 'The Fool' will ever make it out of the facility in time and intrigue is raised as the film alludes to covert operations the agents may have carried out in the past. The security staff made this film for me however; Michael Hitchcock and Tim Bagley play two effeminate suit-wearing monitors of the facility who make sardonic comments as they watch the grisly-plight inside the facility unfold via the CCTV, nearly losing their lunch on several occasions (with no guns, some of the deaths are rather gruesome). Recommended for a decent action movie!!

This kind of film is not worth watching unless you enjoy plenty of swearing and violence and they wonder why the world is falling apart. Yes, it is right that films should challenge ideas and traditions but this is clearly aimed at the viewers who match the action in the film eg "pond life" beving badly and that is saying something. If there was a zero star I would award that. Don't bother buying this as any price is too much.