End Game (2006 film)


End Game is a 2006 American action film written and directed by Andy Cheng, and starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Secret Service agent Alex Thomas, who is shot in the hand while unsuccessfully trying to protect the President from an assassin's bullet. Later, with the help of a persistent newspaper reporter named Kate Crawford, he uncovers a vast conspiracy behind what initially appeared to be a lone gunman. The film co-stars James Woods, Burt Reynolds, and Anne Archer. This film was originally set to be shown in cinemas by MGM in 2005, but was delayed by the takeover from Sony and eventually sent direct-to-DVD.

Plot

While giving a speech, the president is shot by a man holding a camera. The president's main bodyguard, Alex Thomas, is grazed by the bullet that hits the president. Thomas and other Secret Service agents kill the shooter, but the president dies at the hospital.
Kate Crawford, an investigative journalist, starts asking questions about the assassination. Anyone she questions is killed. She goes to Thomas's house to tell him what is happening. As they head to his boat, Thomas sees some men hiding in the bushes. He sees a bomb on his boat, and throws Crawford into the water and dives in after her as the boat explodes. While the pair are underwater, the men move close and open fire on them. Thomas kills two of the hitmen while a third hitman drives off to inform his boss what happened. Thomas and Crawford are able to link the hitmen to a man called Jack Baldwin.
Thomas and other Secret Service members attack Baldwin's location. Baldwin escapes but is later caught by Thomas. Thomas and Crawford become suspicious of Vaughan Stevens, Thomas's boss, who had previous links to Baldwin. While reviewing film of the assassination, Thomas discovers that Stevens handed the assassin a gun during the president's entrance. Thomas leaves to find Stevens while Crawford stays at his house.
When Thomas arrives at Stevens' home he finds him dead. Thomas sees a car leaving the house. He then receives a call that Baldwin has escaped. Baldwin attacks Crawford, but Thomas arrives and kills him. Thomas arrives at the first lady's house to see the car that left Stevens' house pulling away. Thomas discovers that the first lady wanted her husband killed because he was being unfaithful to her.
A few weeks later Crawford and Thomas have dinner. Thomas decides that protecting the dead president's reputation is more important than implicating his widow, and tells Crawford that he still does not know who wanted the president dead.

Cast

Although set in Washington, D.C., End Game was actually filmed in Spokane as indicated by the end credits, and hinted at by the evergreen fir trees in the background in most outdoor scenes. The actual city of Washington appears only in aerial shots. Part of End Game was filmed on the campus of Gonzaga University.

Release

In the first week End Game opened at #20 at rentals chart and earned $1.18 million.