A politically themed comedy- killathon, “Operation: Endgame” might be the first satiric thriller to play off President Obama’s inauguration.
During the ceremonies, two opposed teams of ruthless US government superspies locked in their LA headquarters set about killing each other with office supplies. (Watch out for that paper shredder.)
How elite are these murder squads? On the third interview, says one, “They make you kill a puppy.” Another trained assassin muses, “I could be running News Corp. right now — instead, I kill people for a living. I feel like I might have made a bad career choice.” Definitely. Not only do we here at The Post (which is owned by News Corp.) have a 401(k), but seldom does anyone try to punch through my carotid with a staple remover.
A solid cast led by Ellen Barkin (doing her now-patented menopausal barracuda), Jeffrey Tambor (as a weary manager whose code name is the misleadingly scary “The Devil”) and Zach Galifianakis (whose response to being shot in the crotch is, “Not again!”) makes the most of their barbed, raunchy dialogue.
If the insults are reminiscent of “In the Loop,” the thriller aspects of “Operation: Endgame” are drab by comparison, and the production values are minimal. Still, this not-quite-straight-to-video release (the DVD launches July 27) offers some acidic pleasures.