It’s a damn shame that the Crackle team couldn’t follow up the entertaining first “Dead Rising” movie with an even better one. “Endgame” is a very disappointing follow up that spends most of its ninety minute run time involving government cover ups, potential military strikes, and reporters trying to get the word out about corruption. Every now and then the movie decides to dole up some zombie carnage. And even then it’s disappointing, since the story slowly drifts away from zombies and begins focusing on more rabid mutants that the government has been testing on. The narrative for a movie like this shouldn’t be so hard to follow but lo and behold when I wasn’t drifting off from boredom, I was anxiously trying to figure out how any of this worked.
Chase Carter, the hero from “Watchtower” returns to the city of East Mission to investigate strange goings on, involving prisoners being transported and possibly being tested on by scientists to find a cure for the zombie infection. Hoping to expose the conspiracy after filming it, he and his group discover they’re being hunted down by the military. Going rogue, the team venture in to the laboratories they investigated and hope to shut down a bunch of computer servers that will murder over a million citizens that have had chips implanted in to them. With the clock winding down, Chase and the group fend off against the undead and a new breed of monster.
Jessie Metcalfe returns as Chase Carter, the reporter with an innate talent for improvisation, who finds himself in the middle of a zombie warzone in an effort to expose the government’s plans involving chemicals, lab testing, and whatnot. When Chase and his team of crack reporters and informants go deep in to the heart of the zombie wasteland, they find themselves going up against a new relentless breed that can run and charge like lightning. Meanwhile, much of the same mechanics for “Dead Rising” is still here, but not as entertaining as it once was because it’s so sparse. There are multiple instances where characters have to build their own weapons out of their environments, and only a few really good money shots.
One of the best moments of the “Endgame” involves Chase fleeing through a hospital and making his way to a series of escalators. Cornered by walkers, he uses his patented saw axe to battle walkers seeping in from the shadows. It’s a well filmed action sequence with Metcalfe really keeping the momentum up. It’s a claustrophobic and teeth grinding moment, but one that is easily the best part of the entire movie. Sadly, “Endgame” can’t keep the momentum before and after this sequence, introducing too many characters, tedious and repetitive action sequences, and a lot of wasted potential. I hope if there’s yet another follow up in the “Dead Rising” series, that it’s much more coherent and entertaining.