Endgame

Much online discussion has been devoted to the ponderous and bizarre rules that Mainland China has implemented on films. Some people can certainly understand Chinese censors’ insistence that good to always triumph over evil and, given that the country is under dictatorial rule, that the government always be shown in a positive light. Less understandable are the banning of supernatural elements and time travel, the latter of which has been the subject of many jokes. With the many restrictions on motion picture content that must be abided by for films to screen in the Mainland, one can only wonder what a populist Chinese movie looks like.

One possibility is 2021’s Endgame, a comedy-action flick that combines an identity switch with a memory-loss story. The film opens with ZHOU Quan (Andy LAU Tuk Wah) murdering a man in an elevated parking lot before switching to CHEN Xiaomeng (Xiao Yang), a down-on-his-luck actor whose suicide is interrupted by a phone call. When Zhou sustains a concussion and forgets who he is, Chen takes the opportunity to assume his identity, luxuriating in the former’s wealth and jet-setting lifestyle. Zhou, meanwhile, struggles to learn who he was and lives as best as he can as the dirt-poor Chen.

What immediately stands out about Endgame is how safe it is. The two leads are defined by their social status and occupations with only a hint of personality. Zhou, in fact, is stone-faced and barely utters two words prior to becoming an amnesiac. His opposite number, Chen, epitomizes the hard-luck loser whose unassuming approach allows others to walk over him.

The film takes these two men through standard plots involving romance, family drama, and criminal gangs. Everything is boilerplate with nary a risk being taken or anything to distinguish this picture from the many others that walk down the middle of the road.

This film is very much about going through familiar motions and not offending anyone. Endgame is a Mainland-friendly piece of product that fills a running time and has nothing to say.

Score: 4.5/10; Streamed on 2022-April-15.

A little bit contrived, which is not surprising as it takes its name from a famous existential play but one should not go to it with that in mind.

It is a pleasant combination of action, comedy and drama that makes for nice entertainment.