ThiefHott Too much of everything

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Lee Eisenberg Joe D'Amato's "Endgame - Bronx lotta finale" (simply called "Endgame" in English) is an exercise in unabashed exploitation, and a fun one at that. Post-apocalyptic settings are a common theme in cinema, but this is one of those movies that looks really prescient in retrospect. Set in an irradiated New York in 2025, people are forced to fight to the death to entertain the elites (a bit like "The Hunger Games"). And this movie came out over a decade before there was reality TV! I view these sorts of movies as a latter-day manifestation of Franz Kafka's parable of the leopards: what used to be shocking becomes routine (whether the types of movies or what they portray happening in real life)."Endgame" is a pretty slipshod movie, but it makes no pretense about what kind of a movie it is: a B movie and proud of it. And Laura Gemser sure is hot.

dirk275 Endgame is set in a hollowed out metropolis of the year 2025. People are entertained by the ultimate reality show called Endgame. It's really what Survivor should be. Ron Shannon is Endgame's greatest champ. Kurt Karnak is his bitter rival. During the game a mutant helps Shannon to defeat Karnak but Shannon spares his life. Bad move? Shannon is then enlisted by a band of mutants attempting to escape the city. Of course, a suitcase full of gold sweetens the deal for Shannon, who then rounds up a band of cutthroats to help him, including Ninja, the coolest guy in the film. He bites it too quick. There are many great fight scenes in this movie, one involving blind monks and another with a gang led by a man who is half fish. The fish guy is involved in a very disturbing rape scene with Laura Gemsler. Eventually the number of the group is whittled down to Shannon but the mission gets accomplished anyway. Shannon is asked by Lilith(Gemsler) to join the mutants, which he doesn't. Not too smart because Lilith is pretty hot. Wouldn't you know it as the chopper flies off out comes Karnak to battle Shannon for the gold. The movie ends just as the battle starts, which actually is a cool way to go.I love this movie a lot. The first third is a bit slow but once they leave the city the action is nonstop. The battle with the blind monks is amazing and exciting. Motorcycles and gun-play highlight the scene. The next battle with a group of mutants is just as cool, except Ninja dies here and I must say that just blows big time. But, oh well.Endgame also has a very depressing feel to it. It really is very bleak. Man seems to be digressing by way of mutations and while Lilith's group seem to be advanced, they are hunted down out of fear. To be honest, the bleakness is what appeals to me.Ron Shannon is played by Al Cliver and his performance is understated at best, but it works here. The real show stealer is George Eastman as Kurt Karnak. He dives into his role with flair. He's ruthless and amoral, just what the post-nuke world needs.This movie is worth seeing and if you're a fan of the genre then it's a must see.9/10

Coventry Based on the reputation of director Joe D'Amato, who's primarily known for an endless number of pornography movies and perverted exploitation flicks, and a shallow first look at the VHS cover and stills, I was expecting "Endgame" to be an extremely low-keyed and virtually worthless piece of Italian 80's trash but I'm glad to announce that it actually is a pleasantly engaging Post-Apocalyptically themed Sci-Fi experience. It's a piece of 80's trash nevertheless, of course, but one of the most enjoyable kinds. "Endgame" belongs in the extended category of Italian produced "Escape from NY" knockoffs and it can easily compete with the most successful and notorious accomplishments in there, like Sergio Martino's "After the Fall of New York", Ruggero Deodato's "The Atlantis Interceptors", Lucio Fulci's "The Fighting Centurions" and Enzo G. Castellari's "The New Barbarians". These titles probably don't mean anything to 'normal' film lovers, but to true fans of Italian exploitation cinema they form an excellent source of comparison. The main story lines are very familiar and D'Amato isn't too ashamed to add in one clichéd plot twist after the other, but the film is extremely fast-paced, spectacular and indescribably violent, so who really cares about originality? Al Cliver plays a terrific Snake Plissken clone, but the show is obviously stolen by the almighty George Eastman as the arch enemy. It's the years 2025 and everybody eagerly awaits the new edition of a popular TV show, called "Endgame", in which a couple of bloodthirsty hunters go after a human prey. Ron Shannon wins the game, but only thanks to the help of the telepathically gifted mutant Lilith (D'Amato muse Laura Gemser). The government systematically exterminates all the mutants, and thus Shannon swears to help Lilith and her other mutant friends flee out of the city. Along with a troop of recruited mercenaries, Shannon guides them out of town but the group successively encounters hugely challenging ordeals like a community of blind cannibalistic monks (a splendid homage to "The Omega Man" perhaps?), an army of bewildered mutants and Nazi-like government soldiers. "Endgame" is glorious and priceless 80's entertainment like they just don't make it anymore. The battling sequences are extended and body count is enormous, with literally hundreds of bad guys and the occasional good guy dying left and right and in highly imaginative ways. In spite of the obviously low-budgeted production values, D'Amato managed to gather together some excellently apt set pieces and flamboyant vehicles and even the make-up effects are far above average. Director Joe D'Amato stated that this is his own personal favorite of all the movies he directed, and he's probably right although I personally have even bigger soft spots for "Anthropophagus" and "Beyond the Darkness". This is somewhat also a very atypical D'Amato film and that's a positive comment. For once, he could keep his viewers alert and fascinated with actually content instead of through showing nudity and sleaze. I mean, Laura Gemser stars in this film and she barely takes her clothes off! George Eastman also stars and he doesn't even attempt to rape a woman! This is just a perfectly entertaining Italian post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi movie with all the necessary ingredients: action, bloodshed, gimmicks, costumes, silliness and a terrific freeze-frame end shot.

bloodshed666 Wow, this is italian exploitation flicks at it's best. Guess this one came because of the post-apocalyptic hype after "Escape from New York" and "Mad Max", and got stuff like "Rollerball" also in it. Of course it's an awful movie full of missing links. But here is simply no need for explanations, this question would be stupid. It's the full atmosphere of 80ies italo exploitation thrash: good explosions (gas!gas!gas! - nothing digital! I reminisce in nostalgica), crazy overacted characters, some bare breasts, a setting full of cheap dirt. Those movies are so honest in their cheasiness and roughness, I love 'em. - And the eighties were best! Italy full ahead! A pitty the video-market got down and what is left is filled by the majors with hollywood-cheapos exploiting themselves with their own cheap ripp-offs which have no life of it's own; a pity, no good exploitation-scene nowadays...And hey, wow, this one has them all in it: Joe d'Amato, Al Cliver, Laura Gemser, Michele Soavi and George Eastmen. - A Fest! Gets a nerdish 7 out of 10!