From there on out it’s shoot zombies until the bullets run out, then chop zombies up with a variety of Dead Rising's trademark combo weapons. Interestingly, unlike the previous film, here only the most pragmatic devices are lifted from the games. Where the last movie featured improbable combinations like a chainsaw strapped to a sledge hammer, here the heroes’ arsenal is much more plausible: baseball bats with nails driven through them, saw blades lashed to pipes, and so on.Likewise, all the over-the-top mayhem of the first film is missing here. While there are certainly some decent action sequences -- a climactic one vs. the horde fight near the end is more intense and better choreographed than anything the first film had to offer -- the movie consciously avoids venturing anywhere near the ridiculous. You won’t see cartoonishly sadistic gangs or zany boss enemies here. That may displease diehard Dead Rising fans, but the intent is admirable. By dropping some of the more farcical elements, the film tries to play it straight, essentially asking audiences to judge this zombie action flick on its own merits.
While the idea of a more (for lack of a better word) realistic zombie movie isn’t without value, in their zeal to avoid the wacky side of the property, the makers of Endgame also excised any trace of humor. The Dead Rising game series trades heavily in wit and funny visuals, so it’s strange to see it taken so seriously here. The real tragedy is that the drive to eliminate the silly also results in the removal of the best part of Watchtower: the hilarious work of Rob Riggle as Dead Rising 1 protagonist Frank West. At least the movie pays tribute to Dead Rising 2 hero Chuck Greene (Victor Webster) who, if not nearly as fun or interesting as Riggle’s West, is nevertheless an appealing presence in what little screen time he has.Endgame is superior to Watchtower in nearly every way -- most notably its crisp pacing, better than average CG gore, and artful if occasionally nauseating cinematography -- yet objectively it’s still lacking on many fronts. Its plot is nonsensical and full of holes. (Seriously, why are the drug dealers working for the military hoarding heroin in the middle of zombie ground zero?) None of the characters, even the ones returning from the last movie, demonstrate any growth so we never learn (or care) much about them as people. And despite telling us that millions of innocent civilians are about to be murdered, the stakes never feel terribly high. It’s hard enough to care about even the main characters in this world, let alone the anonymous masses about to die off screen.
Dead Rising: Endgame is available to stream on Crackle right now. Would you like to know more? Follow @FireballMcPhan on Twitter. Service guarantees citizenship.
