Parents' Guide to

Endgame

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Inspiring, if cheesy, story about chess has tragic moments.

Movie NR 2015 90 minutes
Endgame Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

awesomemeerkat
awesomemeerkat Adult
July 16, 2020
age 7+

Laughable!

Roses at red violets are blue, this movie sucks and the acting does to! Just to give you an idea of how this movie is definitely not Hollywood material, take into consideration how the film was made in less than 19 days and there budget hovered close to zero! The acting was...... disappointing. When scenes were meant to be drama galore, it felt more like a comedy show. As far as being clean for kids, I think it’s fine. There is a brief accident scene with teens that involves alcohol. And one use of d-mn.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

ENDGAME follows Jose (Rico Rodriguez), who lives in the impoverished border town of Brownsville, Texas. Jose is the perpetually overlooked younger brother of high school soccer champ Miguel (Xavier Gonzalez), and everyone from Jose's P.E. coach to his own mom (Justina Machado) makes him feel less important. The one area where Jose outshines his hotshot big bro is chess, which his adoring abuelita (Ivonne Coll) -- the widow of a dedicated player -- has been teaching him since he was 5 years old. When a teacher (Efren Ramirez) decides to start an after-school chess club and enlists Jose to help coach his friends, he's finally got his own special club where he's a star. But after two tragedies strike, Jose is no longer sure he's interested in chess -- or anything else.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (2):

Although this "inspired by true events" drama is occasionally cheesy and melodramatic, the story is just inspiring and sweet enough to make for a fine family movie night. You'll have plenty to discuss after watching Jose and his classmates learn how to play chess (and, in Jose's case, finding out how chess connects him to his grandmother and his dearly departed grandfather). The twin tragedies that leave Jose feeling alone and unloved (except by his fairly awesome abuelita, played brilliantly by Coll, who's an expert at portraying scene-stealing grandmothers thanks to her role on Jane the Virgin) turn the movie into a bit of a sentimental after-school special, but that's not a bad thing -- just a predictable one.

Jose isn't as charming as Rodriguez' character Manny on ABC's hit Modern Family; the actor has to stretch himself to depict Jose's anger and sadness. And Jose's disengaged mother, Karla, is difficult to empathize with; although she's not, strictly speaking, abusive, she so obviously favors Miguel to Jose that it's hard to believe (for example, she makes Miguel hearty full breakfasts, while Jose gets stale cereal and a few drops of milk). A subplot involving Jose and a cute female opponent seems unnecessary, but perhaps director Carmen Marron felt like mild flirtation was needed to lighten the darker plot points. It might have worked better to include more of Jose and his best friend, Dani (Alina Herrera), before her family faces deportation, as their friendship -- along with Jose's relationship with his grandmother -- is the most evocative part of the film.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the power of diverse stories. Why is it important for all people to see themselves mirrored in art? Do the characters in this movie face different challenges than the average/typical movie kid?

  • How is teen drinking depicted in the movie? What are the consequences of not just drinking, but texting while driving?

  • What ideas does the movie address around the subject of immigration? How does immigration affect not just the undocumented but also their families and communities?

  • Do you think more students would benefit from learning chess? What does chess offer the characters in the movie?

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