![]() The opening shot, for instance, introduces us to Brenda through the convex security mirror in a gas station convenience store, immediately reminding us how the people in the movie perceive a dreadlocked woman. And there are moments in End of the Road that are probably as powerful as they are because of her perspective. Just being a Black woman working behind the scenes in Hollywood for more than three decades makes Shelton somewhat of an unsung icon. She got her start working wardrobe on Do the Right Thing and directing music videos for artists like Kwamé and Salt-N-Pepa before writing and directing television as wide-ranging as 30 Rock and P-Valley. The latter aesthetic makes sense when you consider Shelton’s background. ![]() And director Millicent Shelton makes some curious stylistic decisions along the way, whether it’s amethyst lighting or montages that have the feel of an R&B music video. The dramatic scenes overestimate the artistic range of a charming rapper-turned-actor like Bridges. What unfolds is a race-against-the-clock thriller with road rage and racists that’s mostly predictable, save for a couple of howl-worthy developments. He doesn’t do movie trivia but he does like to play games. Soon Brenda is getting cryptic rings from what sounds like the caller from the Scary Movie franchise. The victim is also a goon who crossed a cloak-and-dagger villain named Mr Cross by stealing his money. In that moment, Brenda announces to her family that she’s an emergency room nurse – as if they didn’t already know – and leaps out to treat the victim to no avail. That’s where they hear a commotion and a gunshot in the room next door. They deal with some roadside microaggressions along the way before stopping at a motel in Arizona. Brenda, her level-headed teenage daughter Kelly (Mychala Faith Lee), preadolescent son Cam (Shaun Dixon) and charmingly irresponsible brother Reggie pack up in their SUV to move to Houston. She mortgaged their LA home to afford his chemo. Queen Latifah plays Brenda, a woman at the end of her rope, mourning her husband who recently died from cancer. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching Queen Latifah break free from zip ties with sheer might to beat down a trailer park full of neo-Nazis? The movie climaxes with her announcing, “I make my own rules.”īy the time that mic drop moment comes, End of the Road has already detoured from unconvincing thriller about people doing desperate things for a bag of cartel money into territory that’s far more goofy and parodic, though that can be pleasurable in its own right. ![]() End of the Road sets itself apart chiefly by leaning into its Black cast and crew, headlined by Queen Latifah. Maybe Reggie felt the rules in that genre don’t apply since those movies were always about white people. Reggie grabs that bag, ignoring the lessons learned in movies like No Country for Old Men and A Simple Plan, where easy money comes with a body count. End of the Road is a thriller about people doing desperate things, starring Queen Latifah and Ludacris.Ĭhris “Ludacris” Bridges’ character Reggie finds himself in an isolated roadside motel, staring down a bag full of shrink-wrapped cash stashed near a man left for dead.
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