Queen Latifah, Ludacris make the most of a not-so-thriller in Netflix's 'End of the Road'

The weight of the world — and the responsibility of picking up the pieces of her grieving family — is on Brenda’s (Queen Latifah) shoulders in “End of the Road,” a Netflix thriller about a family that encounters one problem after the next in Arizona during a road trip from Los Angeles to Houston.

And Brenda carries this heaviness well, with the mental fortitude required of an ER nurse and a recent widow. It makes you wish she didn’t have to be so strong in the face of racism, brutal violence and constant threats to her family.

While traversing the Southwest, the family is caught up in a drug deal, murder and kidnapping. Those components seem like they’d add up to create an effective action thriller, but “End of the Road” lacks the ability to make viewers suspend their disbelief.

Though the film fails to build the underlying sense of unease necessary for a thriller, its strength lies in how empathetically it portrays its central family as they struggle to rebuild a foundation after Brenda’s husband, Jake, dies from cancer.

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‘End of the Road’s’ best scene arrives at the beginning

Jake’s cancer treatment has left the Freeman family in debt and unable to keep their home in the Los Angeles area. Thus, Brenda has her brother, Reggie (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), daughter Kelly (Mychala Faith Lee) and son Cam (Shaun Dixon) pack up their lives to go to Houston, where her and Reggie’s mother lives.

Driving on Interstate 10 through Arizona — or more accurately, New Mexico, where filming took place — quickly becomes thorny for the Freemans, who encounter white men who do not take too well to a young Black woman’s rejection.

In the scene that most successfully builds suspense and indignation in the entire film, Brenda is forced to deal with bigotry while walking on a tightrope, as many people of color are forced to do on a daily basis.

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The pit-in-your-stomach feeling from this scene dissipates, however, as the movie progresses. The cinematography and editing choices give “End of the Road” the feeling of being a parody. In one scene in particular, Brenda’s panic being captured from multiple angles with fast cutting doesn’t have quite the effect that was perhaps intended.

Some of the lines are hard to take seriously, too. A sentence like “Your brother’s been abducted,” for example, seems hard to deliver in a way that doesn’t sound scripted. Is “abducted” really the first word the layperson would reach for in a high-stress situation?

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Queen Latifah and Ludacris do the best they can

That said, the cast gives it their best shot (sometimes literally).

The Freemans come across as well fleshed-out characters. Brenda’s strong moral compass and fierce dedication to her family, Reggie’s chip-on-the-shoulder attitude as a little brother and the kids’ defiance over being forced to leave everything they’ve ever known are shown, not told, to the viewers.

The supporting cast, which primarily comprises rural Arizonans who are coming after the Freemans for one reason or another, lean heavy on the redneck stereotype. This makes them far less interesting to watch — so if this was director Millicent Sheltonintention, she delivered.

It doesn’t take long to wonder, “Hasn’t this family been through enough?” with each misfortune they face. But that’s the horror-thriller genre, I suppose. Netflix bills “End of the Road” as a “high-octane action thriller” about “a cross-country road trip (that) becomes a highway to hell,” and, well, half of that statement is accurate.

An 85-mile detour off the I-10 through southern Arizona wreaks havoc on this family, but “high-octane?” The Freemans’ minivan is moving 35 miles per hour, max, in every scene set in the car.

They needed a lot more horsepower in order to convey a sense of urgency and thrill, and I’m not just talking about the van.

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'End of the Road' 2 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Millicent Shelton.

Cast: Queen Latifah, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Beau Bridges, Mychala Faith Lee, Shaun Dixon.

Rating: Rated R.

Note: Streaming on Netflix starting Sept. 9.

Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Review: Queen Latifah, Ludacris carry 'End of the Road'