Road Kings

Color, NR (mature themes, language, violence, nudity, sexual situations, drug use), 90 min., PPV 45 days, DVD $19.98, VHS rental

DVD: no extras

Street: March 29, Prebook: March 8

First Run: DVD premiere

Cast: Glenn Plummer (The Day After Tomorrow), Chris Spencer (All About You), J. Lamont Pope (Timelock), Wayne Dehart (The Apostle)

LIONS GATE

When the 'hood gets too hot for him, Panther (Plummer) decides to forsake gang life, grabs a motorcycle and embarks on a cross-country road trip. His homeboy Ray (Spencer) goes along for the ride, unaware that the eventful journey will end in tragedy for one of them. This is the ultimate in high-concept, direct-to-video B-movies--Easy Rider meets Boyz n the Hood. (And that's exactly how Lions Gate is promoting it.) Road Kings has the same rambling, episodic structure as Dennis Hopper's classic 1969 road movie, and it ends pretty much the same way. But viewers won't care all that much, because director McClure hasn't taken pains to make the two leading characters sympathetic. They are thugs, plain and simple, and not very bright ones at that. There's just enough violence, sex, rap music and trash talk to satisfy the movie's target audience, but suspense is decidedly lacking and the story's outcome is never in much doubt. Hopefully, the music by Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, ODB, Mystic and RBX will provide enough of a drawing card to make this weak film profitable.

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