A rideshare driver discovers that his sister is in debt to a dangerous crime syndicate.
After his sister is murdered by a mobster kingpin, a rideshare driver embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge. That pretty much summarizes the entirety of Brian A. Metcalf’s crime thriller “Adverse.” If it brings to mind the plethora of recent Liam-Neeson-exacting-vengeance thrillers, it’s because it basically is a Liam-Neeson-exacting-vengeance thriller, only except Neeson, we get a grown-up, Uber-serious (see what I did there?) Thomas Ian Nicholas – aka Kevin from “American Pie” – bashing thugs with a tire wrench.
Nicholas plays Ethan, a criminal who’s out on parole and drives for Ride (this low-budget universe’s Uber) to provide for his rebellious younger sister Mia (Kelly Arjen). The siblings are orphaned, forgotten, living in the trenches of society. Ethan has to report to and be evaluated by Dr. Cruz (Lou Diamond Phillips) on an ongoing basis, so he does his best to stay out of trouble. Problem is, his asshole boss Frankie (Sean Astin) refuses to pay him. To make matters worse, Mia and her dumbass boyfriend end up owing a lot of money to a local hoodlum, Dante (Metcalf), who in turn works for the dying kingpin Kaden (Mickey Rourke).
Mia’s eventual death sends Ethan on the aforementioned gruesome rampage, wherein he starts working for – and bonds with – Kaden, before cold-bloodedly executing the man’s entire crew. He even finds time for a romance of sorts, with neighbor Chloe (Kate Katzman), whose only defining characteristic is that she chain-smokes like she’s in “Mad Men.” Adverse culminates in a nonsensical confrontation on a rooftop and then ends on a hilariously unfinished note that, I assume, Metcalf deemed deeply cerebral and poignant.
Don’t come looking for novelty, or shocking twists and turns. It’s all highly predictable, but if you lower your expectations, there’s some fun to be had. A single-take shot sees Ethan going bat-shit crazy on a bunch of motherfuckers with his trusty tire wrench – a bravura sequence that must’ve been dreamt up by the filmmaker on one of his more inspired days. I also enjoyed Ethan demanding his money from his boss (“I could sue you for not paying me but I don’t use lawyers to handle my business!”).
In fact, most of the highlights revolve around the lead. Nicholas is compelling enough, although he could have toned down on the glowering. He does three modes quite well: stunned, pissed off, and traumatized. I don’t envy him, as he’s acting opposite some wooden blocks here.
With all due respect to Kate Katzman – I’m sure she’s a wonderful person with high aspirations – her performance here is perhaps one of the least animated ones in recent memory. Granted, she’s got next-to-nothing to work with, character-wise, but dear lord. Rourke manages to emanate some poignancy through his frozen-silicone features and continuous lip-smacking (is he chewing on a Nicorette?). When Kaden states, “I guess when dreams don’t come true, you never forget about them,” he may just be referring to Rourke’s own once-extremely-promising career.
Disregard stilted lines like, “No it’s cool. I can handle a diss here and there.” Ignore the seediness and predictability of it all. Be sure that you can stomach hard violence (with abundant CGI blood), including a merciless beating of a helpless woman by a savage man. If you think you’re up for it, go ahead and order this rideshare. Just be aware: “Adverse” is a hell of a bumpy ride that’s unlikely to get many 5-star ratings.
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