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Amazon Prime Video's new film The Pickup features an A-list cast comprised of Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer and Eva Longoria, but critics aren't impressed. Murphy and Davidson may be two of the biggest names in comedy, but according to reviews, their Tim Story-directed team-up just isn't funny.
"A routine cash pickup turns into a deadly pursuit when two mismatched armored truck drivers are ambushed by ruthless criminals with plans beyond the cash," the film's official logline reads.
"As an action-comedy starring Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson and Keke Palmer, it all reeks of overbearing cheapness to where we're left to wonder why anyone would bother," Matt Goldberg wrote in his review for TheWrap. "It plays like the Temu version of better buddy-comedy action films where no human hands touched it during production, and then [it] falls apart the moment you look at it funny."
"But neither the script nor Story's direction really gives anyone much of a chance to shine," Goldberg continued. "So much of the movie is confined to the interiors of the armored truck, and Story's camera is always just trying to keep up with the speaker rather than provide any space for a comic beat to land."
The Hollywood Reporter noted that the cast is talented, but their star power couldn't compensate for the flaws within the storytelling.
"The film boasts a strong comic cast with Murphy, Davidson and Palmer at the lead. Their chemistry is naturally compelling, which helps us buy into their increasingly ridiculous situation," Lovia Gyarkye wrote for The Hollywood Reporter.
"But the adventure often seems random in its humor and low in its stakes," she continued. "There seems to be an effort to outsmart viewers familiar with the beats of this kind of plot, and while that's initially somewhat charming, the antics start to wear on you."
Gyarke noted that the "jokes start to become repetitive and the character dynamics more one-dimensional."
While The Pickup weaves together comedy and action, Deadline depicted the project as flat.
"There are a few twists and turns — literally — in this action flick, and the action part of it is perfectly serviceable even if the expected hilarity from two former [Saturday Night Live] stars in a dream pairing (young and old comic genius combined) fails to materialize and is mostly left to Davidson to do the heavy lifting," Pete Hammond wrote for Deadline.
Murphy is a lauded comedic talent, but even he couldn't save the lackluster action-comedy flick.
"It's a shame, because Murphy is still one of the funniest personalities in Hollywood. He always feels like he's trying, even if some of his movies aren't great. In The Pickup, not only is the movie bland and lifeless, but Murphy is also clearly uninterested in the events unfolding on the screen," Nate Richard wrote for Collider.
