The Pickup

{Me Time}, {The Ridiculous 6}, {Happy Gilmore 2}, {Coming 2 America}, {You People}, {Murder Mystery}, {You're Cordially Invited}, {Red One}, {The Union}, {Incoming}, {Unfrosted}, {Night School}... The number of streaming-exclusive comedies crammed with big, well-known while being boring beyond all reason in recent years is almost absurd. There seems to be an undeniable curse on direct-to-streaming films in general and comedies/action comedies in particular, as 99% of everything released in this genre is utter rubbish. This also applies to {Prime Video}'s big summer film {The Pickup}.

{The Pickup} is directed by the man behind {Ride Along} and {Barbershop} and tells the story of two security guards who have their armoured security transport hijacked by a very fair maiden, whose plan is to take the vehicle, drive it into a casino in Atlantic City, and once inside their vault, steal $60 million before anyone knows what's happening. The lead roles are played by the non-dynamic duo Eddie Murphy (Russell) and Pete Davidson (Travis), and of course the film begins with them disliking each other and not wanting to work together, but along the way learning to like each other's differences. Murphy plays the seasoned, greying veteran who hates the idea of being paired with the young upstart Travis, whose insecurity and need for validation constantly get him into trouble.

{The Pickup} is the kind of film that anyone could have written on a napkin during a stressful lunch break. Security guards, armoured trucks, villains, car chases, a few random jokes and attempts at humour, a beautiful villain who has seduced one of the guards, an anxious wife at home, and an impending big heist where everyone must work together to survive. It's all been seen before, it's all been done before, and there's no thought here of doing anything that feels unique, unpredictable, or fresh, as instead, it follows exactly in the footsteps of every other comedy of exactly the same kind.

In his younger days ({48 Hrs.}, {Beverly Hills Cop}, {The Golden Child}), Murphy could have put in enough energy and stylishly delivered nonsense to make at least some of the scenes really funny, but he no longer has the humour in him. Murphy, like Adam Sandler, is old now, tired, sad to watch even. There is no energy and no desire to really entertain, which is exposed scene-after-scene, as he mostly just reads his lines with zero enthusiasm and empathy, waiting for his fat pay cheque.

A small studio, smoke machine, and green screen, plus people who often (and willingly) gape their jaws. That's the recipe for this comedy.

Davidson joins the cast and, unlike Murphy, really goes all out to be funny, but instead he doesn't really get a chance to use his patented successful gonzo comedy, as he is relegated to the typical streaming-style, unfunny drivel that has permeated so much for so many years now. There is no edge, no wit, no originality, and nothing that makes me, as a viewer, want to watch it to the end. {The Pickup} is thus relegated to the same trash bin as everything else I mentioned at the beginning of this review.