Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson in “The Pickup.”
Amazon/MGM Studios
Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson and Keke Palmer’s new action-comedy The Pickup is getting a harsh reception from Rotten Tomatoes critics.
Directed by Tim Story, The Pickup, an Amazon/MGM Studios original movie, premieres on Prime Video on Wednesday.
The official summary for the movie reads, “A routine cash pickup takes a wild turn when two mismatched armored truck drivers, Russell (Eddie Murphy) and Travis (Pete Davidson), are ambushed by ruthless criminals led by a savvy mastermind, Zoe (Keke Palmer), with plans that go way beyond the cash cargo.
“As chaos unfolds around them, the unlikely duo must navigate high-risk danger, clashing personalities, and one very bad day that keeps getting worse.”
As of this publication, The Pickup has received a 32% “rotten” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 28 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus and Popcornmeter rating based on verified user ratings are still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘The Pickup’?
Michael Ordoña is among the top critics on RT who gives The Pickup a “rotten” rating, writing in his review summary, “Oh, to live in a world such as that of The Pickup, where physics mean nothing and the arc of the universe bends toward justice, however improbable, as long as one can ‘learn weaponry and precision driving’ and everything goes miraculously right.”
Critic Nick Schager calls out Eddie Murphy in his review of the film for The Daily Beast, writing in his “rotten” RT summary, “The legendary star spends the majority of this misfire looking alternately bored and really bored — an emotion that viewers will find all-too-relatable.”
Also giving the film a “rotten” rating is Andrew Lawrence of the Guardian, who writes, “It takes work to make [Eddie] Murphy entirely unfunny, and this film manages the job one-handed.”
Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com also slams The Pickup on RT, writing, “It is as generic and forgettable as its title suggests: a bland action-comedy that will surely end up being one of the year’s worst movies, if only for the egregious way it squanders its talented cast.”
Meanwhile, Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter is the only top critic on RT who gives The Pickup a “fresh” rating, writing, “The film boasts a strong comic cast with [Eddie] Murphy, [Pete] Davidson and [Keke] Palmer at the lead. Their chemistry is naturally compelling, which helps us buy into their increasingly ridiculous situation.
Rated R, The Pickup is new on Prime Video.