The Pickup

Tim Story's "The Pickup" delivers a high-octane, action-packed thrill ride that largely succeeds on its kinetic energy and star power. The film embraces its genre with unapologetic enthusiasm, offering a fun and fast-paced cinematic experience. Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson have a surprisingly effective comedic chemistry, with their contrasting styles bouncing off each other to create genuine laughs amidst the chaos.

While the plot itself is a familiar "one last job" scenario, the execution is what makes it entertaining. The action sequences are well-choreographed and visually engaging, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The film doesn't delve deep into character psychology or complex themes, but it doesn't need to. It knows exactly what it is-a pure, popcorn-munching good time.

Is it worth watching? If you're looking for a light, entertaining action-comedy with a good dose of humor and thrilling moments, then yes, it's definitely worth a watch.

Fun film, don't listen to the miserable people leaving poor reviews for attention. Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson work well together. Lot of funny moments and the film does well to stay interesting.

Would watch again someday.

Didn't really know much about Pete Davidson before this film but I'm a fan now.

This film wanted to be 'Bad Boys' sooooo bad - no pun intended...but it fails miserably. Two mismatched 'law enforcers' constantly shouting, swearing, ribbing/insulting each other and cracking-wise...it gets tedious super-quick!

The problem is, unlike Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson have absolutely ZERO chemistry. They don't bounce off each other at all. They almost come across like they dislike each other in real life, but were forced to do this as part of community service(!)

Add to the mix, Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer and now you have FOUR people with zero chemistry! They're all good actors in their own right, but together they're an absolute mess.

Film has an unoriginal storyline, that portrays the message that 'If you've been through a rough time, committing crime is fine and there will be no consequences'. So many similarities to the original 'Bad Boys' storyline.

I was zoning in and out for the entire 90 minutes. Apart from a small chase scene involving exploding dye packs, there was nothing to hold my attention.

Eddie Murphy is a living legend...and I feel that this is beneath him - purely a cash grab! U hope he doesn't take the route of taking any job just for the sake of it.

Summary: Maybe they should have been garbage truck drivers, because this was pure garbage!

The Pickup (2025) is an action comedy heist movie directed by Tim Story and it tells the story of a group of characters doing a heist like every other movie of this genre and it was pretty good in a very superficial way.

Positives for The Pickup (2025): The plot of this movie is basically the same as other heist movies I've watched before and it works for the most part because of the actors. Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer and Eva Longoria are pretty good. The heist is done pretty well with Tim Story's direction. The action and comedy are also done pretty well. And finally, the movie is straightforward with the execution and I like that it wasn't trying to be too smart or stupid.

Negatives for The Pickup (2025): The plot of this movie very predictable and you know what is going to happening with every plot point. You have Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson teaming up with Keke Palmer and they are doing the typical "We don't like each other, but we will work together for the mission and we surely won't be connecting with one another and be good buddies after our mission." and it plays out exactly how you imagine it being. The villains are very one-note and I don't even remember their names. And finally, this plot has been done before and done better in other movies.

Overall, The Pickup (2025) is your typical streaming movie that you can watch at home and get some superficial entertainment from watching it and that's about it.

Granted, when I stumbled upon this movie and opted to watch it, I didn't harbor the biggest of expectations, as Eddie Murphy haven't exactly been in top notch movies in recent years. But still, since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I had to check it out.

Writers Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider put together an enjoyable script and storyline. Sure, it was running on many generic tropes for a heist movie, but it still proved rather enjoyable.

The scene with the music in the van was a nice homage to some of Eddie Murphy's earlier classic movies.

The movie does have some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Eddie Murphy, Eva Longoria, Pete Davidson, Ismael Cruz Cordova and Andrew Dice Clay. The acting performances in "The Pickup" were good.

There is a good amount of action throughout the course of the movie, which definitely helps to spruce up the narrative. It was nicely executed action sequences as well.

I was actually genuinely entertained throughout the course of the movie. It was like a trip back to the action comedies of the 1990s. This is a popcorn movie, so just lean back in the seat, munch on the snacks and enjoy the ride.

My rating of director Tim Story's 2025 movie "The Pickup" lands on a six out of ten stars.