Review by Jon Donnis
The Pickup arrives with a clear promise. A noisy, star driven action comedy built around a bad day, a worse plan, and a pairing that should clash in entertaining ways. For the most part, it delivers something close to that brief. Not spectacular, not disastrous, but watchable enough if expectations are kept firmly in check.
The set up is enjoyably simple. Russell Pierce, a long serving armoured truck driver edging towards retirement, finds himself paired with Travis Stolly, a jittery rookie who dreams of a police badge. Their routine run turns into chaos when they are ambushed by Zoe, a criminal mastermind with ambitions that stretch far beyond the contents of the truck. What begins as a hostage situation mutates into a revenge driven heist, complete with betrayals, emotional confessions, explosions, and a steadily rising body count of bad decisions.
The film's biggest strength is its energy. Tim Story keeps things moving at a brisk pace, rarely letting the story linger long enough for its logic to collapse completely. There is a sense of fun running through the better sequences, especially once the plan to steal an armoured vehicle rather than its contents is revealed. The story may be familiar, but it is put together with enough momentum to remain engaging.
Keke Palmer is the standout. As Zoe, she brings confidence, sharp timing, and just enough emotional grounding to sell the character's backstory without dragging the film into melodrama. She dominates every scene she is in, balancing menace and charm with ease. The film belongs to her far more than it does to its nominal leads.
Eddie Murphy, meanwhile, is something of a curiosity here. Visually, he looks astonishing, with immaculate make up and styling that shave decades off his age. It is distracting in its own way. Performance wise, he is restrained to the point of frustration. Casting Murphy as the straight man in an action comedy feels like a waste of one of cinema's most charismatic comic presences. He is perfectly competent, even likeable, but rarely allowed to cut loose.
Pete Davidson fares less well. His Travis is written as awkward and emotionally muddled, but the performance leans heavily into the character's least appealing traits. Rather than providing contrast or comic friction, he often grates, and the romantic subplot with Zoe never quite convinces. It is hard to escape the sense that he is miscast.
The film's emotional core, centred on Zoe's revenge against the casino that failed her father, is serviceable if blunt. It gives the plot a motive beyond greed, though it is resolved with a neatness that feels unearned. By the time the final chase erupts and alliances are settled, The Pickup seems more interested in wrapping things up cleanly than interrogating any of its ideas.
Ultimately, this is a paint by numbers Netflix film. It is competently made, intermittently entertaining, and easy to forget once the credits roll. There are laughs, a few decent action beats, and one genuinely strong performance holding it together. What it lacks is ambition, and a willingness to let Eddie Murphy be Eddie Murphy.
The Pickup earns a generous 5 out of 10. Ninety minutes of mild distraction for the evening when scrolling feels more exhausting than settling.
Out Now on Netflix
