Cast: Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, Eva Longoria, Andrew Dice Clay, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Roman Reigns, Marshawn Lynch

Written By: Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows

Directed By: Tim Story

Studio: Amazon/MGM

Release Year: 2025

Runtime: 94 minutes

Audio Description Produced By: The Media Access Group at WGBH

Written By:

Directed By:

What Is it? Two security truck drivers (Murphy/Davidson) contend with a smart villain (Palmer) intent on taking their truck. But the reason, and what she really wants, is a lot more than they expected.

What Works: Some would argue that Eddie Murphy works, but I’d argue Keke Palmer steals the show. She’s been on a bit of a roll with comedy recently, with her early in the year hit One Of Them Days being a memorable standout of the year so far. Here, she’s a complex villain, and totally miscast. But, she somehow makes the casting work for her, as the story decides to veer her character away from your run of the mill villain or thief, and more of a Robin Hood character, and the villain becomes corporate greed. She’s got energy, she’s quick on her feet, and with Pete Davidson trying something different, and Murphy sleepwalking through this, it’s Keke or bust.

That’s not to say Murphy is bad. He’s just sad. Murphy used to have boundless energy, and here he’s giving offf grandfather energy, at about the same level he did for You People. He gave more to his Beverly Hills Cop sequel, so he does have spring in his step. But, he does seem to have a lethargy in his character. Sure, he’s taking the Danny Glover “I’m too old for this shit” role, but the argument could be made he’s playing younger than his actual age. That’s why his spouse is Longoria, 14 years his junior. He’s also been doing this career work for 25 years, which would mean he started his career at 39. It’s more likely they’re trying to cast him as 54 and not 64, so he should have that energy in his performance.

And I guess I’ll also toss in the elephant in the room that if nothing else, this is an improvement on Eva Longoria’s last film, the god awful War Of The Worlds remake. the bar was so low, it had melted into the ground, so naturally she managed to rebound. Though, arguably, she should only be in about five minutes of this, and is instead in about a third.

What Doesn’t Work: it’s so paint by numbers. It feels like every other armored truck movie. It has the same disregard for physics that Heads of State had. It doesn’t even make sense, as the reason these two are even out there is an extra run, but for what?

I also respect that Davidson is trying not to be pigeonholed as an actor without range, but he just isn’t funny here. He’s so worried about having his usual persona, that his character becomes a different kind of dumb, and he drags the film a bit. It doesn’t help that Murphy seems denied caffeine, but the difference between the two comedians, is that a sleepy Murphy can land a punchline, while Davidson is stuck with Tim Story’s direction for his character which isn’t working.

The Audio Description: it was fine. Amazon kicked me into another movie so fast it made my head spin, but I know it is Media Access because so many AD studios use the same narrators, and this guy voicing does a ton of stuff for them, even if I can’t remember his name.

You Might Like It If: Honestly, you might. It’s generic, and a little lackluster, but this is a film that even though I didn’t like it, I’m also not invested enough to fight you over it if you do. I think it misses the mark, but not by such a wide margin that no one will like it. I just didn’t like it. If you feel like this is your thing, maybe it still is.

You Might Not Like it If: It’s cut and paste, paint by numbers, and brings very little new to the table. It’s a film I can understand why it skipped theaters.

Final Thoughts: A talented cast fronted by Eddie Murphy and Keke Palmer can’t really make a derivative heist film interesting, and Tim Story isn’t able to bring his Ride along magic to any odd duck pairing in the film.

Rotten: 5.0/10