‘Jackpot!’ Capsule Review: Fine Performances In A Lackluster Film
From IMDb
Capsule Reviews feature a collection of thoughts from Sean Phillips (Math Teacher Movies) on films from recent days, as well as the past year, decade, and beyond.
From Sean Phillips
Jackpot! is an interesting idea that made for a fun watch at first, but then thinking about it in the slightest moment resulted in noticing that it is riddled with plot holes in annoying fashion. The action, like the movie itself, is engaging in the beginning, but begins to falter and feel repetitive.
Awkwafina is always a great comedic talent that manages to bring an observational comedy throughout this crazy original setting; she does a fair job in this film, but it is not enough to save it.
John Cena continues to be naturally funny in his films and here is the single bright spot and the stand out of the cast; he knows how to deliver humor effortlessly in what is otherwise a lackluster movie.
The comedic chemistry was plenty available for the two leads, but became increasingly awkward when there were elements of ambiguous romance that was never truly realized (a blessing and a curse).
Simu Liu continues to bring charm to flat characters, which works in this film as he plays the magnetic antagonist and does what he can. Like the rest of the cast, however, it just isn’t enough to save the film.
The messaging of Jackpot! was all over the place and wanted to be an irreverent violent action comedy, but still wanted to have depth and morals. Neither of these are required for a movie, but this fails after attempting both.
Questioning the logic of a film with this fantastical of a premise is probably a pointless task, but there still seemed to have a lack of explanation in the film's setting. Even The Purge, which has similar gaps in reality, had a justification for its insanity.
There was nothing genuinely atrocious about Jackpot!, but there was nothing very memorable or interesting either. Even with such a simple plot, this film dives under expectation as it does not go anywhere satisfying.
Rating: 2/5
Jackpot! is currently available to stream on Prime Video.
