A movie like Jackpot! — which essentially asks “What if John Wick 3's opening was 90 minutes with Awkwafina?” — has an uphill battle from the start. Despite an all-star cast that expands to John Cena (Fast X), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), and a more-than-capable Paul Feig, Jackpot! fails to cash in and strike gold.
The movie follows Katie (Awkwafina), a down-on-her-luck actress chasing her dream in Los Angeles. At least she has a roof above her head, thanks to her Airbnb host (played by the underrated Ayden Mayeri) — albeit one that collapses.
Her luck begins turning around when she wins the lottery. The pot is up to a staggering $3.3 billion, but she quickly learns there is a catch. For the day, Katie is hunted by money-hungry residents of Los Angeles.
They can kill her by any means necessary (sans guns) to win the prize. Katie cannot simply hide in a closet — despite her best efforts to take over Machine Gun Kelly's panic room — to survive. Her location is being monitored and uploaded every few minutes.
Enter, Noel (John Cena), a skilled fighter who offers Katie his help (with a 10% fee). She is hesitant to join forces with the former WWE star but quickly realizes it is her best shot at winning. Together, they attempt to survive the onslaught.
Jackpot! review
For what it is worth, Jackpot!'s premise is clever if nothing else. That is the extent to which Rob Yescombe's script works. Unfortunately, it is unclear if the humor (or lack thereof) is the script or actors' fault.
Generally, Cena and Awkwafina are funny. There was not even a grin-worthy moment until the last joke of the movie (and it was a parody of one of Cena's past projects, no less). Jackpot! falls into a trap of meta-humor and Asian jokes. Simu Liu points out his and Awkwafina's race more than he has fight sequences.
He plays arrogant corporate head Louis Lewis, who helps the lottery winners survive with a hefty price tag. Liu and Awkwafina had a friendship dynamic in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that unfortunately does not transfer to Jackpot!
Liu plays Louis like his version of Ken from Barbie. It is a bit one-note and feels familiar to his past work. Shang-Chi 2 desperately needs to happen.
Awkwafina's screen presence usually ranges from irritating to tolerable. She errs on the side of the latter in Jackpot!, with a character far more complex than the movie. However, Jackpot! is not The Farewell, and
John Cena is an action star
The only noteworthy performance in Jackpot! is Cena. Yes, I will concede that it is hardly anything more than an extension of his performances in Blockers or even Freelance.
And that is a shame. Cena has recently taken on varied roles to stray away from being cast as the “funny ex-WWE guy.” While Jackpot! tries to add layers to his character, specifically with his motives and his past with Liu's character, but it amounts to nothing.
Cena beating people up is the highlight of the movie. When playing to his strengths — particularly in the first 30 minutes — Jackpot! is good fun. A former WWE star John Wick-ing his way to survival may be the roadmap for a successful future Cena-led movie not-named Jackpot!
Should you watch Jackpot?
Ironically, a moment in Jackpot! resembles Twisters (to a far less successful degree). A villainous character takes one of the heroes to an abandoned theater. “No one gives a s**t about theater here,” the villainous character says of Los Angeles, justifying his location pick.
At least Twisters had the merit to set its third-act set piece in an abandoned movie theater. Jackpot!'s abandoned theater is more of a performing arts center, but the sentiment feels the same.
Unfortunately, Jackpot! is not the type of movie that gets audiences into theaters (it is going straight to Prime Video anyway). Feig once had the juice to make a movie like this work — see The Heat and Spy — but the Bridesmaids director's trajectory has seemingly gone downhill since Ghostbusters (2016).
It was a big gamble filled with A-listers and big action. Ultimately, Jackpot! is not the big winner Awkwafina's character appears to be.
Grade: D+
Jackpot! will be available to stream on Prime Video on August 15.
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