Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video is the satirical action comedy, Jackpot! Directed by Paul Feig, the movie stars Awkwafina, John Cena, and Simu Liu, and tells the story of an actress who finds herself becoming a target when she accidentally wins the lottery.
In the movie, the year is 2030 and The Grand Lottery is underway in California. The prize is a multi-billion dollar jackpot, which everyone wants to win.
However, there is a catch; once you win the jackpot, you need to stay alive until sundown. Until this time, anyone has free rein to kill you and legally claim the prize.
And this becomes very bad news for actress Katie Kim, who hits the jackpot by mistake. She quickly becomes a target, with everyone in town keen to bump her off to claim the prize.
Completely daft, but boasting an intriguing premise, Jackpot! is a fun if fairly light film. There’s not a great deal going on here, and at over 105 mins it’s arguably a tad too long, but there’s much enjoyment to be had.
Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Heat, Ghostbusters) knows how to bring the laughs, and he ensures the chuckle content is consistent. Sure it’s not always laugh out loud hilarious, but it’s amusing throughout, with plenty of gags being delivered once Katie inadvertently wins the lottery.
The mix of comedy and action is also well handled. Jackpot! boasts some enjoyable fight sequences, with huge dollops of slapstick thrown in for good measure, including a scene in which a fire is extinguished by stamping on someone’s balls.
Jackpot! is driven by two very likeable central performances from Awkwafina and John Cena. The former takes on the role of the frantic Katie, while the latter plays Noel – a muscle-clad bodyguard for hire, who appoints himself as Katie’s saviour (for a fee).
As is usually the case with Awkwafina and Cena, both deliver and keep the story moving forward with plenty of energy. Not surprisingly, former wrestler Cena is particularly great during the action scenes.
The film also benefits from some solid supporting roles for Simu Liu and Ayden Mayeri. Liu gets to chew the scenery as a villain, while Mayeri is fun as a terrible Airbnb host.
While Jackpot! isn’t Feig’s best film, it’s perfectly fine and certainly suited to streaming. Jackpot! is the type of movie which is ideal for a Friday night in front of the TV with a beer and a takeaway.
Will it knock your socks off at any point? No.
But Jackpot! will keep you entertained, the satire is often on point, and the film contains a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference that probably hasn’t been made since 1990. In short: What’s not to like?
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