The Pickup movie review: Mismatched Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson forget to bring the laughs in heist comedy

Russell (Eddie Murphy) wakes up at 4.30am for his job as an armoured truck guard. It’s his 25th wedding anniversary but the only gift his wife Natalie (Eva Longoria) wants is his early retirement.

He says six more months and then they’ll have enough money for their dream, to open a bed and breakfast. They make a date for an 8pm dinner at the restaurant where they had their first date.

Geez, what could possibly happen today that threatens all of those plans?

As far as set-ups go, that’s as uninspired as it comes, and it doesn’t get better. The Pickup is a cavalcade of generic beats, flat set-pieces, predictable twists and mismatched characters.

The movie is one of Murphy’s three-picture deal he signed with Prime Video after the semi-success of Coming 2 America, and he knows he’s getting paid either way, so why bother trying?

Murphy is a funny guy and when he shows up, he dominates the screen with his snap, crackle and pop energy. Here, he does not. Phoning it in would be generous.

His partner-in-alleged-comedy is Pete Davidson, who plays Travis, a newish guard who is confusingly a total dumbarse but also maybe a maths savant? If you’re looking for consistency in characterisation, seek it elsewhere.

Russell and Travis are paired together for the shift, which takes them through an hour-long “dead zone” on a little-used but perfectly maintained highway with no phone or radio signal. Sure, that could be a thing, we’re not experts in American telecommunications infrastructure.

It’s here that a crew of three thieves strike, led by Keke Palmer’s Zoe, trying to run down the armoured truck. Rather than surrendering, Russell and Travis decide to play hero.

The very long action set-piece of the attempted heist has no verve, blundering through expected beats. There’s little carnage and almost no excitement as the three vehicles tango along a deserted stretch of road.

As an aside, why aren’t there any other cars? The Pickup, despite being filmed in 2024, feels like something made during the pandemic which necessitated as few characters and extras as possible due to restrictions.

It’s like this movie exists in a pocket universe where the population density of any square kilometre is four people. There’s no fizz in this drink.

A heist movie is supposed to be thrilling and fun. You’re supposed to go, “ooh, aah, that’s how they did it, how clever!”, like a puzzle that’s completed right before your eyes. The Pickup doesn’t do any of that. It’s like as if it’s bored with itself.

Murphy and Davidson doesn’t make sense on paper, but the younger comic usually has the kind of erratic energy that often surprises. This is not one of those times. The two never seem to quite gel, and that has a lot to do with the script, which lacks zingers.

The one piece of dialogue that almost elicits a chuckle is when Russell tells Travis, “Keep my wife’s name out of your mind and your mouth”. Not the exact wording of Will Smith’s Oscar meltdown, but close enough to recall a far more interesting moment. Let’s go live in that memory for a bit instead.

The action-comedy heist isn’t crying out for reinvention, but it does require, at a minimum, that it be funny and propulsive. The Pickup is neither.

Rating: 1.5/5

The Pickup is streaming on Prime