Jackpot!

4 outta 5

As far as action comedies about future dystopias go, Jackpot! is entertaining. The leads have good chemistry, and the constant action is engaging, even if just a bit numbing. It is consistently funny with some random asides like one of the main characters rapping the “Turtle Power” rap from the 1980s movie, and an amusingly despicable main villain. The main theme is a bit trite, living in L.A. is rough and everyone can turn on a heel to kill people for money. But for a film that is basically a comedy cobbled together from dystopian action movies like The Hunger Games or The Running Man, it is a humorous, if a bit mean spirited, watch.

In the near future, Los Angeles hosts a lottery where, after someone wins, everyone else in the city can kill them and take their prize-winning cash before sundown. Katie (Awkwafina) is living at a crummy AirBnB run by Shandi (Ayden Mayeri) and DJ (Donald Elise Watkins) and one day she accidentally acquires a winning lottery ticket. Crowds immediately try to kill her, as Katie has won a mind-boggling sum of 3.6 billion dollars. Coming to rescue her is Noel (John Cena), an independent contractor bodyguard who vows to keep her safe for 10% of her winnings. Katie agrees and now the two are on the run, trying to dodge potential deadly mobs, which is difficult as Katie is being followed by a drone that updates her position every few minutes. They eventually enlist the help of a professional bodyguarding agency run by Noel’s former soldier buddy, Louis (Simu Liu), but it turns out he may have it in for Katie as well.

The only stipulation of the lottery is that they cannot use guns or bullets, so this means there is a lot of close quarters and physical combat. This leads to a constant string of action scenes where everyone is a martial arts expert skilled in melee combat weaponry. It is an incredibly dopey conceit, but this is an incredibly dopey movie. Noel’s arrival to save Katie is pretty great as he immediately takes someone down and says the first five saves are free but then she has to agree to give him 10% of her winnings. Cena makes some casual chit-chat while punching folks in the face, trying to sell her on the idea of accepting her as his bodyguard. After they escape it is an extended car chase while Cena delivers exposition on why this is happening. The hollering and chasing and throwing flaming objects are fun but can be a bit overbearing.

Cena’s Noel is the big dopey yet lovable guy that he has played in various other roles before, but he is pretty good at it. He’s introduced rather intensely rapping the “Turtle Power” rap which is funny for how bizarre it is, and in a climatic action scene he is strapped to a chair and bashing folks while singing the TMNT rap. Also, at the end he opens a Ninja Turtle pizzeria and then is immediately shut down for copyright infringement. Awkwafina’s job is basically to look befuddled, yell loudly and make a few quips. There are a few moments in between where they share some tragic backstory which makes them a bit more fleshed out characters than just running and hollering. A moment near the end when Kaite threatens to off herself so the bad guy doesn’t get any money which is a bit too dark. Although Katie is constantly convinced that Noel is going to turn on her, it never happens, which goes a long way to make Noel likable. He is even willing to help her quit the lottery and get no money just out of altruism.

What is predictable is that Liu’s Louis, the greedy leader of a bodyguarding company, betrays Katie by trying to kill her for the cash. However, Liu is quite good at playing a complete heel and he gets in some good screaming and ranting, like when he repeatedly punches Noel in the face to get information. It is also interesting to see Liu and Awkwafina try to kill each other as they were close buddies in Shang-Chi. Mayeri and Watkins as the dopey roommates Katie is stuck with are entertainingly stupid at the start and then become surprisingly ruthless as they can win Katie’s cash. It is kind of as if someone flipped a switch and everyone becomes Terminators which is comically dumb. They also have a scene where Leslie David Baker plays a Security Guard who is disgusted by the two dopes and what they did at a wax museum and some of his lines are great. At one point when Katie and Noel try to hide, they end up at musician Machine Gun Kelly’s mansion to use his panic room and Kelly, playing himself, has some good reactions to them showing up.

The central idea in Jackpot! that everyone would turn into a murderous monster at the possibility of winning the lottery is mean spirited, but the film supplies enough jokes to keep it entertaining. Also, there’s a lot of amusing swearing and physical violence. The action is more wacky than intense, but the quips are funny, and it is enough to be a crazy, fun ride.