Conclusion
*Jackpot* strikes a balance between entertainment and profound social insights, making it a film that resonates with audiences and invites repeated viewings. The film is a must-watch for fans of thrillers that explore moral dilemmas.
The Last Sunset
Release Information:
- Initial Release Date: August 15, 2024
- Director: Paul Feig
- Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
- Music By: Theodore Shapiro
- Production Companies: Roth/Kirschenbaum Films,
Feigco Entertainment
- Writer: Rob Yescombe
Plot Synopsis:
In the near future, California unveils a radical new "Grand Lottery,"
promising billions in prize money. However, winners must satisfy one
sinister condition: they must eliminate other winners before sunset to
legally claim the prize. This brutal system triggers widespread chaos,
as greed drives ordinary people to participate in this deadly game of
survival.
Main Characters:
- Jack: An average worker who’s forced to join
the lottery in search of a life-changing fortune.
- Emily: An idealistic young woman who seeks to
expose the true purpose behind the lottery.
- Henry: The cold, wealthy mastermind behind the
lottery, who manipulates it from behind the scenes.
- Police Chief: Torn between law and ethics, he
tries to stop the slaughter before it’s too late.
Themes:
- Human Nature & Greed: Explores the extent of
human behavior when faced with extreme circumstances.
- Moral Dilemmas: The struggle between survival
and ethics.
- Social Commentary: A reflection on the role of
money and power in modern society.
Visual Style:
Directed by Paul Feig, known for his distinctive blend of humor and
character depth, the film mixes suspense with elements of dark comedy,
creating an intense yet thought-provoking atmosphere. Theodore Shapiro’s
music amplifies the tension and urgency of the storyline.
Ending Concept:
As the game progresses, participants begin to realize that this
lottery is more than just a battle for money and survival; it’s a test
of humanity’s deepest values. Ultimately, Jack and Emily join forces to
try to end the lottery once and for all, exposing Henry’s true
intentions. The film concludes with a gripping climax that leaves the
audience pondering the moral implications of such a future society.
"Jackpot!" (2024) Film Overview
Director: Paul Feig
Summary:
"Jackpot!" is a 2024 American action-comedy film
directed by Paul Feig, starring Awkwafina, John Cena, Ayden Mayeri, and
Donald Elise Watkins. The story revolves around a deadly lottery in
California where the winner must kill other winners before sunset to
legally claim billions of dollars.
Plot Overview:
Set in Los Angeles in 2030, Awkwafina plays Katie, a struggling
actress who unexpectedly wins the California "Super Lottery." However,
this lottery has a dangerous condition: winners must kill other winners
before sunset to legally claim the multi-billion-dollar prize. John Cena
plays Noel, an amateur lottery protection agent who helps Katie navigate
this life-or-death game.
Film Style:
Directed by Paul Feig, known for his comedic works like
Bridesmaids and Spy, "Jackpot!" blends dark
comedy with action elements, delivering a satirical take on Hollywood’s
greed and societal issues.
Release Information:
The film premiered on August 15, 2024, and is available for streaming
on Amazon Prime Video.
Audience Reception:
The film has received mixed reviews. While some viewers praised its
unique premise and performances, others felt the pacing was slow, and
the plot could have been stronger.
If you’re interested, you can watch it on Amazon Prime Video
and see how it stands up!
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today’s video the movie we are going to talk about is called jackpot
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interesting facts about this movie in today’s to
video I am going to tell you I am also going to give you all the
information on which a platform or on which satellite
channel you will get to watch this movie also we will talk in detail
about the
technical department music department pre-production filming
post-production
budget box office collection of this film we will also talk about
the story
of this film and I will also give you a small review of the story of
this film
apart from this we will discuss about the facts of this film
storyline star
cast actor’s performance in the film and which character has played
which role
that’s why I request you friends to watch this video till the end so
let’s start the video jackpot is a 2024
American action comedy film directed by Paul and written by Rob yum
the film
stars Aquafina John Cena Iden myy Donald Elise Watkins Sam asgari
and simu Leu
the film follows Katie Aquafina a former child actor who wins a 3.6
billion
Lottery and must fend off people trying to kill her in a future
version of California Amazon Studios began
developing the film under the title Grand death lotto in March 2023
Aquafina Cena and the rest of the
cast was announced and filming began the same month jackpot was
released by
Amazon MGM Studios through Prime video on August 15th 2024 the film
received generally mixed
reviews from critics movie plot by 2030 the financially desperate
government of
California creates the deadly Grand Lottery each Lottery day the
randomly
selected winner must survive until sundown anyone with a losing
ticket can kill the winner to claim the
multi-million dollar prize instead but no one may use guns former
child actor
Katie Kim arrives in Los Angeles with hopes of re-entering Show
Business unaware of the lottery and its record
$3.6 billion jackpot renting a room from money hungry shatty and her
boyfriend dj
Katie attends a disappointing audition and inadvertently enters and
wins the lottery attacked on site by everyone
around her she is soon found by NL Cassidy a freelance Lottery
protection agent who offers his services in
exchange for for 10% of her winnings fighting off dozens of Katie’s
murderous
fans using non-lethal means NL and Katie Escape in his car and he
explains that a
drone tracking Katie will post her location every 14 minutes but she
can officially quit The Lottery by reaching
the grape vine on the outskirts of the city unwilling to trust null
Katie
realizes that even the police want to kill her and flees on foot a
sympathetic
security guard lets her hide inside a wack Museum but a phone call
from shatty leads her and DJ to Katie’s location she
escapes and is rescued by null pursued by shatty DJ and a
sightseeing Bus full
of tourists they drive to MGK’s mansion and commandeer his Panic
Room shooting
him with tranquilizer darts and NL assures Katie of his commitment
to helping her shatty coerces MGK to give
up the Panic rooms passcode forcing null to call in a favor with the
Lewis protection AG agency before the mob can
break in the LPA short circuits their phones and drives Katie and NL
to safety
at alpa’s high-tech facility Katie meets Louis Lewis the head of the
agency who
agrees to protect her in exchange for the LPA and null each
receiving 30% of
the prize money NL reveals that he and Louie are the sole survivors
of a team
of mercenaries and NL uses his protection earnings to support the
families of their fallen comrades
Katie is given an elaborate prosthetic disguise and prepares to be
driven to safety but null suspects that the LPA
has been murdering their clients keeping the winners Anonymous and
claiming their winnings he allows the crowd of fans
into the facility allowing Katie to drive away alone and is captured
by Louie before Katie can reach the
Grapevine Louie calls threatening to kill NL unless she surrenders
Louie
brings NL to an abandoned theater admitting that he killed their
fellow mercenaries to keep a stash of gold for
himself Katie arrives and forces Louie to spare null by threatening
to kill herself and forfeit the jackpot live
streaming on her phone as proof the live stream summons Katie’s fans
and she and
null fight off the mob and the LPA cornered by Louie high above the
stage
Katie manages to kill him with his own grenades but falls from the
scaffolding
however she is caught by a crowd of genuine and fans who have
arrived to help just as the lottery deadline Runs
Out She and NL celebrate her Victory six months later Katie and NL
have used her
prize money to open a variety of businesses and nonprofits including
their own protection agency that guards
lottery winners for free mid credit scenes reveal that they have
bought a super yacht acknowledging that money has
changed them while MGK orders an improved Panic Room and more darts
and
the Grand Lottery prepares to expand across the country cast
Aquafina as
Katie John Cena as null Iden Mary as shatty Donald Elise Watkins as
DJ Donald
Sam asgari as senior agent Ash Coulson Baker as himself simu Leu as
Louie Lewis
seen William Scott as rugged Man Maran green as lunch lady Rosanna
Scot as news
anchor Dolly Delon as grandma tala Murray Hill as Johnny Grand Becky
Anne Baker as
sweet Irene Adam Ray as dad Monique ganderton as aent hoit Bobby Lee
as himself production in March 2023 it was announced that an action
comedy film
titled Grand death Lotto was in development at Amazon Studios Paul
fig
had been hired to direct written by Rob yescome and produced by Joe
Roth Jeff
kersin bound fig and Laura Fischer John Cena Zack Roth and yum
served as
executive producers Cena Aquafina and Sim Leu were cast in the main
roles Iden
Mary seen William Scott Dolly dilon and Donald Elise Watkins joined
the cast
later in the month principal photography began in March 2023 at
Shadowbox studios
in Atlanta Georgia release jackpot was released by Amazon MGM
Studios through
Prime video on August 15th 2024 reception on the review aggregator
website Rotten Tomatoes 32% of 50 critics reviews are positive with
an
average rating of 4 610 Metacritic which uses a weighted average
assigned the
film a score of 42 out of 100 based on 18 critics indicating mixed
or average
reviews Jack jackpot movie review jackpot is a trashy and repetitive
action comedy about greed and bloodlust set in a world full of
people who are proud to be awful directed by Paul
spy it’s set in near future Los Angeles which begins to seem like a
statement in
itself as the movie goes along there’s a Statewide lottery for some
reason the
state government has decreed that citizens are permitted to hunt and
kill winners to try and take their prize
money a handful of rules govern the hunt one is only those who’ve
purchased a
ticket and lost the draw can take part another rule is no guns
allowed a third
is the hunt can only go on for 24 hours if the original winner has
survived at
the end of that period they get to keep their winnings other than
that anything
goes participants can use knives clubs broken bottles bats chains
rubber hoses
Spears curtain rods mop handles and presumably automobiles though I
don’t
recall anyone trying to run anyone down deliberately which seems
like a strange Omission in retrospect they can hunt
alone or in groups even very large groups Aquafina plays the target
of the
latest hunt Katie Kim a former actress who just returned home from
many years
spent visiting her dying mother in another state her dad died a
while before she didn’t have a good relation
reltionship with either parent we get a bit of detail about her
personal life to explain why she doesn’t know anything
about the California State Lottery turning into a murderous Manhunt
she’s been spending time with her mom no
really that’s the reason and also why she’s worthy of our sympathy
beyond the fact that like other past lottery
winners she doesn’t deserve to be hunted like an animal nobody does
Katie comes
into her own winning ticket purely by accident and doesn’t realize
she has it until until her number comes up during
an audition which she doesn’t get and everybody starts looking at
her like a cartoon wolf staring at a lamb and
imagining lamb chops an entire economy seems to have grown up around
the lottery hunt though the movie only zeros
in on one part the Security Experts who locate winners and offer
them protection
from harm in exchange for a cut of their Fortune John Cena plays one
such
security guard a lovable Bruiser named NL he used to work for a very
successful
Lottery security company run by a snotty badass named Lou Lewis
simio he saves
Katie from Death after the audition when everyone in the building
including other actresses and a gymnasium full of karate
students have turned on her she studied stage fighting but didn’t
learn a lot
her instincts are good but she lacks the moves to survive without
null she’d be
dead meat and without Katie NL would be just another square jaw he
man he’s got
a backstory of course which Katie will gradually pry out of him
written by Rob
yescome whose prior work was mainly on video games jackpot doesn’t
make a lick
of real world sense and it’s not supposed to it has a video game
like repetitiousness and gradual escalation
leading to a big boss Showdown there’s a lot of obviously improvised
comedy that
sometimes lands but more often feels like somebody filmed the
exercises in a comedy performance Workshop it’s all in
service of a movie that’s more half-baked goof than full-blown
satire and it seems committed to not
investigating the deeper implications of the scenario it’s
presenting in which the lottery Hunt is The Logical
outgrowth of a society that seems to have completely given up on
modeling decent values and has decided instead to
monetize the worst human behavior when Katie rents a tiny room from
a website
and realizes when she gets there that it doesn’t look anything like
the pictures online the young woman who rents it
appropriately named shatty Iden myy chirps we used fake photos
because who’s
going to stay here if we don’t early in the movie Katie sees a
hateful stage dad
loudly and profanely griping about his young daughter who just
failed an audition sorry for all the bad words he
tells the kid I only curse when your mom’s being a fgbh ace
character actress Becky Anne
Baker gives us a glimpse of what the movie could have become in her
brief performance as a lady who seems gentle
and kind but is anything but she captures the professional Predators
self-satisfied inward smirk at fooling
somebody who trusts them a marrow deep rottenness that is expressed
through fleeting glimmers in the eyes and that
is visible only to people who know what to look for but with a few
exceptions
the movie’s way shallower than its best character moments we don’t
know what the state gets out of letting people hunt
lottery winners as in The Purge series it seems on its face as if
the cleanup
required the next day would outweigh whatever value the exercise has
in collectively permitting a society to let
off some steam but this is frankly not the kind of movie where you
are supposed to think anything except that was a
pretty funny line or that looks like that must have hurt or cool
stunt there
are seeds here that could have flowered into an audacious action
comedy perhaps perhaps in the vein of Robocop or the
Running Man or Battle Royale I kept thinking of that last one
throughout
jackpot because unlike jackpot it’s so cynical that it has moved
Beyond
bitterness and into a kind of Blas matter of fness and also because
it has an actual Vision rather than a notion
and the action is imaginatively framed lit choreographed and edited
an area of
film making that has never been Fig’s strength or honestly one of
his main areas of Interest though spy had its
Kick-Ass moments such as the kitchen fight the two stars have good
chemistry
they seem to genuinely enjoy being around each other but there’s
nothing in the script that challenges either of
them in the way that James gun challenged Cena in two genuinely
special superhero projects The Suicide Squad and
Peacemaker or that Lulu Wang challenged Aquafina in the farewell for
the most
part this is a lacad isical project that that is an example of the
coarse ins sensibilities it’s making fun of as is
often the case with improv driven movies the outtakes that play
during the end credits are more natural and pleasurable
than the movie jackpot is a 2024 American action comedy directed by
Paul
and penned by Rob yescome a film that boasts an intriguing premise
but
unfortunately falls short of its potential set in the not so distant
future with a state ravished by the ID
iotic socialist policies of its leadership High inflation poor
living conditions sound familiar the story
imagines a world where winning the lottery isn’t just about instant
wealth but about surviving the day as well it’s
a novel idea ripe for both tension and laughs yet the film struggles
to fully
deliver on either front The Narrative centers around Katie Kim a
struggling
actress played by the ever charismatic Aquafina who unexpectedly
wins The Grand
lottery in California the twist California’s new law states that
anyone
holding a losing ticket can legally murder the winner before Sundown
and claim the jackpot it’s a deliciously
dark concept that sets the stage for a wild ride across Los Angeles
think a light-hearted version of The Purge with
Katie forced to team up with NL Cassidy an amateur Lottery
protection agent played by John Cena together they must
Dodge a myriad of quirky dangerous and out right bizarre assassins
all eager to
cash in on Katie’s billion dooll prize Aquafina shines in the role
of Katie
bringing her trademark wit and relatability to a character who feels
out of her depth but determined to
survive her chemistry with John Cena’s null is one of the film’s few
consistent
Delights Cena playing the tough but Goofy protector is clearly in
his element and his physicality adds a layer
of authenticity to the action sequences their partnership albeit
predictable is
engaging and they make for an entertaining Duo as they navigate the
perilous streets of Los Angeles special
shout out to John Cena’s makeup and hair team they are doing
Miracles with that
thinning thatch simu Leu cast as nl’s slick rival Lou Lewis provides
a
compelling foil to Cena’s character however despite his undeniable
screen
presence Liu’s talents are somewhat underutilized with his role
feeling more like an obligatory antagonist rather
than a fully fleshed out character The Supporting Cast including
Iden Mary as
The Eccentric shatty Donald Elise Watkins as the DJ turned hacker
Donald
and Sam asgari as the non-nonsense senior agent Ash all add color to
the film but are often sidelined by the
Relentless pace of the plot Bobby Lee’s Cameo as himself is a brief
but memorable moment injecting a bit of
self-aware humor into the mix visually jackpot impresses with its
well
choreographed action scenes and creative set pieces Paul Fig’s
Direction ensures
that the film moves at a Brisk Pace with moments of genuine suspense
as Katie and NL evade their pursuers the
cinematography captures the sun soaked yet perilous streets of Los
Angeles and the futuristic touches B minimal are
enough to sell the near future setting without overwhelming the
story however
where jackpot stumbles is in its comedic elements for a film
marketed as an
action comedy it surprisingly lacks the sharp humor one would expect
from a fague directed project the jokes often
fall flat and the attempts at satire feel half-hearted leaving the
audience yearning for the biting wit or clever
dialogue that could have elevated the film it’s clear that much of
the humor relies on improvisation particularly
from Aquafina and Cena but without a strong script to back them up
even their
best efforts can’t quite land the punch lines the film also suffers
from a sense
of predictability with the plot unfolding in a rather formulaic
manner it’s as if the movie was crafted by an
algorithm ticking off boxes for Action tension and comedy but
missing the soul
that makes such a story truly engaging there’s an underlying sense
that jackpot
could have been more a sharper script A tighter narrative and a
stronger commitment to its comedic Roots might
have made it a standout in the genre was the script literally
written by AI after
inputting a few prompts jackpot is a film that tantalizes with its
concept
But ultimately underwhelms in execution Aquafina and John Cena do
their best to
breathe life into their roles and there are moments of genuine
excitement but the film’s lackluster humor and by the
Numbers storytelling prevent it from hitting the jackpot it’s so
clearly a spot Ires to be with a score of 5 out of
10 jackpot is a missed opportunity delivering a moderately
entertaining
experience that Fades from memory as quickly as it plays out on
screen other
information about this film the ceiling’s pretty low on the action
comedy category a genre whose biggest
hits tend to Pepper anemic shootouts with Wise Cracks from former
Saturday Night Live stars with Prime video entry
jackpot director Paul switches up the formula crafting stunt
intensive set
pieces where the action itself makes you laugh that could mean
anything from Aquafina Hiding Out Among the wax
figures of a tacky Hollywood museum to the sight of ex- wrestler
John Cena taking on a room of black belts with the
crazy Rich Asians breakout strapped to his back why are people
trying to kill
Aquafina jackpot asks audiences to buy into a clever but often
illogical
premise about a radical rule change to the California lottery in the
year 2030
the winning ticket comes with a price the money is only yours to
keep if you can stay alive till sundown in the
meantime winners must navigate an impromptu Hunger Games on the
streets of Los Angeles in which their winnings
double as a sort of bounty awarded to whoever’s crafty enough to
kill them no
offense to Rob yum who was named one of variety’s screenwriters to
watch last year but that idea is about as far as he
got in in a sloppy screenplay that’s otherwise propped up by
whatever improv the cast could bring and surprisingly
funny fight scenes shows how the states Win Lose Or Die Lottery
works
right out of the gate as that day’s winner scen William Scott tries
to outrun a greedy mob the rules seem
pretty straightforward which makes it hard to swallow that Aquafina
doesn’t know what’s going on when her number is
drawn the comic plays it equal parts orary and oblivious as Katie
Kim a
former child actor who’s not crazy about having to perform again but
has no other
choice after her deadbeat stage Dad ran off with all her earnings
during her
first amusingly humiliating audition she discovers the winning
ticket in her pocket accidentally activates it with
her thumb and the next thing she knows she’s become an instant
celebrity the most valuable person in all of La lucky
for her a freelance bodyguard named NL Cena bursts through the wall
like a muszle bound cool-aid man and starts
knocking heads he’s the near future equivalent of an ambulance
chasing lawyer and a welcome Ally in helping
Katie avoid her fans as the movie calls them turns out not everyone
wants to
kill her but like any good talent agent this guy expects a 10%
commission there
are traces running all through jackpot of a more pointed Hollywood
satire as if
yum or or someone along the way want wanted to skewer Americans
obsession with becoming rich and famous weirdly
enough Katie doesn’t want either she didn’t buy the ticket but found
it in a borrowed pair of gold lame sweat pens
stranger still the movie seems to have landed on the word weird at
the same moment that VP candidate Tim Walls made
it the insult dour adding an unexpected resonance to some of the
movies weaker
Jabs jackpot demands a trickier kind of physical comedy than aqua F
has been
asked to deliver before and even though her character is supposed to
read as clumsy and incompetent it takes
considerable skill to pull off the routines that action
choreographer James Young has in store for her given his WWE
background Cena is far more accustomed to making fake fighting seem
entertaining but once again reminds of
his good sport sense of humor as the scene Steeler did earlier this
year in Ricky stanik 13 years ago struck
comedy gold with the Jud APO produced bridesmaids but he’s
subsequently been hit and miss trying to Edge his way into
other genres most recently with your fantasy flop the school for
good and evil fitting neatly between the Heat and
2016’s Ghostbusters reboot jackpot finds the Dapper director
squarely in his
comfort zone falling back on some of the tricks that worked so well
in Bridesmaids minus the underlying
relatability of that film’s brilliant screenplay the most obvious of
those strategies comes in casting which he
entrusts the secret weapon Allison Jones who’s been unearthing funny
people for him and APO as far back as Freaks and
Geeks it was Jones who brought Seth Roan and Melissa McCarthy into
the mix here
she delivers half a dozen diverse laugh out loud supporting Comics
to The Ensemble from Katie’s insensitive
homicidal airan host Iden Mary to the Shady leader of the Protection
Agency
simul Leu who’s looking to steal nl’s fee for himself she even
enlists Machine
Gun Kelly who proves a self-deprecating good sport in playing a
Panic Room ready
version of himself the jackpot script is full of twists few of which
will come as
a surprise so why spoil them here meanwhile that puts the burden on
how
well Aquafina and Company can punch up their scenes jackpot winds up
being one
of those movies where you can tell the actors tried dozens of jokes
and the editor went with the best ones although
the outtake loaded end credits suggest funnier options often existed
in a way
it’s fitting that Katie’s survival depends on how well she can think
on her feet considering how heavily the film
also relies on improvisation it’s that very skill that stands to
make Aquafina
a millionaire the convenience of watching a tacky flick from the
comfort of your couch without the few dozen Act
ads or overpriced popcorn often softens the blow of subpar Cinema
but not even
the most forgiving of streaming audiences could stomach Amazon
Prime’s latest attempt at an action comedy
jackpot which seems to have emerged fully formed from the smoldering
wreckage of a thousand better ideas the
latest addition to the digital Wasteland of forgettable streaming
content jackpot
attempts to revive the action comedy genre with its uninspired
slapstick dystopia
directed by Paul who guaranteed a certain level of comedic Ingenuity
in his earlier work this fresh Venture is a
shoddy Affair from start to finish seemingly cobbled together from
the detritus of The Purge and Squid game
unfortunately even bridesmaid’s Nostalgia isn’t quite enough to
salvage this pedestrian mess there’s a tragic
irony about jackpot being a film about the Perils of easy money when
it feels
like the script was written on the Fly ostensible for the same
motive the premise while not groundbreaking
certainly held the potential for some trashy fun the film is set in
a dystopian Los Angeles where the economy
has gone the way of the dodo and the only hope for the downtrod in
masses is the grand Lottery a multi-million dollar
jackpot that comes with a rather macabra catch the winner must
survive until sundown while the rest of the city is
given cart blanch to hunt them down if the winner makes it through
the day they they get the jackpot if not the person
who kills them takes home the prize enter Katie Aquafina a washed up
child
star returning to Hollywood after caring for her sick mother a
series of increasingly improbable mishaps lands
her a winning lottery ticket and suddenly she’s the target of every
money hungry resident in the city her only
hope NL John Cena a musclebound protection agent who offers his
services
in exchange for a cut of the winnings the pair bumbles their way
through a series of increasingly absurd scenarios
from fending off crazed yoga instructors to navigating the waxy
Labyrinth of Madame tcads and perhaps most menacing
of all the script’s Relentless barrage of unfunny jokes aquaus Katie
is an odd
mix of naivity and smarts a character designed to be endearing in
her helplessness But ultimately annoying in
her lack of Common Sense watching her stumble from one PA parous
situation to another rarely without some ill-advised
quip or pop culture reference made watching her journey all the more
frustrating Aquafina has more than
proven her comedic chops but here her talents are abysmally
squandered on a character that lacks any real agency or
depth halfway through the chaos you find yourself not rooting for
her survival
but rather hoping she’ll find a quieter corner to hide in where we
can all be spared her innan banter see CA fars
slightly better but even his natural Charisma and knack for physical
comedy can’t Elevate jackpot above its middling
screenplay Cena’s null could have been a real Delight but the
writing consistently lets him down the jokes
rarely land and moments of genuine tension are undercut by poorly
timed gags and an over Alliance on Cena’s
imposing physicality in a more competently made film his role could
have been a Saving Grace while here it’s
nothing but yet another missed opportunity The Supporting Cast
including simu Leu as a shady corporate
security CEO does little to improve matters however hard he tries
Liu’s
character is a one-dimensional villain and then of course there’s
Machine Gun Kelly whose inexplicable Cameo only
serves to produce some disturbing rectal imagery and to remind us
how bgrade the
production really is the less said about that the better perhaps the
film’s most
laring flaw is how Fig’s Direction swings erratically between
chaotic action sequences and poorly time forced
humor creating a disjointed viewing experience the action is
frantically edited to the point of incoherence with
fight scenes that feel more like a flurry of Limbs making it hard to
follow who’s fighting who or what’s at stake
meanwhile the film’s attempts at satire are clumsy and superficial
leaving us with nothing more than a collection of
shallow Jabs at consum consumer culture by the time the credits roll
accompanied
by the obligatory blooper reel which turned out to be significantly
more entertaining jackpot ends up as yet
another forgettable streaming entry destined to be lost in the
algorithmic shuffle if you’re looking for a Mindless
way to kill a couple of hours there are far worse ways to spend your
time but only just more details in the Prime
video film jackpot the state of California implements a new new kind
of Lottery where the winner makes a
lifechanging amount of cash but only if they can stay alive within
the borders of Los Angeles until sundown The Twist
is that every other ticket holder can still claim the jackpot for
themselves if they can manage to kill the winner
within that time frame turning each Lotto drawing into a crazed
Citywide
Manhunt set in the 2030s when the US economy is worse than ever and
homeless
camps litter the streets jackpot has a log line that sounds like it
should come from a new Purge sequel or maybe a
lowbudget thriller that finally draws John Carpenter out of
retirement instead
it arrives as a loud crass and deeply unfunny comedy courtesy of
Bridesmaids
and Ghostbusters 2016 director Paul it’s tough to recall another
recent
example where a filmmaker and his material are so disastrously
mismatched and the end result is catastrophic for
everyone involved in Jackpot Aquafina plays Katie Kim a former child
actor who
returns to California to have another go at a Hollywood career after
her ailing mother who she had been caring for back
in Michigan passes away in the first of the film’s many senseless
contrivances
Katie isn’t even aware that the state has a new kind of Lottery that
activates the blood lust of nearly all of Los
Angeles so she’s completely befuddled when she accidentally
activates a ticket she finds in a borrowed piece of
clothing is declared the winner and suddenly finds herself being
attacked by almost every person she comes in contact
with all assaults are up close and personal as guns are banned by
the Lottery’s rules one of the few people
not trying to kill her is John Cena’s null a protection agent who
will work to
keep her alive until sundown for a standard 10% of her winnings a
very
confused Katie is reluctant to accept his offer at first but
eventually comes to rely on null espe once a bigger
shadier and much more corporate protection agency led by an old
military
buddy of nolles played by simu is drawn into their mad Scramble for
riches based
on that summation you might assume that jackpot turns into a bloody
gorist but
you’d be wrong the movie states its intentions in the first few
moments when the on-screen text that establishes the
film’s Universe and rules ends with some people call it dystopian
but the those
people are no fun working from a script by Rob yescome fig severely
downplays
the violent implications of the story to instead tell a light
Hollywood satire stuffed with jokes that range from
terrible there’s a character who’s a DJ named DJ to a life force
draining level
of dreadful at one point Machine Gun Kelly seemingly just playing
his current
day self even though the movie is set at least 6 years into the
future mistakenly
thinks Cena wants to have sex with him and says you would turn my
into the eye of saon so let’s not go on that
Fellowship of my ring an end of Movie blooper real reveals that
other equally
bad options were considered for that retort while also proving that
you can’t get away from jackpot as juvenile sex
jokes even once you’ve suffered through to the credits additionally
there are fart jokes Shar jokes the insinuation
that two supporting characters had sex with a wax Recreation of the
wizard of Oz’s tinman and a lame recurring bit
about how Cena’s character is unreasonably obsessed with the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles if this is what
counts for fun I’ll happily trade it back in for a standard issue
gloomy dystopia please almost every aspect of
jackpot feels like a misfire either for tonal or story- based
reasons why a
lottery that includes the attempted murder of the winner proves to
be a bigger Money Maker than the regular
Lottery is never addressed and while I don’t disagree that culture
has stagnated it’s weird to see a movie
supposedly set in a more hellish near future continually dropping
lazy pop culture references in addition to the
TMNT thing and Machine Gun Kelly being around there are shout outs
to Star Wars
The Karate Kid the Kardashians and more it’s genuinely mystifying
even worse
it’s annoying early on in the movie Katie is forced to deal with a
ditsy air
renter named shatty Iden Mary who quickly makes a strong case for
being the most irritating and unwelcome
character in a film this year Cena and Leu the latter of whom must
be desperately waiting for Marvel to get
him back on the schedule end up in a screaming match about lacas
sparkling water at one point things aren’t much
better on the action side of this action comedy again it’s a story
choice to have
the film’s events play out as silly instead of violent because the
Lottery Commission has drones that follow Katie
around and Report her location at regular intervals she and NL are
constantly under attack by young punks
wannabe actors no so kindly grandmas and anyone else who’s within
grabbing
distance of a knife or Hatchet however Katie and NL two people the
movie
continually insists are among the few good people left in a world
gone mad refus to respond in kind typically
disarming and incapacitating their foes as pleasantly as possible at
one point
Cena puts a helmet on an attacker before tossing them out of their
moving vehicle because he doesn’t want them to sustain
a head injury Katie is surprisingly effective at fending off hordes
of greedy Maniacs although the movie’s
explanation that it’s because she once took a stunt fighting class
feels like everything else exceedingly flimsy the
fights themselves are slap sticky the kind of throw Downs you’d see
in a jackiechan film but without some someone
as skilled as Chan gracefully centering the action and holding the
frame the film’s ideas about the struggle to
remain a good person when times are bad and how the government will
play us all against each other for its own gain are
so simple basic and non-committal that no real thematic through line
is ever
able to emerge as a result jackpot could be looked at as an allegory
for fame and
instant stardom all the people trying to kill Katie to claim the
jackpot are labeled as fans and Katie’s face is
suddenly on every screen in the city but that feels inconsequential
and unprobed as well probably because the filmmakers
were more concerned about fitting in another couple of butthole
jokes all of this is to say Aquafina and Cena have
both done far better work elsewhere there are exactly two jokes here
that got me to faintly smile the first is
when Aquafina tells Cena he looks like a bulldog that a witch cast a
spell on and
turn turned into a human against his will pretty accurate that and
then near
the end of the movie Aquafina makes a crack about acting being a
worthless Endeavor as wrestlers and
YouTubers are movie stars now it’s an easy joke about her and Cena’s
more
humble Origins and it’s likely less clever than the best joke from
any randomly selected Deadpool scene but
considering the laugh free 90 plus minutes that preceded it this
moderately amusing self referential crack felt like
discovering an oasis after spending ages lost in the desert the
movie might be called jackpot but no one is leaving
this one a winner and homage to the great International action
comedy star from screenwriter rob yescom a video
game Rider designer now turning to the big screen this over-the-top
fenetic stew not only lacks Chan to make it hum
it also lacks any sense of credibility in order to keep us engaged
with its absurd premise
set in a decaying Los Angeles Atlanta subs for it in 2026 2 years
from now
when the filmmakers Apparently think America has gone to hell we are
introduced right from the start to the
Grand Lottery a contest that promises Untold riches to whoever can
survive
actually winning it and avoid being killed by the Rabid citizenry
but if they succeed in knocking you off within
24 hours they will get the money promised by your ticket think of it
as sort of a comedic Purge
thus rugged Man seen William Scott is in a battle for his life that
ends when a kindly older woman Dolly Delon succeeds
in offing him and thereby is greeted by Johnny Grand Murray Hill the
flashy MC
of the lottery who arrives at her doorstep with a check for $22
million cut to 2030 and the game is
still on this time for an unsuspecting former Child Star Katie
Aquafina who is
down and depressed by lack of acting roles and now only recognized
for an old spaghettio commercial as she arrives
back in Hollywood staying at an air Beany run by shatty Iden Mary
another
aspiring actress things go from bad to worse when sewage from the
Upper Floor apartment leaks all over her clothes
forcing her to pay for the use of shatty less than attractive
wardrobe in time to get to an audition to turn her life
around unbeknown to her a grand lottery ticket is still in one of
the pockets
and as she leaves the disastrous audition it goes off and she is
holding the winning prize and immediately is
identified as the winner of the $3.6 billion pot all the other
hopefuls in
the casting office start to attack her leading to another Showdown
with a group of black belts nearby she then
relentlessly is pursued through the city even watched by overhead
drones among
those out to kill her is shatty who rightly feels it was her ticket
and even the nice old woman Becky Anne Baker
Katie met on the bus is on her tail you get the impression everyone
in La is a
greedy potential Hitman in search of the person whose luck isn’t so
lucky coming
to the rescue is a well-meaning protector NL John Cena who offers to
help her survive in return for a cut of
her winnings they get into all sorts of peril Katie conveniently has
no end of
martial arts skills before nl’s very slick competition Lou Lewis
simu
noticing she has some ACE survival instincts comes in for a piece of
the action with his large staff and much
more professional Lottery protection company Katie won’t buy into it
until he also promises NL a generous portion as
well turns out Lewis really is just out for himself and has no
intention of
letting Katie live so all bets are off as hell on Earth truly breaks
out for
Katie and null disappointingly Paul the comedy Maestro of the likes
of
Bridesmaids spy the eat a simple favor and the all female
Ghostbusters directs
this zaniness but fails to Rin it in for at least the first 40
minutes or so
which plays like a roadrunner cartoon one near Miss after another it
is exhausting before the non-stop action
stops to take a breath and we get any semblance of character
development by then it really is too late there is an
occasional moment or two that might qualify as clever notably a set
piece inside a Hollywood bull Boulevard wax
museum where the combatants use the celebrity figures As Weapons
including Kim Kardashian’s head but it doesn’t get
much better than that folks Aquafina takes on the jackiechan style
role and