JACKPOT! Review: John Cena, Awkwafina Have Sweet Chemistry in This Forgettable Film

In the near dystopian future of 2030, there is a chance for residents to win the lottery in the midst of an economic downturn but there’s a catch – winners must stay alive till sundown in order to cash in on the prize. When residents go on a killing spree to land the multi-billion dollar jackpot, accidental winner Katie Kim takes the help of lottery protection agent Noel Cassidy to save herself from the hordes in order to get her cash prize.

Written by Rob Yescombe, the film has a runtime of 104 minutes.

JACKPOT! Review

It’s surprising that with Los Angeles devolved into a The Purge-esq dystopia, Awkwafina’s Katie has no idea what winning the lottery means and why everyone wants to kill her. You’d expect such a violent situation to hit global news with everyone around the world weighing in and discussing the pros, cons and beyond. Her absolute blank-faced stare at people throwing knives at her, thus, feels far-fetched and impossible and it’s also equally frustrating that she doesn’t seem to catch on until Cena’s Noel fills her in on the gritty details. They discuss this problem but the excuse is as childish as you’d expect and completely impossible.

There’s nothing wrong with the concept of this film; in fact, I like chaotic and silly films that play with stuff like this. However, the problem with this movie is that it is frustratingly stupid and its characters seem to catch on to basic rules and environments at a very slow pace. Our protagonist, Katie, mostly acts like a headless chicken who can’t seem to function without the help of her helper and it gets a little annoying after a bit. Awkwafina is oddly good at being this frantic headless chicken but as the protagonist, you start to resent her after a bit – ADAPT KATIE!

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Katie’s character is so helpless that it feels like she has absolutely no agency. At some point, in spite of Noel telling her that everyone is after the money, she decides to constantly trust other people instead of taking his help. She fumbles tremendously as a result but you don’t feel any sympathy because her lack of common sense and understanding of the precarious situation that she is in irritates you to no end.

However, Cena is the best part of this odd film – he’s funny and fits right into the storyline. His character is more palatable and clear-headed and you like following him. I love watching Cena in these silly movies, he’s really entertaining and plays Noel really well. The silliest lines make sense for him because he otherwise makes smart decisions in this time of uncertainty. Otherwise, the comedy is extremely amateurish and forgettable – it doesn’t make you laugh but the situations are quite funny and Awkwafina and John Cena have a really warm and fun chemistry that makes it palatable.

Final Thoughts

This manic and frenzied film is exhausting to watch after a while, especially because the characters and situations make very little sense. There’s also comedy in there somewhere but Katie is just insufferable to watch and that takes away half the fun. This isn’t a “fun-bad” film and although there are moments that are entertaining, they aren’t enough to last for around 2 hours.

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