The Pickup (dir. Tim Story)

by Jack Martin | Aug 6, 2025

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 94 mins

UK Distributor: Prime Video

UK Release Date: 6 August 2025

WHO’S IN THE PICKUP?

Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, Eva Longoria, Andrew Dice Clay, Marshawn Lynch, Jack Kesy, Roman Reigns, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Jef Holbrook

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Tim Story (director, producer), Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider (writers), John Davis, John Fox, Charisse Hewitt-Webster and Eddie Murphy (producers), Christopher Lennertz (composer), Larry Blanford (cinematographer), Craig Alpert (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A pair of mismatched armoured truck drivers (Murphy and Davidson) are drawn into a criminal plot…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE PICKUP?

In 1982, Eddie Murphy – known then as a featured player on Saturday Night Live – made his film debut in 48 Hrs, in which he played a wise-cracking comic counterpart to Nick Nolte’s grizzled, world-weary detective. While The Pickup, from director Tim Story, is of course in no way affiliated with the classic Walter Hill-directed buddy caper, there is something of a full-circle moment here as it is now Murphy who’s the older, more worn-down straight man, while his comic foil is – funnily enough – a much younger SNL breakout, this time in the form of Pete Davidson.

The key difference between the two movies, though, is that 48 Hrs was not only funny but also utilised its mismatched pair pretty well (until Another 48 Hrs came along), whereas The Pickup lacks both the comedy and chemistry of Murphy’s breakout film, despite some pretty impressive action to counteract its much weaker moments.

Taking place throughout the course of a single day, The Pickup stars Murphy and Davidson as Russell and Travis respectively, a pair of armoured truck drivers who are partnered for a routine pickup of numerous cash and valuables across New Jersey. Russell, a veteran driver, is planning to retire and open a bed-and-breakfast with his wife Natalie (Eva Longoria), with a nice evening planned later in the day for their 25th anniversary. Travis, on the other hand, is less experienced and not all that bright, having failed the cop exam and is in hot water with his volatile boss (played, almost too easily, by Andrew Dice Clay) for an opening incident that… well, let’s save that for later.

On their route, the two are accosted by a group of criminals led by Zoe (Keke Palmer) – who, as it so happens, had a calculated one-night stand with Travis the night before – and are forced to participate in a heist that will net them $60 million from an Atlantic City casino. But are things really all that they seem to be? Actually, they kind of are, because The Pickup is surprisingly straightforward in its narrative, offering few twists and turns that make it any different from so many other movies of its calibre, and leaving it a redundant carbon copy of examples too numerous to mention. The script, credited to Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, also doesn’t offer much with these characters either, who again just feel like bargain-bin versions of classic duos like Riggs and Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon, without the intrigue or spark of either one.

Nor does it retain the actual fun, as very rarely you’ll find yourself laughing during this film, if at all. It’s saying something about the state of this film’s comedy when the film opens with Pete Davidson’s Travis pointing a gun at a person of colour who is simply handing them a harmless note… the joke, I guess, being that racial profiling is funny? Davidson’s over-the-top mugging and screaming (a momentum he unfortunately keeps up for the rest of the movie) is certainly being played for laughs, even though it’s a weird thing to make a joke about, especially in a scene when we’re being introduced to one of the main heroes. Admittedly, there are repercussions for this moment, and it is brought up negatively later on by other characters, but as an opening statement for what kind of comedy the viewer is in store for, it’s troubling to say the least.

Not even Murphy, a certified comedy legend, is able to get many laughs out of this material. He’s cast in the straight-man role, which already limits his natural comedic charm, but it also gives him very little to do other than acting sardonic opposite his livelier (albeit too lively) co-star. There are parts when Murphy manages to come to life, but they are fleeting in a performance that is much duller than some of his more recent turns. It’s left to Keke Palmer to provide some kind of humanity, and she is charismatic enough to sell what little there is of her own character, though not even she gets that many chances to deliver some funny lines or participate in some of the “wilder” jokes – a term used very loosely, as the most frequent running gag is one about a taxidermized squirrel, which should tell you all you need to know about the kind of comedy on display here.

While it largely fails as a comedy, The Pickup is much more halfway decent as an action movie. There are some rather well-shot driving sequences where cars are flipping over and creating sparks as they drift around corners, with impressive stunt work and choreography to go along with it. Off the road, there are a few set-pieces that generate a nice bit of mild tension, including the casino heist itself which, while of course nowhere near as sophisticated or stylish as your average Ocean’s Eleven movie, shows that director Story, for all his many other faults, can still pace a scene competently as and when he wants to. Granted, there are times when the action gets lost in the mix, especially a couple of car stunts during the climax that are clearly coated in fake-looking CGI, as well as some obvious green-screen effects that similarly take you out of the moment, but by and large there’s at least something passable in the action department.

But it’s not enough to save The Pickup from being a redundant, largely unfunny slog that wastes genuine comedic talent on material that just feels like filler streaming content rather than its own product. You’d instead be better off watching 48 Hrs, aka the much funnier Eddie Murphy buddy action-comedy.

SO, TO SUM UP…

The Pickup is an action-comedy that’s more successful with its action than its comedy, but despite some impressive stunt work and mild suspense, director Tim Story wastes comedic talents like Eddie Murphy and Keke Palmer on redundant material that makes you want to watch many other movies like it instead.