Will society ever tire of the idiot plot? Probably not as long as there are more movies to be made and more idiots to satisfy. And until then, we will always see movies where the one cop is about to retire but the iffy rookie we have good reason not to trust makes us believe for some reason.
Oh, I suppose these guys aren’t cops; they’re armored car drivers. Well, that just makes a world of difference, doesn’t it?
The film opens with the bad guy, Zoe (Keke Palmer, who has been quite busy of late), seducing the rookie partner, Travis (Pete Davidson). Do they not train armored car people on this stuff? I gotta believe part of armored car training is not giving away secrets about the car, the route, the loot, or the schedule. And, even if there were not rules about these things, it just seems like common sense, no?
Let’s back up: I know our standards on secrecy are currently down the toilet. I know we have a President who gives away the farm at the first sign of flattery. I know this is the example we have been set from above. But, secretly, we all know Trump is an idiot, right? And we all know it is stupid to give sensitive information away, especially if you have a job in which that information -once given- could get you killed, right?
Yeah, I’m talking to a brick wall.
Suffice to say, Travis sleeps with Zoe after she’s already bled him for information. For whatever reason, Travis is actually surprised that he’s been used when Zoe’s gang attacks his armored car. And he’s still so into Zoe that he’s willing to forgive her. Ummmm, you don’t really understand the “being used” part of this equation, do you? Meanwhile, Travis has a partner in Russell (Eddie Murphy) who is -what is the biggest cliché we can go with here? I know! – a full thirty seconds from retirement because of course he is.
There’s a lot of “huh?” going on in this film, including the part where the armored car is out-of-range communication-wise for a healthy period of time. Yeah, even if that were slightly true, nobody has a Satellite phone? Oh, but get this, the quarry for the robbery is not the loot within, but the truck itself, as if the theft couldn’t possibly be relayed ahead of time for its ultimate objective. Yeah, forget it, pal. Even
so, I was kinda floored at the part where the robbers admitted to planning this job for two years. Really?! Because it seems like you planned this whole movie over an extended brunch.
This is a dumb film with a dumb plot, but two potentially likable leads. Are they likable here? Not really. And this was before the movie turned self-congratulatory. You know, The Pickup, good Netflix offerings actually come out in theaters. What’s your excuse?
It’s not that I found the material here unpalatable. They had a little bit of a plot; they made a Netflix movie. What gets me is that each of the leads here: Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson were both at one time in their lives considered the funniest man in the country. So, what? Now you’re both mediocre actors? I know both of you have made thespian strides, but truth? We liked you better as comedians.
There was once a vet driver named Russell
Who wanted to end his career of loot bustle
But his partner, the noob
Was kind of a boob
So this last job was gonna require muscle
Rated R, 94 Minutes
Director: Tim Story
Writer: Kevin Burrows, Matt Mider
Genre: Armored car hijinks
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: How much do you love Pete Davidson?
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: How much do you love Pete Davidson?
