If you were making a wishlist for who to cast in an upcoming action comedy movie, there’s a pretty good chance that Eddie Murphy would be near the top of it. After all, he’s starred in some of the best and most popular examples of the genre ever, not least in the form of Beverly Hills Cop.
Now, decades later, he’s enjoying something of a resurgence (or his bank balance certainly must be, at least). Amazon is keeping that gravy train on the rails with a new trailer for The Pickup, which stars Murphy and will hit Prime Video on 6 August. It looks like ridiculous fun, if you want more frivolity in your life.
Murphy plays Russell, a cash transporter who’s on the cusp of retiring for an easier life. His partner Travis is played by Pete Davidson in his signature laconic style, but they both stumble into a really messy scenario when their armoured truck is hijacked by a mysterious criminal.
Once she reveals her face, though, things get a little clearer. She’s Zoe, played by the irrepressible Keke Palmer, and her and Travis had a fling just the previous night, all of which comes into question now that she’s holding them hostage. Under the threat of some terrible retribution, she gets them to help her rob a casino for millions of dollars – or at least, that’s what the trailer implies.
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It might be obvious, from the summary I’ve given above, that this is one of those trailers that starts to feel like it’s running through the entire plot of a movie in just a couple of minutes. Hopefully there are still plenty of surprises in the full movie, though, which won’t be with us for a couple of months.
Murphy is a seasoned performer, so he can be relied on, but it’s fair to say that Davidson looks like he could be in interesting form here – a couple of the deliveries in the trailer aren’t exactly stellar, and they’re presumably the highlight reel. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt until The Pickup is out, though, not least because he remains extremely likeable.
