Feig's primary influences seem to be "Idiocracy," "The Purge," and Looney Tunes--and he is undoubtedly correct in assuming that this unholy mix will hit some people’s sweet spot.

| Sep 27, 2024

An action-comedy that lacks intoxicating fight scenes and genuine punchlines, this feature is less than the sum of its parts even as it turns Los Angeles’ make-or-break culture into a dystopian murder game.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 23, 2024

Another familiar dystopia wrings laughs thanks to a stellar cast.

| Aug 22, 2024

With Paul Feig directing, this should be a brash, exuberantly violent blast of chaotic hilarity. But enthusiastic mugging and gurning from the cast can’t hide a feeble, flailing screenplay that clings to its single idea like a lifebelt.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 19, 2024

Paul Feig is mostly back on form with a likeable, frantic, murderous, madcap money-grab of a high-concept comedy. It could be funnier, but it rarely stops for breath.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 16, 2024

The film’s writer Rob Yescombe has a background in video games, and much of the story unfolds out like a cut Playstation scene that never gets to the point.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 16, 2024

Jackpot! is so shrill, so frantic that it doesn’t let you turn your mind off. Instead, it grates on the brain.

| Aug 16, 2024

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.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 16, 2024

There is almost nothing here – bar two admittedly decent performances from Awkwafina and Cena – that warrants any kind of attention.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 16, 2024

A sloppy screenplay that’s otherwise propped up by whatever improv the cast could bring and surprisingly funny fight scenes.

| Aug 15, 2024

“Jackpot!” does not quite stick the landing. Directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Rob Yescombe, the movie sustains an admirably zany energy, though its jokes often feel underwritten.

| Aug 15, 2024

A different movie would turn that high concept into dark social comment. Director Paul Feig instead whips up a dayglo melee of axe battles, absurdist pop culture references and countless blows to many testicles.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 15, 2024

It’s basically just a lot of running, screaming, car chases and creative weaponry.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 15, 2024

"Jackpot!” is a joyously goofy hoot of a movie with a killer cast. Think “The Purge” meets “Hunger Games.” But funny. Really.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 15, 2024

There’s way too much smash-crash-bash, and action isn’t exactly a Feig forte... But Cena is such a comedic treat, you almost don’t mind.

| Aug 15, 2024

It’s amiably disordered but the high-concept always feels like a ridiculous goof, and its predictable machinations grow increasingly tiresome. Still, this is the rare film where you can say Machine Gun Kelly is a surprisingly perfect tonal fit.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 14, 2024

Awkwafina and Cena share an authenticity that can withstand the artificiality pervading this comedy hinging on the idea of a “Purge”-like “grand lottery”...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 14, 2024

Awkwafina is a lottery winner in a future version of Los Angeles. John Cena is her protector from the hordes who want to kill her for the money. And this movie is a tedious amalgam of things you’ve already seen.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Aug 14, 2024

Rob Yescombe’s screenplay features an ingenious premise and enough genuinely funny lines to make the film more than a guilty pleasure...

| Aug 14, 2024

Jackpot! is an unwieldy product – the dystopian buy-in too steep, the look too sterile, the silly bits jarring rather than disarming, the action occasionally choppy.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 14, 2024