REVIEW: ‘The Pickup’ Lets Keke Palmer Flex Her Action Skills

Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along), The Pickup blends a familiar heist setup with a mix of comedic sensibilities pulled from three different generations of performers. Eddie Murphy plays Russell, a veteran armored truck driver who knows his routes and routines like the back of his hand. Pete Davidson’s Travis is his younger, less-polished partner, the kind of guy who can hold his own in a conversation but is far from a seasoned professional.

Their workday takes a hard left when they cross paths with Zoe (Keke Palmer), a confident, quick-thinking mastermind whose crew has been planning a very targeted score. What should have been a straightforward job turns into an escalating mix of banter, chaos, and calculated risks, all set against the kind of explosive action comedy Prime Video has been leaning into lately.

On paper, this is the kind of movie you put on at home because of who’s in it, and in that respect, it doesn’t disappoint. Murphy, Palmer, and Davidson bring very different comedic rhythms to the table — Murphy’s deliberate timing, Palmer’s fast-talking wit, and Davidson’s dry, offbeat delivery.

The interplay works because director Story knows how to let each actor work in their comfort zone without stepping on the others’ moments. The chemistry isn’t about blending styles into one voice; it’s about letting them bounce off each other in ways that make even simple exchanges land.

The Pickup is a movie to watch at home, and it succeeds there.

The story also surprises with the amount of action packed into the runtime. There are more practical-looking explosions and large-scale set pieces than you’d expect from a premise that could have easily stayed small and dialogue-heavy. The film never tips into full action-thriller territory, but these sequences give Palmer room to flex her action skills and let Murphy show he can still move with purpose when the scene calls for it.

The balance between comedy and action feels intentional: this isn’t an action movie with jokes, but it’s also not a pure comedy with a couple of chases thrown in. Prime Video has been quietly building a lane for itself with slick-looking, Western-made action comedies, and The Pickup fits right in.

Where the movie starts to wobble is in how it handles Zoe’s motivation. Underneath the absurdity of the setup, there’s a clear “stick it to the rich” streak to the heist. The script even calls out, in a tongue-in-cheek way, that Zoe has been trained in combat and precision driving since childhood, specifically for this moment. It’s a fun character detail, but the film treats it more like a quick justification to make her “not a total bad guy” rather than something that deepens her arc.

Small character details are where The Pickup excels; exposition is where it doesn’t.

Instead of leaning into the subtext and letting Palmer’s character carry a sharper edge, the movie uses it as a quick detour before jumping back to the action beats. That choice keeps the pacing brisk but leaves a missed opportunity for a little more bite in what could’ve been a standout motivation reveal.

The supporting cast is stacked, but not all of them get the screen time they deserve. Eva Longoria shines in the limited moments she has, bringing a mix of charm and sharp delivery that makes you wish she had more to do. Given her track record with both comedy and action, her presence feels like untapped potential. Marshawn Lynch, credited as “Chop Shop,” is another missed opportunity.

He has a natural on-screen presence and has already proven he can handle comedic timing, but here he’s in and out in under two scenes. Killing him off so quickly feels like a waste of an actor who could have brought some memorable energy to the heist crew.

There are moments where the generational mix of humor feels like the movie’s biggest strength. Murphy, still razor-sharp with his line delivery, grounds the film with a classic, confident style. Davidson plays to his strengths, never overreaching, and works well with Murphy as the generational foil.

Palmer not only holds her own but often steals the spotlight, showing she can flip between comedy and action without losing momentum. Watching her navigate both verbal sparring and high-speed set pieces makes a strong case for seeing her in more action-heavy roles.

This Prime Video title is worth watching just for the cast.

Tim Story’s direction keeps things moving without getting bogged down in unnecessary subplots. His background in balancing ensemble casts and mixing action with comedy shows here — the pacing never drags, and even when the script doesn’t dig as deep as it could, the energy stays up. The heist itself isn’t reinventing the wheel, but the film treats it as a platform for the personalities involved rather than hinging everything on the mechanics of the crime.

As a complete package, The Pickup is exactly what it promises: a star-driven, easy-to-watch streaming movie that delivers enough laughs and spectacle to make the time worthwhile. It’s not setting up to be the next big heist franchise, and honestly, it doesn’t need to be.

What it does do is remind you that Keke Palmer is more than just a comedic performer, Pete Davidson can adapt to almost any comedic partner without losing his style, and Eddie Murphy can still land a joke like its second nature. Solidly entertaining and occasionally sharper than expected, The Pickup works best when it’s letting its cast do what they do best. The story may not leave you begging for a sequel, but it does leave you glad these three got to share the screen and that Tim Story gave them a playground worth watching.

The Pickup is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.