<em>'The Pickup'</em> ended up being better than I thought it was going to be early on. Still not a good movie, mind you. Obviously the writing et al. lets this one down just as much, but it was more visually that made me care less about it - it's an ugly film, especially 'inside' that damn truck. The world of film didn't feel lived in either, namely on that long highway; I know they mention it'll be a "ghost town" but that's a cop-out. The pairing, meanwhile, of Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson is narrowly passable, albeit arguably. Davidson is the better, Murphy underwhelms. Keke Palmer is the star of this particular show, her performance gave the flick the required energy anyway. Eva Longoria is alright, at least for the forgettable role that she is given. The characters of Jack Kesy and Ismael Cruz Córdova are exactly that too, despite having potential to be decent. It's the ending that stopped me from disliking this 2025 release. It holds enough action that I was satisifed with what I was watching. There was some hope for this, I could see glimpses of goodness throughout (e.g. that Clark gag is good), but all in all it's real meh.