MATCHBOX THE MOVIE
Starring: John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, Teyonah Parris, Danai Gurira, Golshifteh Farahani, Bill Camp, Daniel Bernhardt, Kristofer Hivju, and Corey Stoll
Director: Sam Hargrave
NICK
Were it not for the level of violence shown within the film, Matchbox the Movie could make for a serviceable movie for kids. Instead, you get something filled with tropes and clichés that feels like it was written by children yet isn’t meant for them. The performances are average (director Sam Hargrave has John Cena reverting to his Marine days), the script feels wholly unoriginal, and the film doesn’t even really take advantage of the Matchbox aspect aside from one notable car chase. It’s IP for the sake of IP. No one was asking for this and turns out they were right not to.
ROBERT
Movies based on toy properties can reach significant heights (Barbie) or incredible nadirs (Battleship), depending on the filmmaker’s vision and how the universe building is handled; Matchbox the Movie ended up in the lower middle tier. I thought the man behind Extraction would craft something more thrilling, but instead, he made a dime store Fast and Furious film with some nods to Central Intelligence. I give grace to John Cena in his big screen endeavors, but this felt beneath him, along with most of the cast as it lacked creativity, comedy, and memorable action. Your old cars in the attic might be more fun.
