Jackpot: Latest John Cena movie shows struggle to win over critics

(WTAJ) — John Cena might be one of the most beloved professional wrestlers of all time, but that doesn’t seem to be translating to Hollywood lately, at least not with movie critics.

Jackpot , Cena’s latest direct-to-streaming movie on Amazon Prime, has kept up a streak for the wrestler-turned-actor. Cena’s past few movies, regardless of where they stream, have rather horrendous critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. He hasn’t had a “certified fresh” movie since “The Suicide Squad” in 2021.

In his latest outing, he teams up with Awkwafina and Simu Liu — of Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” — where he spends the movie trying to protect Awkwafina after she wins a $3 billion lottery. The catch is, she must survive until sundown. Anyone who kills her will claim the winnings.

“[Paul] Feig and screenwriter Rob Yescombe deliver a crudely executed and painfully unfunny comedy that has all the subtlety of a heart attack,” Dolcie Pearce with The Sun (UK) wrote in their review.

The film is just the latest Cena film to be panned by critics. While a number of his films have better ratings from the audience score, Jackpot failed to break the 40 percent mark with 100+ reviews already in from registered audience members.

Cena took to X to share an Amazon post about Jackpot being the number-one movie on Prime worldwide and thank everyone.

“ Thank you to audiences globally who have spent their time with us for this crazy thrill-ride we call Jackpot! My congratulations to everyone in front of and behind the camera who “gambled” to make #JackpotMovie come to life. “

John Cena on X .

“ Vacation Friends ” (2021) featuring Cena and comedian Lil Rel Howery (streaming on Hulu) narrowly missed a fresh rating at 57 percent, but the sequel in 2023 tanked with critics, coming in at only 19 percent.

Speaking of Cena and Hulu, the 2023 film “ Freelance ” co-starring Alison Brie, of “Community” fame, didn’t do anyone any favors, seeing critics tear apart the action film with an abysmal 10 percent. However, that’s not the worst, according to Rotten Tomatoes. The 2011 movie “The Reunion” came in at only eight percent from critics.

“ Ricky Stanicky ,” streaming on Amazon Prime and co-starring Zac Efron, is another example of critics and audience members disagreeing. While critic reviews weren’t overly pleasant and it only got 45 percent on the tomato meter, with over 1,000 audience reviews, it sits at 71 percent — Hey, that’s still a passing “D” grade in most schools.

John Cena is no stranger though when it comes to detractors. For most of his WWE career, adult fans were eager to boo and hate him when his music hit, but he was also one of the most beloved by the younger generation and always strived to be a role model. Eventually, even the haters began to love him these past few years.

The question stands though: Can he make the critics turn and hand him a few more wins?

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It should be noted though that one of Cena’s highest-rated roles, certified fresh, is the MAX series “ Peacemaker ,” based on his role in The Suicide Squad. Season one sits at 93 percent with critics and 81 percent with fans with season two reportedly coming out in 2025.

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