Jackpot! (2024) review

Following the Great Depression of 2026 (just a short time from now!), the state of California is bankrupt and its citizens are broke and jobless, so every year they run a lottery to see who wins the jackpot (in this case it's $3.6 billion) but the "winner" can be hunted down and killed (without bullets) before sunset, so the instant aspiring actress Katie (Awkwafina) gets it, everyone in town is out to chop her up, with the exception of professional bodyguard Noel (John Cena), who offers protective services (in exchange for 10% of the earnings).  It's pretty easy to root for both Awkwafina and Cena - two of the more likeable talents from the YouTuber and wrestler realms - although aside from a precious few clever one-liners this "comedic" riff on John Wick grows stale very quickly, especially when it comes to the non-stop fighting and chase sequences which fail to provide any sort of "thrill" (it doesn't help that the "fisticuffs" clearly look coordinated).  The brief cameo by Machine Gun Kelly (as "himself") is fun, though: if the guy chooses to stop making music, the movies could always use a heavily-inked human scarecrow.