“Matchbox: The Movie: key art featuring Arturo Castro, Teyonah Paris, Jessica Biel, John Cena and Sam Richardson.
Apple TV
Matchbox: The Movie, John Cena’s action comedy inspired by Mattel’s classic toy car line, is being towed to the movie junkyard by Rotten Tomatoes’ critics.
Directed by Sam Hargrave (Extraction), Matchbox the Movie begins streaming on Apple TV on Thursday. Cena stars as Sean, an undercover CIA agent who returns to his small hometown to reunite with his best friends from childhood, only to have them swept up with him on an intense global pursuit to save the world when a nuclear warhead goes missing.
Rated PG-13, Matchbox: The Movie also stars Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, Arturo Castro, Danai Gurira, Bill Camp, Kristofer Hivju and Corey Stoll.
The review embargo for Matchbox: The Movie lifted at 12 p.m. PT/9 a.m. PT on Thursday and currently the film has earned a 20% “rotten” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 10 reviews. RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are still pending.
Matchbox: The Movie is the latest film inspired by a Mattel toy line in recent years. Director Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was a massive hit with critics and audiences, earning an 88% “fresh” critics’ score on RT and $1.447 billion at the worldwide box office.
The latest Mattel-inspired movie, 2026’s Masters of the Universe, was not as lucky, earning a 68% “fresh” critics’ score on RT and $113.7 million in global ticket sales.
Note: The RT critics’ score for “Matchbox: The Movie” will be adjusted as more reviews are posted on the site.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Matchbox: The Movie’?
Brandon Yu of The New York Times is among RT’s critics who give Matchbox: The Movie a “rotten” score, writing, “This adaptation of a brand lacking a distinct conceptual identity was perhaps always doomed.”
Simon Abrams of AV Club isn’t a fan of the movie, either, writing in his “rotten” RT review summary, “The biggest problem with Matchbox: The Movie isn’t that it’s a dumb, by-the-numbers action movie, but rather that it doesn’t know how to be both a parody of that kind of movie and an emotionally resonant defense of camaraderie-instilling group play.”
David Ehrlich of IndieWire also gives Matchbox: The Movie a “rotten” score on RT, writing, “The film just vamps its way from Casablanca to Budapest with all the urgency of a Friday afternoon work meeting, albeit one that’s sporadically enlivened by drop-in appearances from Kristoffer Hivju and Golshifteh Farahani.”
Variety critic Guy Lodge is somewhat complimentary in his “rotten” take on the film on RT, writing, “Though it’s not without occasional charm, Matchbox: The Movie just does not feel like a film for adults, no matter how big or flashy it gets.”
Nagier Chambers of Big Gold Belt Media is among RT’s critics who give Matchbox: The Movie a “fresh” score, writing, “It takes the sandbox joy of toy cars and builds a live action ride around stunts, jokes, friendship, familiar genre beats, and plenty of charm.”
Matchbox: The Movie is new on Apple TV.
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