A Kevin Hart Action Movie Is #1 On Netflix
Kevin Hart has been increasingly appearing in action-oriented comedies and one of them just hit number one on Netflix.
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Actor Kevin Hart has found his groove in a whole range of recent film projects that have taken over the box office. He has joined forces with stars like Dwayne Johnson in the Jumanji franchise, Central Intelligence, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. The comedian has often chosen a formula for making audiences laugh while tackling action movies that might typically be out of his acting range. Recently, Hart hopped onto a project with Woody Harrelson in what has become Netflix’s number one film of the moment.
According to FlixPatrol, a site dedicated to the daily ranking of over 520 streaming platforms across over 120 countries worldwide, Kevin Hart’s latest The Man from Toronto has captured the top spot on Netflix’s Top 10 movies this week. Beating out Miles Teller’s Spiderhead, Love & Gelato, and Adam Sandler’s Hustle, The Man from Toronto looks to be a hit for the streamer. With a budget of $75 million and directed by Patrick Hughes of The Hitman’s Bodyguard and The Expendables 3 fame, The Man from Toronto has become an attractive alternative compared to other streaming platforms’ large focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
Released on Netflix on June 24, 2022, The Man from Toronto stars Kevin Hart as Teddy, a down-on-his-luck gym instructor who accidentally becomes the unwitting participant in a dangerous assassin’s plot. Woody Harrelson plays the titular Man from Toronto, an assassin with special interrogation skills. Comedy ensues when Teddy is mistaken for Harrelson’s character at an Airbnb, and it’s up to the FBI to protect their most recently acquired asset. The film also stars The Flight Attendant’s Kaley Cuoco, Lela Loren, Jencarlos Canela, Jasmine Mathews, and Animal Kingdom’s Ellen Barkin as The Handler.
Even though The Man from Toronto has been a success this week for Netflix, critics don’t seem too keen on the film’s premise and off-color blend of comedy mixed with action. Today, Rotten Tomatoes lists the movie with a 28% on its Tomatometer based on 50 reviews from critics, while users of the aggregator site rank the film with a 44% Audience Score. In comparison, Metacritic has the movie showing a Metascore of 34 based on 18 critic reviews and a 4.3 User Score, which typically denotes unfavorable or mixed reviews overall.
While not a critically acclaimed darling for Netflix, the film is an achievement for star Kevin Hart, who has recently tended to lean on Dwayne Johnson’s appeal to get an action-comedy off the ground. Mixing his comedy roots with mystery and intrigue, Hart took on the role of Teddy with charisma and humility. The title role of The Man from Toronto was supposed to be played by actor Jason Statham, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the action star was replaced by Woody Harrelson after disagreements with the film’s producers. The sudden pull out from Statham left Sony scrambling, as he had wanted the movie to be an R-rated action film, but executives wouldn’t shift away from a PG-13 vehicle.
For their part in joining Kevin Hart in The Man from Toronto, both Woody Harrelson and Kaley Cuoco have added to their resume a fun picture that speaks to their broad range as actors. Harrelson needs no introduction at this point to American audiences, as he embodied the lovable Woody in Cheers for many years, as well as Academy Award-nominated performances in films like The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Messenger, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. On the other hand, Cuoco has made a name for herself mostly in television roles which include 8 Simple Rules, The Big Bang Theory, and her starring role on HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant. Moving from television to film is no easy feat, but both actors have seemed to make the transition.
As for Kevin Hart, The Man from Toronto is apparently just the beginning for the comedy star. Audiences will next see Hart opposite Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall in John Hamburg’s Me Time, to be released in August 2022. He has also recently completed production on Borderlands, an Eli Roth film adaptation of the popular video game of the same name, and Back on the Strip, an R-rated comedy opposite frequent collaborator Tiffany Haddish.
