'72 Hours' Review
- Connor Petrey
- Aug 2
- 2 min read
Release Date: 07/24/26 [Netflix]
Genre: Comedy.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: Netflix.
The Verdict: A Mistake
Throughout the decades, Kevin Hart has been a very hit-or-miss attraction when it comes to his comedy style in film, and 72 Hours continues to show that he’s continuing to do the same tired old act.
The story follows Kevin Hart’s Joe as he invites himself to a bachelor party for someone who accidentally texts him the invitation. Now, he doesn’t do this secretly; he lets the group of guys know he’s not a friend of theirs and offers to upgrade their experience from an old rundown Airbnb to a luxurious mansion. Obviously the four guys take up the offer but are immediately put off when the stranger actually shows up to their celebration.
What follows is a weekend of chaos as Joe ruins everything by trying to use these guys to save his advertising career as he’s being referred to as the “old guy”. Drinks, clubs, prostitution claims, escaping the police, being robbed, stranded at sea, and being sought after by a drug lord who happens to own their Airbnb. The film has a lot going for it with the wacky scenarios, yet it never quite makes for a hilarious moment regardless of how much the supporting cast tries.
Hart is accompanied by Marcello Hernandez, Mason Gooding, Kam Patterson, and Ben Marshall, three of the four having had a stint on SNL. They’re honestly quite a dynamic ensemble of players for Hart to run through these unforeseen obstacles over the weekend and truly make Hart seem like an outlier amongst the group (reasonably so).
A few minor chuckles can be had through the interaction of these supporting characters, but right or wrong, the only solid laugh that came out of me personally was when Kevin Hart becomes his drug lord persona after a lot of drugs. Self-aware, over the top, and just stupid coming out of Hart’s mouth, it’s one of the only memorable jokes in the film.
Directed by Tim Story, the man behind comedies like Barbershop, The Blackening, and, randomly, Fantastic Four, 72 Hours showcases the other side of Story’s career… the flops. Those include: Tom & Jerry (2021), The Pickup, and Taxi. It’s trying too hard to catch a break, and while the scenarios are there - beyond the aforementioned drug lord Hart- it fails to make for a noteworthy night on the town. It even has the balls to try to end in a similar fashion as The Hangover, and that in and of itself is an insult.
