Back in the 2000s or early 2010s, a film like Eenie Meanie would have been a late summer theatrical play, a mid-budget star vehicle with enough genre elements to hopefully lure back the blockbuster crowd. There are car chases and shootouts with absurdly attractive people in the middle of them and recognisable “that guy from” faces surrounding. But even back then it would have been a gamble without an A-lister attached, the film probably going the way of the many non-Fast & Furious car flops like Driven, Speed Racer, Drive Angry and Need for Speed.
Now, it’s a much more obvious, and far safer, fit for streaming, with Disney wisely nudging this one to a Hulu/Disney+ premiere. Eenie Meanie still has the feel of something that was once on a bigger screen, though, with a reported $50m budget edging it above many of the season’s multiplex offerings (more than say Weapons, Nobody 2, Materialists or Freakier Friday). Exactly how and why this particular package was deemed worthy of such an unusual spend (in this climate!) is a bit of a head-scratcher, as the film is a mildly diverting yet strangely dated caper, a watered-down Tarantino rip-off without a soul of its own.
