Is Netflix’s 2023 movie Hidden Strike a hit or a flop? We discuss the anticipated Netflix movie and a key question surrounding it.
I can only imagine that there are a lot of films that sound great on paper. Hidden Strike must have been a film that was pitched and sounded like a surefire hit.
Jackie Chan and John Cena starring in an action-packed thriller that looks and sounds like it came from the 1980s might just have been what fans were looking for.
However, there are always problems in filmmaking, and you have probably watched enough Pitch Meetings from Ryan George to know that even the most solid concepts can often fall apart when they go into production.
So with that in mind, we are going to take a look at Hidden Strike and see if we can figure out whether or not the film is a flop or not.
What is Hidden Strike on Netflix about?
Ex-Marine, John Cena, and former secret operative Jackie Chan are an unlikely pairing, but when Jackie goes into the private security business, he is tasked with escorting a group of civilians out of a dangerous criminal war zone.
Teaming up with John Cena, the pair have to fight for survival against an army of villains on Baghdad’s Highway of Death.
The film is pretty much an action blockbuster that seems to be enjoying the tropes of older action movies from the eighties and nineties.
Is Netflix’s Hidden Strike a hit or a flop?
Let’s look at some of the statistics about the film’s production. Problems seem to have surrounded this film, and it seems that Hidden Strike sat on a dusty shelf somewhere after it was completed, never a good sign. The film was finished in 2018 but has only been released in 2023.
The exact reasons behind this are vague, and you have to factor in COVID-19 too, but there was definitely a chance to release the film before the pandemic hit, and it does seem that there was some initial doubt over the film after it had been finalized.
The film has an estimated budget of eighty million dollars, but its limited theatrical release didn’t scratch the surface, with a horrible box office take of under two million, so financially, the film fell at the first hurdle.
Still, it has been picked up by Netflix, so that may have secured some revenue back, but money isn’t everything, so though financially things are not looking good for the movie, how was it received by fans?
What are critics and audiences saying about Hidden Strike?
IMDB has the film at 5.4/10, not a great rating, and Ready Steady Cut only offers a scathing 1.5 out of 5, stating the film is “a grotesque looking CGI experience, lacking thrills, laughs and everything else” — so far, not so good.
It seems the general consensus for the film is the pairing of Cena and Chan is the best thing about the movie.
Criticisms about the CGI and the bland characters come up quite a lot, and although the film is praised for recreating an eighties-style buddy thriller, it fails to capture the real tone and feel of those types of films.
Flop or not?
Taking into consideration that the film opened very strongly on Netflix, it was the most viewed film on the platform when it dropped, charting as the number one film in the US and fifty-three other countries.
It has received quite a pummelling ever since, with bad CGI, a tired, lackluster script, and a premise that falls short of its own intentions, so unfortunately, we rate this a flop, but hey, don’t take our word for it — go check it out and let us know your thoughts below.
