Jack & Ava Review: A Crime Romance That Refuses to Explode

TL;DR

Two outlaws, a bag of guns, and enough missed potential to arm a small nation.

Jack & Ava isn’t awful. Which is somehow worse.

It has the ingredients for a proper outlaw fever dream but assembles them like someone afraid of seasoning. The cops are idiots, the criminals are undercooked, and the danger never quite bites.

A crime film that should snarl but mostly clears its throat.

If you’re desperate for indie crime with lovers, guns, and a pulse, you could do worse. You could also do much better.

Before watching Jack & Ava, equip yourself emotionally. You’ll need protection from disappointment and sudden urges to rewrite the script yourself.

👉 Fireproof Document Bag - for storing your dignity while the movie gently sets it on fire.

👉 CRIMENET Movie Archive

Or: Where’s the Bloody Thrill?

On paper, Jack & Ava sounds like a pub-perfect fantasy. Two young criminals steal illegal firearms, poke the bear, flip off the law, and go on the run. Excellent. Criminals should be glamorous, dangerous, and mildly unhinged.

Instead, what we get is the cinematic equivalent of stealing a Ferrari and then driving it at 40 km/h because you’re worried about fuel consumption.

The cops are corrupt, thick as pig slurry, and clearly meant to be hated. That part works. Unfortunately, the criminals don’t feel particularly dangerous either. They feel… concerned. Like they’re about to ask permission before committing a felony.

72 Hours That Feel Like 72 Years

The film proudly announces a ticking clock. Seventy-two hours. Everything on the line. Life or death.

And yet somehow, time stretches. Scenes linger. Conversations meander. The urgency evaporates faster than police accountability in a bad precinct. The plot isn’t broken; it’s just undercooked, like a steak waved briefly near a flame and then served with confidence.

You keep waiting for the escalation. The madness. The moment where things go properly off the rails. It teases it. Then politely declines.

Brooding Isn’t a Personality

Jack broods. Ava survives. That’s about it.

Jack has the emotional range of a damp cigarette. Ava is supposed to be fierce, but spends a lot of time looking like she’s mentally drafting a better script. The actors are trying. You can see them trying. Which is rather the problem.

Chemistry exists in theory, much like nuclear fusion. In practice, it never quite ignites.

Grit by Numbers

The dialogue wants to sound dangerous. It really does. Unfortunately, it lands somewhere between “generic crime threat” and “teenager’s first noir screenplay.”

Every line feels like it was stress-tested for grit and then immediately sanitized. Nobody talks like a real criminal. Nobody talks like they’ve made peace with being awful. Everyone sounds like they’ve just discovered crime is morally complicated and are very upset about it.

Dusty, Gritty, Slightly Empty

Visually, the film tries for bleak Americana. Dust, shadows, backrooms, morally questionable spaces.

It looks the part. It just doesn’t feel alive. The world exists to host the plot, not challenge it. Nobody seems to have a life beyond the next scene. It’s a crime universe with NPC energy.

The movie won’t raise your pulse, so do it manually. Dim the room, kill distractions, and pretend this is better than it is.

👉 Blackout Curtains - because atmosphere helps when the film forgets to bring any.

Revving, But Not Launching

The camera shakes, the edits twitch, and the film desperately wants you to feel tension. Sadly, tension cannot be summoned by aesthetics alone. You need momentum. Stakes. Commitment.

This feels like a crime movie terrified of becoming too criminal. As if someone kept whispering, “Careful now, we don’t want to glorify this.”

CRIMENET translation: cowardice.

Trying Very Hard

The music does a lot of emotional heavy lifting. Too much, actually. It’s constantly telling you how intense things are, which is never a good sign. Real tension doesn’t need a musical interpreter waving semaphore flags in your ear.

Pick a Side, For God’s Sake

Here’s the real crime: the film can’t decide whether it loves its outlaws or wants to lecture them.

Great crime movies commit. They either revel in the chaos or stare into the abyss without blinking. Jack & Ava flinches. It wants you to root for the criminals, but also wants to wag a finger at them like a disappointed substitute teacher.

Meanwhile, the cops are so cartoonishly rotten they might as well twirl moustaches. If you’re going to make them villains, at least make the criminals glorious in response.

Would You Do This Again?

Once is enough. Not because it’s unbearable, but because it leaves so little residue. It slides off the

brain like oil off a raincoat. You finish it, shrug, and immediately forget three scenes you just watched.

You’ve survived. Now decompress like a professional criminal who expected more explosions.

👉 Noise-Cancelling Ear Defenders  - perfect for blocking out anyone saying “it was more about the characters.”

FAQ

Is Jack & Ava worth watching in 2026? Only if you enjoy crime films that look dangerous but politely apologize before pulling the trigger.

Is this movie actually thrilling? Occasionally. In the same way a shopping cart with one bad wheel is “exciting” going downhill.

Do Jack and Ava make good antiheroes? They want to. Sadly, they hesitate so much you start rooting for the getaway car to have more personality.

Are the cops portrayed as heroes? Absolutely not. They’re corrupt, dumb, and unpleasant. Credit where it’s due: the film understands that much.

Is the romance convincing? It exists. Like a weather report. Informational, mildly dramatic, rarely passionate.

Who is this movie actually for? People who like indie crime vibes, dusty aesthetics, and the idea of outlaw chaos more than the real thing.

Does it glorify crime properly? No. It flirts with glorification, panics, and then backs away like it just touched a hot stove.