Most, if not all, movies take their sweet time securing viewers’ appreciation. However, Netflix’s 72 Hours takes less than 72 minutes of its 105-minute runtime to get the job done.
This Hangover-lite, written by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider and directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Barbershop), stars Kevin Hart as a commitment-averse creative executive at an advertising firm who has lost his youthful edge. With 72 hours left to save his job, he accidentally gets added to a group chat and volunteers to foot the bill for a bachelor party of four 20-somethings in Miami.
The young group includes actors Marcello Hernández and Kam Patterson (stand-up comedians-turned-Saturday Night Live regulars), Ben Marshall (also from SNL) and Mason Gooding (Cuba Gooding Jr’s son, who also starred in the last three Scream movies). The cast also has Michael Mando, Zach Cherry, Kevin Dunn (in a bit part) and Andy Garcia.
One expects the usual disastrous, A-rated shenanigans. The group escapes police custody, mistakenly steals a drug lord’s cocaine stash and meets women who rob them of their wallets and dignity. At the same time, Hart suffers a disfiguring allergic reaction from a jellyfish bite and unleashes a cocaine-induced split personality. Some of these bits, though old, are funny.
Netflix’s latest bachelor-party comedy may not be original, but Kevin Hart’s comic timing and an excellent young cast make it an easy watch
Despite having all the raunchy-comedy “usual stuff” in place — and an utter lack of originality — 72 Hours is surprisingly tame when it comes to impropriety. Perhaps that’s why the film doesn’t have that many good reviews.
Apart from one obnoxious GIF that flashed twice in the movie (there was no need for it at all) and the Miami setting — the city being the new Las Vegas when it comes to drugs, raunchiness and skimpy clothes-wearing Instagram and OnlyFans models — the movie still retains a non-gratuitous vibe, especially when compared to similar films in its class. One can say that it has its Hart in the right place (apologies for the bad joke).
Most of the comedic heavy lifting comes from Hart, who is also a producer of the film. However, the youngsters are a real find, and they get good material to boot. While Hart’s character is strictly made of clichés, the four youngsters and their outlook reflect the mindset of today’s youth. The movie doesn’t judge their simping, wimpy and undirected personalities — it embraces them with a bit of sympathy.
Tim Story handles the material well. In fact, at times, it doesn’t feel like a budget-checked Netflix original and 72 Hours could have been a theatrical release before becoming a Netflix exclusive. Perhaps a sequel — and yes, there’s room for one — could rectify that.
Streaming on Netflix, 72 Hours is rated suitable for ages 18 and over. One shouldn’t even ask why
The writer is Icon’s primary film reviewer
Published in Dawn, ICON, August 9th, 2026
