Kevin James' 2025 Action Comedy On Paramount+ Is Better Than Playdate

After decimating an entire gun running operation in season 3 of TV's best action show, "Reacher," earlier this year, Alan Ritchson returned in November alongside Kevin James for the action comedy "Playdate." Sadly, the movie was a critical flop, but Prime Video users didn't care, sending the film to number one on the streaming service. Now, however, James is back for his second action comedy of 2025, and it might just have the edge over "Playdate."

"Guns Up" hit Paramount+ on December 1 and has similarly managed to top the platform's charts. It also garnered more positive reviews than "Playdate" and seems to be a slightly better option for action comedy fans. The movie sees James play a mob enforcer trying to leave his illicit profession behind and is directed by Aussie filmmaker Edward Drake. The director previously pivoted from music videos to B-movie fare, most notably by writing and directing multiple films in the old man Bruce Willis oeuvre — you know, the films with titles like "Breach" and "American Siege." His last movie prior to "Guns Up" was "Detective Knight: Independence," the third in a trilogy of films starring Willis as the titular investigator.

With "Guns Up," however, Drake pivoted once again, delivering much of the same action that characterized his Willis collaborations but this time with a comedic streak. The move seemed to work relatively well for him, as "Guns Up" is the director's most high-profile release yet. So, if you want to see how his and James' team-up worked out, you can do so right now on Paramount+.

Paramount+ has some great movies, even if it is one of the smaller streaming services, and "Guns Up" is a solid addition to the catalog. It stars Kevin James as ex-cop and family man Ray Hayes, who, in his post-law enforcement life, works as a mob henchman. That career choice doesn't exactly make it easy for Ray to live up to his family commitments, which means that at some point you can bet there's going to be a major clash between his career and home life. 

Ray is well aware that he needs to leave the criminal outfit behind and dreams of walking away to open a diner with his wife Alice (Christina Ricci). Before he can do so, however, he needs to carry out one last job for his employers. You can see where this is going, right? Things don't exactly go to plan and making matters worse, the mobsters have a heartless new boss in the form of Lonnie Castigan (Timothy V. Murphy), who targets Ray's kids Siohbán (Keana Marie) and Henry (Leo Easton Kelly), thereby hastening his violent departure from the mob.

"Guns Up" hit Paramount+ on December 1, 2025, and viewers sent the movie to the top of the charts. It debuted at number two the day after it hit the service before climbing to the top spot the day after (via FlixPatrol). What's more, critics like it slightly more than "Playdate," which is somewhat surprising given the latter features Alan Ritchson, whose star has been consistently on the rise since he debuted as Jack Reacher. Stay-at-home dad Jeff Eamon, however, was not one of Ritchson's best roles, with "Playdate" only managing a disappointing 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Guns Up," meanwhile, has fared much better.

"Guns Up" isn't going to go down as one of the best action comedies ever, but it's a good time and slightly more enjoyable than "Playdate." In that Prime Video outing, Kevin James' stepdad accountant character is shocked to discover that Alan Ritchson's stay-at-home dad is actually a former Delta Force soldier — one who quickly reveals his hidden talents as an unassailable badass during a playdate gone bad. In "Guns Up," however, James is the badass. At one point, his son even asks, "Is dad John Wick?" That's sort of the whole idea here, and it works better than the dynamic in "Playdate," where you're always expecting Ritchson to be the hero.

Whereas the Ritchson/James team-up was critically maligned for its dull comedy and dated tone, "Guns Up" at least managed to impress a few critics, who collectively gave the film a more passable 61% score on Rotten Tomatoes. That said, only one of the three "top critics" who reviewed the movie actually liked it, with Linda Marric of HeyUGuys calling it "an undeniable victory for Kevin James, who proves that he can pull off an action hero." Variety's Siddhant Adlakha, meanwhile, was surprised by the lack of "armed shootouts" in a movie called "Guns Up" and found that "the story and action lack the urgency suggested by its one-last-job premise."

Still, there's no arguing that more people liked "Guns Up" than "Playdate." Indeed, one user over on Letterboxd summed things up perfectly, writing, "'Guns Up' is the kind of movie you scroll past on a streaming service, take a chance on because of the cast, and walk away thinking, 'That was better than I expected.'"