Jamie Foxx just became a mercenary cult leader—and streaming services are already backing away slowly.
Yes, this is real: In Tin Soldier, Foxx plays “The Bokushi,” a magnetic preacher holed up in a fortress surrounded by heavily armed military vets. He's built a religion, an army, and apparently a one-way ticket to the bottom of the streaming barrel. Directed by Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer, Runner Runner), the film's UK trailer just dropped, and it looks like Call of Duty crashed into a forgotten episode of Criminal Minds. There's no U.S. release yet—just a direct-to-streaming debut on Prime Video in the UK starting July 23, 2025.
So What's Going On Here?
Let's break this down:
- Robert De Niro plays the government's last-ditch fixer.
- Jamie Foxx is the deranged cult boss.
- Scott Eastwood is the ex-disciple turned inside man.
- John Leguizamo and Rita Ora round out the cast like bonus characters in an RPG no one asked for.
The plot? After multiple failed missions to breach The Bokushi's compound, De Niro's operative (Emmanuel Ashburn) recruits Nash Cavanaugh (Eastwood)—a former follower with a vendetta and a tragic past. There's a lost love, there's PTSD, there's a lot of yelling and tactical gear. Think The Rock meets Midsommar—but less smart, more gun porn.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Tin Soldier has a killer cast and the visual tone of a Redbox exclusive. It's a movie that looks like it should be prestige—but instead, it's going straight to VOD like a forgotten Liam Neeson clone.
The Real Story: How Did This Happen?
Let's not pretend this is new. Hollywood has a history of A-list actors slumming it in B-grade projects—especially in the streaming age. Remember The Virtuoso (2021) with Anthony Hopkins, a movie so bland it made beige feel dangerous? Or Zero Contact (2022), where Anthony Hopkins again Zoom-called his way through a crypto-thriller nobody asked for?
But Tin Soldier feels different—not just because of the cast, but because it's trying so hard to be timely. A paramilitary cult of disillusioned U.S. vets? That's one inch away from real headlines. The trailer even leans into themes of trauma, identity, and national betrayal. Yet it wraps it all in so much genre cheese it loses any bite. Like a sermon wrapped in C4, then tossed into a Michael Bay blooper reel.
And it's not like the talent is phoning it in. Foxx looks genuinely unhinged, channeling something between Jim Jones and Joker cosplay. De Niro does his best grizzled whisper routine. But the whole thing plays like someone asked ChatGPT to write a True Detective spinoff after bingeing John Wick.
Now Pick a Side
Would you watch this or burn $20? No judgment. (…Okay, some judgment.)
This might become a cult classic. Or just a cult movie that's quickly forgotten. Either way, Tin Soldier marches onto Prime Video in the UK on July 23, 2025, without a single whisper of a U.S. release date.
But if Foxx's Bokushi shows up in your town with pamphlets and a megaphone? Maybe… hear him out.
