Title: Wrecking Crew | Cast: Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Claes Bang, Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Frankie Adams, Miyavi, Stephen Root, Morena Baccarin | Director: Ángel Manuel Soto Writer: Jonathan Tropper | Distribution: Prime | Production: Seven Bucks Productions, Amazon MGM Studios | Release Date: January 28, 2026
Review by: Mother of Movies
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Paradise Lost, Fists Found
There’s something beautifully unhinged about watching two of Hollywood’s most physically imposing actors, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista, throw down in the Hawaiian mud while working through decades of daddy issues. Wrecking Crew doesn’t reinvent the action wheel, but it greases it with enough explosions, dark humor, and surprisingly earned emotional beats to make the ride worthwhile.
Opening with Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” bleeding over a bustling marketplace, the film wastes zero time establishing its tone: loud, unapologetic, and ready to crack skulls. When a man trying to outrun an unseen pursuer becomes a hit-and-run statistic courtesy of a blue van, we’re thrown into a mystery that’s less Chinatown and more Fast & Furious meets The Nice Guys.
Bautista’s James Hale, a zen-seeking detective who meditates underwater with kettle bells because of course he does, discovers the victim is his estranged father, Walter. The news lands with all the emotional weight of a missed dentist appointment, much to his wife’s concern. Enter Jonny Hale (Momoa), James’s half-brother and the product of an affair that fractured their family. When we meet Jonny, he’s being spectacularly dumped by his girlfriend after arriving on a custom Harley, then consoling himself on the couch in a scene that gratuitously features Momoa’s bare ass. Because what’s an Amazon Prime action flick without strategic nudity?
Toilet Humor Has Never Been This Violent
The tonal whiplash between brooding family drama and cartoonish ultraviolence is Wrecking Crew‘s secret weapon.
Case in point: the bathroom brawl. As Jonny drowns his romantic sorrows to Air Supply’s “Making Love Out of Nothing at All,” Yakuza operatives crash his pity party looking for a mysterious package their late father supposedly sent. What follows is a toilet-based sword fight so absurdly choreographed it rivals “American History X,” complete with spurting arterial spray and creative uses of porcelain fixtures. It’s juvenile, excessive, and utterly glorious.
This isn’t the film’s only moment of inspired madness. Director Ángel Manuel Soto, previously known for Blue Beetle, leans hard into the gonzo energy that made The Suicide Squad work. When the brothers finally team up (after a rain-soaked fistfight that’s equal parts therapy and WWE), the action escalates from car chases to helicopter-versus-sedan warfare, complete with ninjas rappelling onto moving vehicles. One particularly wince-inducing sequence involves an arm being ripped off and a face meeting asphalt at high speed. Not for the squeamish, but executed with enough practical effects to feel tactile rather than CGI-slick.
Half-Brothers, Full Commitment
What elevates Wrecking Crew beyond standard direct-to-streaming fare is the genuine chemistry between Momoa and Bautista. Both actors have spent careers playing larger-than-life characters (Aquaman, Drax), but here they’re allowed to be vulnerable without sacrificing their action-hero credibility. Their reconciliation arc, from hostile strangers to ride-or-die siblings, is predictable but earned, thanks to small moments like James jumping into the ocean to save a wounded Jonny, or Jonny’s self-aware quip (“I’m not crying, you’re crying”) that punctures the melodrama before it becomes maudlin.
The supporting cast does solid work within the constraints of archetypal roles. Claes Bang’s Marcus Robichaux is your standard corrupt developer villain, all smarm and expensive suits. Temuera Morrison’s Governor Mahoe adds gravitas as a family friend with secrets. Jacob Batalon (Ned from the MCU) provides comic relief as Pika. The humor occasionally lands with a thud at times, though; there are only so many times you can hear “brah” before it feels like a parody of Hawaiian culture rather than an authentic representation.
Stephen Root’s brief appearance as Detective Sergeant Karl Rennert is a welcome surprise, his deadpan delivery cutting through the testosterone-fueled chaos. Frankie Adams and Morena Baccarin are underutilized in roles that mostly involve being kidnapped or providing exposition, a frustrating waste of talent in a film that otherwise subverts some action clichés.
Bulletproof Pacing, Paper-Thin Plot
The conspiracy at the film’s center, something involving a thumb drive, casino development rights, and Yakuza money laundering, is deliberately thin. This isn’t The Conversation; it’s an excuse to stage increasingly elaborate set pieces. The climactic assault on Robichaux’s compound, scored to rock anthems and shot through floor-to-ceiling windows, recalls the stylized violence of John Wick without that franchise’s mythological world-building.
When James reveals a secret weapons cache that would make a militia blush, the film fully commits to its video game logic. The brothers suit up in tactical black, and what follows is a symphony of squibs, shattered glass, and headshots choreographed with balletic precision. Soto’s camera work here is confident, using long takes to showcase the stunt coordination without resorting to shaky-cam obfuscation.
The jetty showdown between Jonny and Robichaux delivers the expected sword-versus-fists dynamic, but the real payoff comes from James’s intervention, specifically, his use of a conveniently placed grenade. The explosion sends Jonny into the water, allowing James to dive in for a rescue that mirrors their earlier estrangement. It’s schmaltz, but it works because both actors commit fully to the emotional stakes.
Hawaii and Its Casualties
Visually, Wrecking Crew makes excellent use of its Hawaiian locations, from lush jungle backdrops to sun-drenched beaches. Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski (who shot Midsommar and Hereditary) brings an unexpected elegance to the mayhem, capturing the islands’ beauty even as machine gun fire tears through tourist traps and civilian vehicles explode in residential streets.
That said, the film’s treatment of collateral damage is disturbingly cavalier. Multiple sequences show bystanders caught in crossfire, their deaths treated as background noise rather than tragedy. It’s a tonal misstep that clashes with the film’s attempts at heartfelt brotherhood. It’s hard to root for heroes who leave a body count rivaling a small war. Thank goodness, it’s a movie, and we loved it anyway.
The score, composed by Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy), shoots out pulse-pounding electronic beats and needle drops that range from inspired (the Air Supply bathroom brawl) to Guns N’ Roses for the opening. When the film leans into its soundtrack, it soars; when it relies on generic action cues, it blends into Prime’s endless scroll of forgettable originals.
The Verdict on Vehicular Vengeance
Wrecking Crew knows exactly what it is: a beer-and-pizza action flick that prioritizes kinetic thrills over narrative sophistication. It’s the kind of movie where a fishing hook becomes a weapon, grenades solve diplomatic disputes, and emotional catharsis arrives via synchronized headshots. For viewers craving the adrenaline rush of Bad Boys or the sibling dynamics of Thor: Ragnarok without Marvel’s CGI excess, this delivers.
The film’s biggest weakness is its unwillingness to fully embrace either extreme; it’s too silly to be taken seriously as a crime thriller, but too earnest to function as pure parody. Moments of genuine pathos (James’s underwater meditation, Jonny’s heartbreak) sit awkwardly beside grotesque violence and one-liners that feel focus-grouped for viral clips.
Still, there’s undeniable charm in watching two action icons, both in their fifties, both still capable of doing most of their own stunts, commit to a project that could’ve been phoned in. Bautista, who also produced, clearly cares about the material, and Momoa’s natural charisma elevates even the clunkiest dialogue.
Verdict and Rating | Is The Wrecking Crew on Prime a Good Movie?
Follow this link for the trailer on Prime
Brotherly Bloodshed & Bathroom Brawls
Wrecking Crew is what happens when you give two action titans a family therapy script and unlimited explosives. Momoa and Bautista punch their way through daddy issues with enough charm to make the paper-thin plot forgivable. The toilet sword fight alone is worth the watch.
Filmmaker & Cast Highlights
Ángel Manuel Soto director filmography
His feature directorial debut was with Charm City Kings (2020), a coming-of-age drama about Baltimore dirt bike culture that earned critical praise for its authentic portrayal of urban youth. His follow-up, Blue Beetle (2023), marked DC’s first Latino superhero film and showcased Soto’s ability to blend family dynamics with blockbuster spectacle. With Wrecking Crew, he continues exploring themes of brotherhood and identity, though this time through a decidedly more violent lens. His visual style favors practical stunts over CGI excess, a refreshing approach in an era of green-screen dominance.
Dave Bautista
As a producer on Wrecking Crew, Bautista clearly wanted to showcase his range. The underwater meditation scenes and cooking sequences humanize his typically stoic screen presence. His commitment to practical stunt work at 55 years old is genuinely impressive.
Online Buzz
The film has generated modest social media traction, primarily around the bathroom fight sequence, which several action choreography enthusiasts have praised for its practical effects and creative use of confined space. Comparisons to John Wick‘s world-building have been common, with some critics noting that Wrecking Crew lacks that franchise’s mythology but compensates with raw physicality.
Momoa’s Instagram posts promoting the film have emphasized the genuine friendship he developed with Bautista during production, with behind-the-scenes footage showing extensive rehearsal for their mud fight. The film’s depiction of Hawaiian culture has drawn mixed reactions, with some praising the location shooting and local cast members, while others criticize the overuse of stereotypical dialogue (“brah”) and the treatment of the islands as merely a scenic backdrop for destruction.
Films Like Wrecking Crew
Need More Smackdowns & Tropical Chaos?
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) – Will Smith and Martin Lawrence prove age is just a number with Miami mayhem and witty banter that rivals any family dynamic.
The Gray Man (2022) – Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans play lethal cat-and-mouse across international locales; Netflix’s attempt at a franchise starter with similar budget-busting action.
Bullet Train (2022) – Brad Pitt leads an ensemble cast through hyperviolent chaos aboard a Japanese train; shares Wrecking Crew‘s blend of dark comedy and creative kills.
The Lost City (2022) – A Reboot of Romancing the Stone. Underatted and underwatched.
Red Notice (2021) – Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot in a globe-trotting heist with more charm than substance; a formula for star-powered popcorn entertainment.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021) – Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson’s odd-couple dynamic mirrors the Hale brothers’ reluctant partnership, with similar over-the-top action.
Hobbs & Shaw (2019) – Fast & Furious spin-off featuring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham’s musclebound bromance; peak “turn off your brain” spectacle.
The Retirement Plan (2023) – One man army, Nicolas Cage is hiding out in the Cayman Islands, untill trouble comes looking for him once again.
Hey, split up. You guys look like The Rock fucked himself and had twins.
Quote from The Wrecking Crew made by Pike
THE WRECKING CREW is rated:
4 Reasons to never fight in a public restroom out of 5
“The toilet sword fight alone is worth the watch. cartoonish ultraviolence scored to Air Supply, executed with enough practical effects to feel tactile rather than CGI-slick.”
– Mother of Movies review for The Wrecking Crew
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The Wrecking Crew
Director: Angel Manuel Soto
Date Created: 2026-01-28 11:10
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