Wrecking Crew is streaming now globally on Prime Video.
Synopsis
In this action comedy, two estranged half-brothers, Jonny (Jason Momoa) and James (Dave Bautista) are forced to reunite after their father’s mysterious death. As they set out to uncover the truth, buried secrets resurface and loyalties are tested, unveiling a conspiracy that can tear their family apart. Together, they are ready to WRECK anything that gets in their way.
Review
’ll be honest, I did not know about this film until I got a ticket to the screening. That being said Wrecking Crew was a total blast to watch, even if it’s a bit rough around the edges in a few spots.It’s a great example of a movie that wins on the pure charisma and chemistry of its cast, even when the technical side fumbles.The Mamoa and Bautista are incredibly solid and they have this natural sibling chemistry that carries the film through the moments where the writing gets a little thin. It’s the kind of movie that reminds you why you love a good action flick, though it definitely has some “straight-to-streaming” growing pains that keep it from being a total knockout though.
Following two distant brothers who are reluctantly working together to find out why their father was murdered and by who. With Mamoa being a heavily drinking (but still incredibly muscular) cop and Bautista being a highly disciplined US Marine, they clearly do not see eye to eye which creates this fun dynamic similar to old buddy cop movies like Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys. Particularly in the music ques when ‘it gets real’ and you hear a guitar riff in the background.
Both Mamoa and Bautista play their roles perfectly and bounce off each other like lifelong siblings. The villain, while all sorts of cliche was just fun when trying to be intimidating to these two giant sized men.
One of the main issues is that the script suffers from a heavy case of “MCU syndrome”. It feels like every single person in every single scene is a master of sharp wit, dropping perfectly timed lines regardless of their situation or social standing. When the supporting family cast, the villain, and the hero all have the same snarky internal rhythm, it comes across as forced. If everyone is a “wisecracker,” then nobody actually has a distinct personality, and the dialogue starts to feel like it’s coming from a writers’ room rather than the characters themselves.
That said, the action really saves the day. The end fight sequences were especially well done and showed off some genuinely impressive choreography that felt heavy, impactful and even an attempt at the long corridor fight scene thrown in for good measure. We also got a car chase that was high-energy and super entertaining, though it was unfortunately the main victim of some pretty janky visual effects. There were a few moments during the high-speed sections where the CGI looked a bit “floaty” and unfinished, which is a bummer because it pulls you out of the zone right when things are getting good.
Then you have those bizarrely memorable moments, like when Jacob Batalon randomly busts out this highly skilled parkour escape. It was hilariously jarring because he never does anything even remotely like that again in the entire film; it’s just this one-off superpower that appears for sixty seconds and then disappears forever.
It’s honestly a shame this didn’t get at least a limited cinema release. The sheer energy and the scale of the stunts would have played so much better on a big screen with a loud sound system, where you can just lean into the fun and ignore the pixels.
Verdict
As it stands, Wrecking Crew is a perfect Friday night watch on Prime. It’s not trying to be a cinematic masterpiece, and as long as you can look past the spotty VFX and the constant Marvel-style banter, you’re going to have a really good time.
⭐⭐⭐.5
