Let’s be honest, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista are a dream pairing. When they first started talking about making a movie together, it was hard not to imagine all of the awesome things these two physical powerhouses with even bigger personalities could do together. Prime Video has become the home of some great buddy action-comedies, including last year’s Heads of State, and now you can add The Wrecking Crew to that list. With the impeccable chemistry between Momoa and Bautista, blistering action and huge belly laughs, this is the kind of old school fun that reminds of other action-comedy classics such as Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys.
The Wrecking Crew puts a nice little spin on the mismatched cop formula. Bautista plays straight-arrow Navy SEAL James Hale, living with his wife and kids in his native Hawaii. Momoa is his estranged half-brother, Jonny, a loose cannon cop working on an Oklahoma reservation. The latter becomes even more volatile when his girlfriend Valentina (Morena Baccarin) suddenly dumps his unreliable ass. Jonny is then thrown for a loop when he learns that his father, Walter (Brian Keaulana) was murdered in a hit-and-run, and it’s a pretty good bit the Yakuza were behind it because they crash his house and try to kill him. Jonny returns to Hawaii to figure out the truth and attend Walter’s funeral, only for him and James to resume their in-fighting, both verbally and physically. But they have to put it all aside if they’re ever going to figure out why the Yakuza wanted their father dead.
Momoa and Bautista cooked up the plot together, working with screenwriter Jonathan Tropper, who they previously worked with on the Apple series, See. Smartly, the screenplay emphasizes the comedic kismet between the duo, which then allows them the chance to bring it to life physically. These guys fight a lot. Jonny and James carry a lot of resentment toward one another, and some hard feelings about their father who by all accounts was a man who caused a lot of trouble. Jonny is also grieving the death of his mother, which he witnesses at a young age and led to feelings of abandonment that he’s carried ever since. Jonny and James might seem very different on the surface, but they both express themselves through jokes and a lot of punching.
Fortunately, director Angel Manuel Manuel Soto knows what he’s doing behind the camera. Soto, who previously helmed the incredible indie motorcycle drama Charm City Kings and underrated superhero flick Blue Beetle, gives The Wrecking Crew big screen polish that makes you wish it was also playing in multiplexes everywhere. Along with DP Matt Flannery, Soto captures the natural beauty of Hawaii, which stretches from the gorgeous blue of the oceans to the flashy nightlife of the cities. The action is brisk and slick, including a hallway fight that finds Bautista bashing his way through Yakuza goons, and another chase sequence involving ninja on motorcycles and in helicopters.
The Wrecking Crew is bolstered by a solid supporting cast. I really liked the depiction of the women in James and Jonny’s lives, because its their strength they continually lean on. Cousin Haunani (Frankie Adams) and James’ wife, Lani (Maia Kealoha) are not to be trifled with and both guys know better than to mess with them. Baccarin is also a lot of fun as Valentina, especially when she joins the gang in Hawaii and gets thrown right into the mix. Jacob Batalon as Walter’s former assistant Pika is a welcome addition, and so is Stephen Root as the beleaguered police captain trying to stop Jonny and James from destroying the island on their quest for vengeance. And who can ever complain about Bautista and Momoa sharing the screen with Boba Fett himselg, the great New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, as family friend Governor Peter Mahoe. Morrison and Momoa co-starred together in a pair of Aquaman movies.
One of my concerns was that The Wrecking Crew wouldn’t have a villain believable enough to take on the might of Bautista and Momoa. Surprisngly, Claes Bang proves more than capable as Marcus Robichaux, a smarmy elitist you can’t wait to see get his ass kicked. But he’s more of a physical threat than expected, and gets a pretty good fight scene near the finale. As the unhinged coked-up Yakuza assassin Nakamura, Japanese musician/actor Miyazi is like a character straight out of an anime.
It’s also fair to say that the film isn’t nearly as enjoyable when Momoa and Bautista are split up. When the brothers are a solo act, both actors hold up their end and advance the plot capablly. But when they are together, The Wrecking Crew just knocks you off your feet with how electric they are as a team.
If you’re looking for something that breaks the genre in half, this isn’t where you’re going to find it. Honestly, I’m cool with that. The Wrecking Crew is everything I wanted it to be; non-stop action and humor, with Bautista and Momoa proving they should be partners for a long time to come. Fortunately, this is a movie that is built to be a franchise, so Amazon MGM better get on it.
The Wrecking Crew is streaming now on Prime Video.
