The Wrecking Crew (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

The Wrecking Crew

THE WRECKING CREW (2026)

Starring Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Claes Bang, Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Frankie Adams, Miyavi, Stephen Root, Morena Baccarin, Maia Kealoha, Lydia Peckham, Stephen Oyoung, Hugo Borich, Sean Meehan, Joshua Hamill, Mark R. Black, David Hekili Kenui Bell, Roimata Fox and Branscombe Richmond.

Written by Jonathan Tropper.

Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto.

Distributed by Amazon MGM Studios. 122 minutes. Rated R.

You pretty much know what you are getting when you watch a movie starring Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista – insanely buff tattooed tough guys going through basic action-comedy moves. Now, get these two to do a version of Hamlet, or Glengarry Glen Ross, or even Evita, that would surprise me. There are no surprises in The Wrecking Crew.

Which does not necessarily mean it’s a bad film. It’s just a bit of a formula. In The Wrecking Crew, Momoa and Bautista stay in their lanes. Well, at least metaphorically, as performers, they stay in their lanes. As characters? Well, let’s just say that safe driving is not of premium importance in this movie, in fact it would probably be frowned upon.

Bautista and Momoa play estranged half-brothers who reluctantly reunite to investigate the hit-and-run death of their even longer-estranged father. (If you are having problems seeing any family resemblance other than their aging bodybuilder physiques and similar tattoo patterns, you are not alone.)

James (Bautista) is a Navy SEAL commander living on their native island of Hawaii. Jonny (Momoa) is a mainland cop who has been suspended for excessive force and has returned to Hawaii for the funeral. Dad was a low-level private eye on the island who had apparently stumbled onto something big, at least on evidence of all of the local thugs and members of the Yakuza who are suddenly milling around with machine guns. (Luckily for the guys, all of the bad guys seem to be extraordinarily bad shots.)

Momoa and Bautista spend the film bickering, fighting off bad guys and investigating an ugly plot in the midst of some gorgeous Hawaiian scenery. Some of the story doesn’t make complete sense, but the film moves quickly and confidently enough that you generally just go along for the ride. They have enjoyable, prickly chemistry together, and both are entertaining to watch in action, particularly Momoa.

Stephen Root is a lot of fun in the cliched role of exasperated police chief yelling at the two unsanctioned sleuths who keep sticking their noses into his case with lots of violent fallout. And I’m not sure how Danish arthouse actor Claes Bang (The Square, The Northman, Bonjour Tristesse) ended up here in the bad-guy role, but he pulls it off with panache.

Jacob Batalon does fine playing essentially the same role he ever does, a slightly girl-crazy and cowardly nerd who becomes friend and confidant and investigative partner to the heroes. Bautista’s quip referring to Batalon’s character as Uncle Fester falls flat, though, considering that Bautista has the same bald-headed (lack of)-hairdo. (As does yet another major supporting character.)

As I said earlier, there is nothing particularly new or unique about The Wrecking Crew. However, as made-for-Prime Video adventure films go, this one pretty much delivers the goods.

Random note: If while you are searching on your streaming service for this film, you stumble upon the 2015 documentary by the same name about the little-known studio musicians who pretty much defined popular music in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, give it a try. It’s a very, very different experience from the Momoa – Bautista thrill ride, but overall it is a better, much more interesting Wrecking Crew in its own right. You could even have a surreal The Wrecking Crew double-feature if you can withstand the tonal whiplash.

You may even want to add the groovy 1968 Dean Martin spy comedy and the 1999 Ice-T and Snoop Dogg gang drama of the same name for an entire The Wrecking Crew film festival. Now that would be an eclectic experience.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: January 30, 2026.