The Wrecking Crew (2026) is directed by Angel Manuel Soto and written by Justin Tropper. It stars Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Temuera Morrison, Frankie Adams, Jacob Batalon, Morena Baccarin, Stephen Root, Claes Bang, Maia Kealoha, Miyavi, Roimata Fox, Josua Tuivavalagi, David Hekili Kenui Bell, Mark R Black, Lydia Peckham, Branscombe Richmond, and Stephen Oyoung. The film follows Jonny (Momoa), a laid-back detective who, alongside his half-brother James (Bautista), sets out to investigate the murder of his biological father. This eventually brings them face-to-face with a conspiracy involving the Yakuza, putting their entire family in grave danger. In order to protect those they love, the brothers wage a two-man war that’s sure to send droves of henchmen to an early grave.

Dave Bautista feels right at home as this kind of deadpan, often humorless action hero who says more with his physicality than anything else. Like the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, The Wrecking Crew takes advantage of the actor’s skills as the ‘straight man’ character archetype. James is a character who’d feel boring on his own, but he’s significantly elevated when accompanied by a flashy, sillier foil like his brother, Jonny. Hollywood still uses this classic Lethal Weapon-like buddy cop dynamic on a regular basis, and it’s no wonder why. It works by using their differences to challenge the more generic aspects of their archetypes, while also reminding us why those elements are so irresistible and thus timeless. 

Although Bautista is effective here, this is easily Jason Momoa’s show. He’s the flashier, funnier, and more over-the-top of the two, receiving one of the best collections of action-hero one-liners I’ve experienced in quite some time. He can occasionally be a bit too absurd, but as I mentioned before, he’s quickly brought back down to earth by his more grounded brother. This is essentially the same kind of laid-back, surfer dude character we’ve seen him play in every one of his movies since Aquaman (2018). Just like the DC hero, this character loves Guinness, lives on the beach, and has a father figure played by Temura Morrison. These similarities are head-scratchingly familiar, but ultimately easy to forgive considering that the character feels like an improvement, not a regression or retread. The R-rating finally allows the actor to display what makes him such a joy without being handcuffed to material that inherently represses his best traits. He’s a natural mischievous badass, and that’s hard to fully portray in a film that’s PG-13, let alone PG or G. 

The elaborate, CGI-fueled action sequences are fun, but flawed. They’re concerningly familiar to action sequences featured in a number of recent Prime Video releases, including what’s at least the fourth helicopter vs car highway chase I’ve seen in the last year. Thankfully, the sheer fun-loving energy of these moments keeps them fun despite their lack of originality. If all you need are big explosions, a lot of guns, and some bone-crunching fistfights, the movie delivers. 

The film’s biggest issue, unfortunately, is that it falls into the growing category of streaming releases that seem to follow studio-mandated guidelines. For example, the film opens in the exact same way as nearly every other streaming action movie this year: with a short action sequence ending in a death that initiates the plot. This is the fourth streaming film in the last 3 months, after Heads of State, Play Dirty, and The Rip, to feature not only the same opening but also numerous other similarities. I used to be only half serious when I accused streaming services of using AI to write their films, but now I’m certain it’s true. This makes the film worse as it goes along, despite the efforts of its irresistible lead duo. It eventually culminates in another generic climax as the heroes assault the villain’s mansion, mowing down hundreds of henchmen who all seem to be suffering from severe “stormtrooper aim.”

Overall, this is yet another generically written, predictable action-comedy released by a top streaming service. That said, it works as one of the better films of its kind thanks to the no-brainer pairing of stars Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista. It’s all a little too familiar, but it’s also bright, energetic, and exudes an honest sense of fun. If you already pay for Prime Video and are looking for something to try, give this a watch if you’re even slightly intrigued. It won’t blow your mind, but it should safely kill two hours. That said, I hope Prime doesn’t use the film’s success as an excuse to keep milking this kind of plot formula. It’s gotten to the point where, if a streaming service releases an action film, I can predict the plot based solely on the genre. B-