REVIEW: ‘The Wrecking Crew’ Delivers Explosive Action and a Good Time with Momoa & Bautista Buddy Action
- Christopher Mills
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
When Blue Beetle was released back in 2023, I was introduced to Ángel Manuel Soto as a director, and from that point onwards, I wanted to see more from him. He understood how to bring his audience into the heat of the action while also allowing time to breathe and really connect with family. With The Wrecking Crew, he proves that he’s capable of this again while providing us action that will leave you taken aback as it continues to be aggressively brutal as the movie moves along.
Ángel Manuel Soto brings along two actors that we’ve been waiting to see act in a movie together for a while, Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa. They finally arrive in The Wrecking Crew, where they play estranged half-brothers, Jonny Hale (Jason Momoa) and James Hale (Dave Bautista), who reunite after their father mysteriously passes away and must search for clues to a bigger conspiracy that could tear their family apart.
We’re so used to these grand action films taking place in Los Angeles or New York and even sometimes in the UK that it’s a nice change of pace to get an action movie that’s set in a different location, with The Wrecking Crew taking us to Hawaii. With a lovely new setting to crack bones and spill blood, it also comes with a lot of the cultural significance in Hawaii, and it’s mainly felt within the family drama of The Hales.
A lot has gone on between Jonny and James since they were kids, with Jonny being the bastard son of the family and James feeling like it was tearing a hole in the family. It’s decades later, and the two have to learn to forgive each other for how they were treated in their childhood but also confront their deceased father and come to the realisation of his involvement in their relationship not being the strongest.
There’s a heartfelt scene between Jonny and James, which both Bautista and Momoa bring a lot of heart to, but it’s held back by its placement in the movie. From the start of the film, you can predict that a moment where the two brothers reconcile is going to happen; it’s only a matter of when, and unfortunately, it happens in the worst place possible and messes with the overall pacing of the film. It’s genuinely a beautiful scene, but how it goes from action scene to heartfelt moment and back and forth takes away a bit of the emotion from the scene.
This movie also introduces the character of Pika (Jacob Batalon), a character who used to work for Jonny and James’ father but is now helping them out as they try to figure out who was behind their father’s death. The only problem is, Pika is a character that feels completely unnecessary to the movie and ultimately wastes Jacob Batalon as a casting. While watching his scenes, you can’t help but feel he’s literally been typecast as “the guy in the chair”. There are numerous scenes where you’ll wonder why either of the brothers couldn’t have handled it themselves, despite one being part of the police force and the other a marine commander. Does Batalon add to the overall comedic effect of the film? Without a doubt, but his presence when it comes to the overarching story of the movie wouldn’t be missed and probably would’ve been better without.
There are two aspects where The Wrecking Crew truly thrives, and those are its action and humour. This movie is laugh-out-loud funny, with Jason Momoa not only just having great comedic timing but also bringing a lot of ad-libs to the script to help enhance his character’s ridiculous and outrageous attitude. It goes without saying that a lot of the humour might not sit right with people and could easily offend, but it’s the comedy of the early 2000s which has been missed which makes this movie a complete blast.
The action and how both Momoa and Bautista work together to make these scenes entertaining is already enough to make this film worth your while. There are two specific scenes, a highway scene and a hallway fight, which stand out. The Wrecking Crew never goes small with its action, and when there’s an action sequence (and admittedly it could’ve done with an extra one or two to help with its pacing), it pulls out all the cards with explosions, dismembered body parts and stunts that take your breath away. It’s not your The Raid or John Wick, but the action feels extremely comical and cartoonish, and I believe that’s what makes The Wrecking Crew feel slightly unique in a generic space.
The Wrecking Crew is the buddy cop movie that we’ve been missing, and it’s exactly the type of film that I’d love to see back on our screens. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, has all the fun in the world with its characters and action but still tries to ground the relationship and family drama. Ángel Manuel Soto ensures that there’s never a dull moment when the action is brewing, and Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista’s chemistry as brothers brings another layer to the film, which was needed. Despite the pacing issues, a runtime that could’ve been shortened and certain characters feeling unnecessary, The Wrecking Crew might be the first genuine surprise of 2026.
About The Wrecking Crew
Premiere Date: January 28, 2026
Writer: Jonathan Tropper
Director: Ángel Manuel Soto
Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 6th & Idaho Productions, Hard J Productions, Reunion Pacific Entertainment
Distribution: Amazon MGM Studios
Cast: Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Jacob Batalon, Clara Bang, Temuera Morrison, Frankie Adams, Morena Baccarin
