‘The Wrecking Crew’ Review (Amazon Prime)
Stars: Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Jacob Batalon, Morena Baccarin, Temuera Morrison, Roimata Fox, Frankie Adams, Claes Bang | Written by Jonathan Tropper | Directed by Angel Manuel Soto
Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa team up for The Wrecking Crew, an entertaining, Hawaii-set buddy-cop thriller, directed by Angel Manuel Soto (Blue Beetle). With terrific action sequences, a strong comic rapport between the two leads and a great supporting cast, it could be the beginning of a beautiful franchise.
Bautista plays Hawaii-based army honcho Commander James Hale, whose private detective father, Walter, is murdered in a suspicious hit-and-run. When James’ estranged half-brother Jonny (Momoa), a booze-swilling Oklahoma cop, shows up for the funeral, it transpires that he had sent Jonny a mysterious package just before he died, which prompts the pair to put aside their differences and team up to investigate.
Along the way, James and Jonny receive help from wise-cracking Pika (Jacob Batalon), Walter’s former assistant, and Jonny’s on-off girlfriend Valentina (Morena Baccarin), who is reluctantly dragged in when they need her to bring the package from Oklahoma. Meanwhile, things quickly get violent when Yakuza gangsters show up in Hawaii, in hot pursuit of the package.
As a buddy-cop team, Bautista and Momoa are well suited, and they bounce off each other nicely, both verbally and physically. Part of the central in-joke is that both actors are known for playing very similar types (beefy, wisecracking action heroes), and there’s a very funny line to that effect when Batalon’s Pika observes, “You look like The Rock f**ked himself and had twins”.
The supporting cast are equally strong. Batalon’s value as a comedic foil is well-established and he’s on fine form here, while Baccarin takes what could have been a token girlfriend role and makes it her own, with a little help from the script, which gives her a key role in one of the main action sequences, to entertaining effect.
Speaking of which, director Soto turns out to be a terrific action director – there are a good handful of genuinely thrilling, inventively staged sequences that will almost certainly be among the best action scenes of the year. Highlights include an early punch-up in Jonny’s apartment, a frenetic shoot-out and an exciting car chase involving ninjas and a helicopter.
In addition, The Wrecking Crew goes gleefully over the top when it comes to the violence. James and Jonny clearly have no compunction when it comes to dispatching goons with extreme prejudice, so several henchmen meet very nasty ends and there are a couple of amusingly gory moments that will induce wincing.
On top of that, the film benefits from its picturesque Hawaii locations, strikingly shot by cinematographer Matt Flannery, who also orchestrates a couple of impressive one-take fight sequences in corridors, in a clear nod to Old Boy and Daredevil.
In short, The Wrecking Crew is one of the surprise action hits of the year, a thoroughly entertaining buddy thriller, enlivened by a great central double-act, a witty script and sequences that deliver genuine thrills. It’s just a shame this is going straight to streaming, because it really deserves an outing on the big screen.
**** 4/5
The Wrecking Crew is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
