The Wrecking Crew: Movie Review

Cast: Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Temuera Morrison, Morena Baccarin, Frankie Adams, Roimata Fox
Director: Angel Manuel Solo

There’s as much of an 80s throwback vibe to the boisterous and occasionally over-long The Wrecking Crew movie as you’d expect.

And while this tale of two estranged brothers duking it out to try and find who killed their father is certainly a diversion, some of the depressing fat jokes littered throughout feel like a real cinematic step back into the buddy-bullying that was painful to watch then.

Beefcakes Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista play loose cannon Johnny and uptight Navy Seal James, who after over a decade apart, are forced back into each other’s world when their father is seemingly killed in a hit and run.

But when Johnny receives a mysterious package and an unwelcome visit from some local yakuza, he’s forced to accept his fate – and the pair begin their own investigation into the murky Hawaiian underworld that’s plagued their lives and claimed one of their own.

While Momoa brings the brashness into the fore of his character, including the aforementioned unwelcome jabs aimed at Jacob Batalan’s tech hacker, Bautista is a more measured force that offers the required counterbalance throughout.

And while Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Solo does little to really shake up the very formulaic action, there are a few moments that show a deft prowess. A helicopter sequence on a two-lane highway, an early kitchen-led fight sequence and a corridor-set showdown that’s reminiscent of Old Boy show some hints of a film wanting to be different and take out more of the rote elements that are within.

While the likes of Morena Baccarin, Frankie Adams and Roimata Fox get relatively short shrift in proceedings of the boys’ club, Bautista and Momoa’s chemistry helps The Wrecking Crew through its more familiar edges.

An expeditious edit could have dragged The Wrecking Crew down into something a little more manageable. Even though the spiritual side is played up early on, the indigenous storyline feels tacked on, rather than a vital part (despite the film’s conclusion) and it’s moments such as this that lead you to a feeling The Wrecking Crew could have been a bit more than its “Let’s have a few beers and throw something on to watch” ambitions.

The Wrecking Crew is streaming now on Prime Video