By Jacob Cameron

The Wrecking Crew is a new action film exclusive to Amazon Prime. It features a pair of feuding brothers, fights, and explosions. Even though 2026 is barely a month old, this film might be one of the biggest surprises of the year in terms of quality.

The Wrecking Crew was directed by Angel Manuel Soto, director of 2023’s Blue Beetle, and it starred Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa. Bautista and Momoa play half-brothers James and Jonny Hale. They have a bitter and complex history with each other, which becomes more contentious when their father unexpectedly dies. The death leads the brothers to investigate how this could have happened. What they discover is a conspiracy involving the yakuza and some very powerful figures.

Bautista and Momoa are both good in their physical performances. Every action scene with them involved is a blast. There are a few impressive scenes with long takes where the stunts are on full display. To the film’s credit, and specifically to Angel Manuel Soto’s credit, the action set pieces are various and well done.

The more pleasant surprise, in terms of the story in this film, was how there’s a great deal of emotion on display. Both Bautista and Momoa are flawed but in different ways. When they unpack those pent-up emotions, it’s treated in a way that is admirable for a film such as this one. The two have a fight outside of a police station, which is one of the best scenes in the film. This scene also serves as the emotional high point for both as they seek to try and work together.

Other actors include Morena Baccarin, Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds from the MCU), and Temura Morrison. While Bautista and Momoa are the stars, these three do give good performances. Morrison doesn’t have much to do until the end of the film, but he still works with what is given to him. Even veteran character actor Stephen Root gets a role as police commissioner.

The biggest negative of the film was with the villain. With giving too much away, there is a twist involving the villain that just felt very weird. It was, in a way, similar to the twist at the end of Rush Hour 2. There was a better villain waiting in the wings of the film that just felt more appropriate for what the movie was setting up. There was a twist that turned out to be mildly disappointing. And just like Rush Hour 2, the villain turned out to be a rich white man waiting for his cut.

Ultimately, this was a great time and a fun watch. It’s a film that’s fun, emotional, funny, and meaningful all at the same time. It seemed like there was some setup for a sequel of some kind, and it would be interesting to see if that gets made. If you have not heard of this one, hunt it down and check it out for yourself.

4 stars