Review: The Wrecking Crew

Directed by: Ángel Manuel Soto

Written by: Jonathan Tropper

Starring: Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Claes Bang, Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Frankie Adams

Rating: [3/5]

Family members drift apart all of the time for a host of reasons, but one would hope the inciting event that reunites would not center on the passing of a loved one. Unfortunately, this appears to be the case in many circumstances, as seen in The Wrecking Crew, where the death of a shared father brings two brothers back together in hopes of finding the culprit responsible. 

Following the death of his father, which was labeled a hit-and-run, Jonny (Jason Momoa) receives an unwelcomed attack by the Yakuza looking for something they claim Jonny’s father sent him. This leads Jonny to return home to Hawaii, where he reunites with his older half-brother James (Dave Bautista). While rocky at first, they decide to use their combined skills to investigate their father’s death. 

On the surface, The Wrecking Crew as a film casts some doubt regarding its quality as a straight-to-streaming action comedy. That usually does not bode well concerning quality, but this film had plenty to make me feel more confident in receiving a good viewing experience. For one, in the director’s chair we have Ángel Manuel Soto, who wowed me with Charm City Kings and did a pretty decent job with the bigger-budget Blue Beetle. He also had Dave Bautista and Jason Mamoa as co-leads, which at the very least promised the delivery of some comedy and bone-crunching action. All of this culminated in something very much worth watching with plenty to appreciate. 

As an action comedy, thankfully this film delivers on both fronts, with Jason Mamoa doing most of the heavy lifting in the humor department. From the onset, when we have his scene with the Yakuza trying to intimidate him, Mamoa manages to deliver a scene that very much befits his strengths and sets the stage for what we shall receive here. It’s a mix of severity of the actions involved with levity of how these characters, especially Mamoa’s, react to the circumstance brought before them. This continues throughout the rest of the film and has a fairly decent hit rate. 

With James and Jonny trying to seek answers, we witness an interesting mix of parties and individuals involved that add additional wrinkles to their situation. Of course, we have the aforementioned Yakuza, but also Hawaiian syndicates, police, politicians, and other very rich people. Evidently, the work of their father as a private investigator made him liable to collect some enemies, and therefore it opened the floodgates of individuals who would want him dead and disproved the assertion of his death stemming from a mere vehicular accident. 

While plenty of comedy takes place in this film, it does contain an emotional core at its center when looking at the relationship held between James and Jonny. Yes, they poke fun at each other, but there remains an inescapable love held between the pair, but also some pain as they reckon with the relationship they held with their shared father. As half-brothers, they have different mothers, and Jonny remains sore about the fact of how their father treated him and his side of the family compared to James. This leads to some surprisingly emotionally impactful moments between these brothers, and it provides plenty of context as to what drives each of these two individuals in their quest to get to the truth. This element took me aback the most by this project, and plenty of credit must be spread around because of it. 

While Mamoa and Bautista each do their thing as comedic hulking figures, this film also has a fun supporting cast, adding in their elements of humor. Morena Baccarin thrives, as does Stephen Root, portraying the detective who begrudgingly lets the brothers assist him in this investigation. The actor who shined the most was Jacob Batalon, who made a name for himself as the best friend in the recent batch of Spider-Man films but more than holds his own here. He brings the pure comedy necessary from his role and shows he has plenty more to give as an actor. 

Nothing groundbreaking but still maintaining value on its merits, The Wrecking Crew overcame many of the reasons why I initially cast doubt on its quality. It thrives because of its strong cast but also Ángel Manuel Soto’s refusal to make a bad film. He has now proven himself across various budget levels and genres, which makes me excited for what he has planned for us next.