The Wrecking Crew

• Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto
• January 15, 2026 (Regal Times Square) / January 28, 2026 (Prime Video)

Half-brothers-one a loose cannon cop and the other a disciplined Navy SEAL-work together to solve the mystery of their father’s murder in Hawaii.

The mismatched buddy action comedy is a tried-and-true genre that has existed for quite a long time in film. Personally, I think the genre was perfected in the 80s with that magic formula now lost. The Wrecking Crew tries to re-capture it once again with a pairing of Dave Bautista as Navy SEAL James Hale who is all duty and by the book and Jason Momoa as slovenly reservation police officer Jonny Hale.

At the heart of the movie is the mystery of the death of their dad who was a bit of a deadbeat and scumbag private detective that was involved in a mystery that connects to a shady land developer and some Yakuza attempting something who surprise Jonny while he is urinating. Yes, Jonny does pee on two guys in his bathroom.

The divide between the brothers is because Daddy Hale cheated on James’ mom with Jonny’s mom who ended up killed after which James sent Jonny away to Oklahoma and by the point of the movie the two have not spoken in ten years.

Jason Momoa is not a great actor but a very entertaining actor when he can just cut loose like here. Fast X was no masterpiece but he was a shining part of it with no limits put on his performance. I’ve liked him since Stargate: Atlantis. He can do a lot with a two-dimensional character by turning them into something with far more depth or enjoyable to watch than they deserve. Maybe that does make him a great though underappreciated actor.

Despite beginning his time as a wrestler, Bautista has crafted a career as a character actor able to bring the goods. His James is a layered individual trying to look the other way on his suspicions over his father’s death but a combination of guilt and concerns the police cannot/will not do enough keep him looking into things.

A welcome addition is Morena Baccarin as Jonny’s bank manager sort of girlfriend Valentina. She showed up to show Jonny could be an a-hole and then vanished leaving one to assume her part in everything was just, well, that. Then she pops into the movie again to deliver a package that dead Daddy had sent Jonny causing the yakuza to show (but just a bit early) which is why they were peed on. She breaks through police tape to pick up her mail inside the house? Then again by that point in the movie enough pleasantly illogical things have happened that you have stopped questioning anything too deeply.

She goes to Hawaii to handover the drive and during an action scene she pretty much explains what’s all on it and what’s going on. Then she disappears completely from the movie. The people playing James’ family lurk in the background even at the end and are part of the climax but I also don’t remember her being captured or anything. I could’ve gotten her mixed up with others but even at the closing scene which wraps everything all up and ties it into a bow with a nice little ribbon she doesn’t make a token appearance near Jonny.

Much like 80s action movies, this has lotsa gunfire and explosions and the occasional lack of logic that doesn’t necessarily break the rules of the established world but wouldn’t fly in the real world. Like how do you get attacked by helicopters and several cars of armed men and nobody finds you? They’re able to slide back into being casual like nothing happened.

The Wrecking Crew is also not one action scene after another where the leads muscle their way to the finale. There is a level of clue searching and deduction that goes into the whole story. It is ALMOST an actual mystery with a twist in the story that is obvious if you watched any old action movie that has a political aspect to it. Action is broken up by the family drama where the brothers are working through their assorted issues. It never lags in these scenes since something is always happening to either entertain or move the two plots forward. At two hours any lags would make this actioner feel so much longer but it just breezes by.

Aside from Jason Momoa, Morena Baccarin, and Dave Bautista there is Claes Bang as developer Marcus Robichaux, Temuera Morrison as Governor Peter Mahoe, Jacob Batalon as Pika, Frankie Adams as Haunani ‘Nani’ Palakiko, Stephen Root as Detective Sergeant Karl Rennert, Maia Kealoha as Lani, Stephen Oyoung as Akihiko, and Branscombe Richmond as Mr. K.

This is an unapologetically Hawaiian movie. It leans very much into many aspects and nuances of native Hawaiian culture. It is meat and structure to give a little bit of substance rather than being some type of forced representation. You couldn’t have two guys with Hawaiian heritage be in Hawaii and not delve into it.

A mystery lingering in the background is that of who killed Jonny’s mother. One would think solving Dad’s murder would solve that, but it does not do so directly. Mr. K is a local crime lord who basically used Jonny and James to take out the emerging Yakuza threat to his dealings. While he did not order her death, he knows who killed her and gives that name to Jonny in an obvious setup for a sequel. Weirdly Jonny and James burn that along with the flash drive that gives them access to $12 million dollars, which is also evidence that can lock up all the surviving baddies.

It scratches the action itch one might have and has some meat to it to make it a little more than escapist fun. Momoa and Bautista are a great pairing that engage in plenty of excessive action while deriving genuine comedy from their pairing. Actions scenes are exciting though some have painfully obvious CGI.

The Wrecking Crew, while nothing great, is a good movie. The action is well staged and it never feels like it drags. Great fun!