Critics Have Issues With The Wrecking Crew, But They Agree On Dave Bautista And Jason Momoa

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There’s something great about a buddy cop movie, in which the best ones enhance the action with humor and tension between its heroes. That’s what Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista hope to do destroyer teamWhich is set to arrive on the 2026 film release calendar on January 28. Critics were able to showcase the upcoming action flick, and they’re here to give us some insight into what should be quite a fun few hours.

Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa have teamed up to play estranged half-brothers James and Johnny Hale, respectively. One is a loose cannon, the other a disciplined Navy SEAL, but they must work together to solve the mystery behind their father’s murder. Jamie Parker of CBR gave the film a 7 out of 10, saying it was based on the chemistry between its lead characters. The reviewer hopes that it will not become one of the great buddy cop movies that will not get a sequel, writing:

The Wrecking Crew gives fans exactly what they expect from the movie. It’s a fun popcorn flick that delivers adrenaline-fueled fun, a buddy cop dynamic, and great performances from Momoa and Bautista. While the plot may fail to impress, it still makes for a comfortable, easy-to-stream movie that’s reminiscent of the simple action movies of the 80s.

Greg Hermans of ScreenRant gave the film a 7 out of 10, celebrating Bautista and Momoa’s on-screen pairing. Hermans says that the actors really save the film, which has a fairly unconventional plot and less character development than a two-hour film should have. The review concludes:

The combination of (Angel Manuel Soto’s) skillful direction and good chemistry between Bautista and Momoa ultimately keeps The Wrecking Crew afloat for the most part. It’s great to see the Guardians of the Galaxy alum play a more reserved character, yet find humor in such a part, while Bautista letting loose is always a blast. Plus, while the Prime Video (offer) largely wraps things up for the Hale brothers, there’s ample room for a potential follow-up to learn from some of the first film’s mistakes and improve on a solid foundation.

Deadline’s Pete Hammond says destroyer team‘Battle of the Brawn’ – Jason Momoa definitely went to the gym to get ready for Dave Bautista – might have been better presented on the big screen than streamed with a Prime Video subscription, to better showcase its bloody blowout and beautiful Hawaiian setting. Hammond writes:

Both stars are in their sweet spot with this material and manage to not only handle the huge action quotient here, but also make it believable that Johnny and James are just family, wholesome and hearty in the end.

However, Next Best Picture’s Giovanni Lago says that the director does not succeed in balancing the comedy action with the family drama, leaving little room for the audience to enjoy. This review of destroyer team The film receives a rating of 4 out of 10, with Lago writing:

Is The Wrecking Crew a viewing experience? Depending on who’s asked, this is primarily due to Bautista and Momoa’s chemistry, or the effort to find it. How many times can we repeat the same premise with this type of 48 Hour comedy duo before it becomes irritating? Maybe we’ve already passed that point. …Here, The Wrecking Crew has limited itself to the walls of a screensaver cinema, the purpose of which is ambient background noise.

Jacob Oller of Paste also finds a tonal imbalance, saying that the film doesn’t feature enough silly humor to make it feel like everyone was at least having fun while making this mess. Oller gave the film a D+ and said:

(Bautista and Momoa) put their personalities and pectorals to work in action-comedy, playing fiercely feuding stepbrothers who serve up teen jokes and hardcore violence in equal measure, though never skewing too far in either direction… Instead, The Wrecking Crew operates between genres like driftwood caught by the tide; At two hours, the script vacillates between family trauma drama, goofy Hawaiian noir, meathead romp, and wham-bang slugfest. However, indecision displays at least some consistency, in that each approach is equally unsatisfactory.

Despite widely varying scores, it seems critics agree that uniting Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista on-screen was a good idea, even if the premise and script leave something to be desired. The good news is that if you want to watch this buddy action movie, you don’t have to go far. destroyer team Will be available to stream on Amazon’s Prime Video starting Wednesday, January 28.