January 2026 has been full of surprises, but in a good way. There has been plenty of new media out in the first month of the year, and it has largely all been good to great.
That doesn’t change with “The Wrecking Crew,” the new action-comedy film starring Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa. It is a lot of fun, with high-octane action, plus some good jokes (and bad ones). There’s great chemistry between our leads, and although it’s drawn out a bit, it has one of the best car chase scenes in recent movie memory.
“The Wrecking Crew” (2026) Review | Bautista & Momoa Throw Punches & Punchlines
The Brotherly Chemistry of Dave Bautista & Jason Momoa
The plot brings together brothers James, played by Dave Bautista, and Jonny, played by Jason Momoa, back together after their father dies in a hit-and-run. The estranged duo believes there’s more to it, and they set off to figure out why their father was murdered. They must solve it to protect their family, all while fighting their resurfacing childhood trauma and themselves.
Bautista and Momoa definitely put their chemistry on display for “The Wrecking Crew.” Bautista is the older brother who is more stoic and serious, while Momoa is the carefree, reckless, deadbeat little brother who never wanted to come back to Hawaii in the first place. Between the bickering, arguing, name-calling and fist-fights between the two, it was very enjoyable to watch, and I bet they had a blast filming this.
As mentioned, some of the jokes in this are a bit much or even cringey, but to be honest, there were a lot more laugh-out-loud moments than I anticipated. However, when the jokes fall short of laughter, they fall harder than most.
Brutal Action Mixed With Familiar Faces & Cinematography
Faces and names you’ll recognize pop up frequently in this, and that was also something I didn’t expect. Jacob Batalon plays Pika, the brothers’ newfound “Techie” and inside man. He was good, with a lot of humor thrown into his role. Stephen Root is the Hawaii Police Detective on the heels of the brothers as they try to figure out the murder, and as always, Root is an absolute pleasure on screen. Morena Baccarin plays the fierce, witty, “don’t mess with her” ex-girlfriend of Momoa’s character, who is a hidden gem in this film. Her screen time is limited, but when she’s there, she sucks you right in.
Although cinematography isn’t something we talk about a ton in action-comedies, I did want to acknowledge Matt Flannery, the cinematographer for “The Wrecking Crew.” He did some great work with the fight sequences, and most notably the car chase. It’s high-octane, crazy as hell and he pulled it off pretty smoothly.
While watching, I thought to myself that a lot of the fight sequences in this had a certain measure to them. They’re actually quite brutal and gory, which hit me on the blindside, but they also seemed very familiar. So, I checked on our guy Flannery, and was not surprised to discover that he also did the cinematography for “The Raid,” “The Raid 2” and “Fight or Flight.” That might have something to do with why the fights looked so great and familiar.
Overall, “The Wrecking Crew” is a lot of fun and there’s a lot to like, as mentioned. It’s carried by the dynamic of Bautista and Momoa, as well as the bloody action. Some of the jokes won’t hit for most, but the ones that do will absolutely make you cackle out loud.
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