Jason Momoa’s New Action-Comedy Is The Movie This Fast & Furious Spinoff Desperately Wanted To Be

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Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista’s The Wrecking Crew delivers the fun, action-packed energy that fans were hoping for from a Fast & Furious spin-off. Currently the top movie on Prime Video, the film is a fast-paced and exciting thriller about two estranged half-brothers who team up to investigate their father’s murder.

This movie is clearly inspired by classic buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon and Tango & Cash. The ending suggests they’re planning more films, potentially turning it into a franchise.

The Wrecking Crew Is The Retro Action Comedy That Hobbs & Shaw Tried To Be

Many streaming action movies try to recapture the feel of older films, but The Wrecking Crew actually succeeds. It fully embraces its mature rating with plenty of violence and strong language, and the fight scenes are intensely physical. What really makes the movie work is the great connection between stars Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista.

The characters trade playful insults, but the movie also genuinely tries to build a believable brotherly connection between them. The Wrecking Crew feels like a much better take on the buddy-cop formula that Hobbs & Shaw attempted. While that film had plenty of jokes, tough-guy talk, and action, it didn’t feel as authentic.

Okay, so Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham definitely have some funny moments, but honestly, the movie just felt a little…safe. It reminded me that the old buddy cop movies were great because we really cared about the characters, and the action felt natural because of that. This movie, though? It feels like they just focused on the action set pieces, and the story and characters took a backseat. It’s like the action is the whole point, and everything else is just there to connect it.

Hobbs & Shaw’s Huge Budget Doomed It

It’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison between The Wrecking Crew and Hobbs & Shaw. The Wrecking Crew was made with a much smaller budget and intended for mature audiences on streaming platforms. Hobbs & Shaw, as part of a big action franchise, had a lot more riding on it and needed to appeal to a wider audience.

With a $200 million price tag, the movie had to avoid strong language and excessive violence. As a result, it felt more like a toned-down television version of films like Tango & Cash than a true follow-up. It’s possible to make a fun, PG-13 action movie like this, but Hobbs & Shaw just didn’t quite hit the mark.

If Hobbs & Reyes Happens, It Could Learn A Lot From The Wrecking Crew

Image via Prime Video

The surprising reappearance of Luke Hobbs in Fast X was intended to launch a new movie focusing on Hobbs and Jason Momoa’s character, creating a showdown between them. However, because Fast X wasn’t well-received, those plans are now on hold, and it’s possible neither that spinoff movie, nor Fast 11, will be made.

If the rumored Hobbs & Reyes movie happens, it should learn from the success of The Wrecking Crew. To stand out from other Fast & Furious films, it needs to be rated R and prioritize the conflict between the main characters instead of relying heavily on big, loud action scenes.

While some of the action in The Wrecking Crew relies too much on computer effects, the fight scenes are still satisfyingly rough and impactful. Jason Momoa might be better suited to continuing his successful Amazon Prime series, but he should definitely use this same approach if he returns for a Hobbs & Reyes sequel.

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2026-02-01 17:49