Acting Up: Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista in ‘The Wrecking Crew’

The Snapshot: Two estranged half-brothers are forced to work together when they learn their father has been murdered, and the person who did it is now coming after them, too.

(The Wrecking Crew is now streaming on Amazon Prime.)

Key Takeaways

Despite a familiar buddy-action setup, the natural dynamic between Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista makes the movie engaging and fun.

Momoa’s charismatic bravado and Bautista’s stoic intensity play off each other in a way that feels intentional and entertaining.

Rather than chasing transformation or prestige, each embraces their established screen identity — and it works.

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The Performances: A few years ago, on the Oscar telecast, Josh Brolin was presenting with Jason Momoa. Brolin has one Oscar nomination under his belt, for Best Supporting Actor for 2008’s Milk, and in the chit-chat, he asked Momoa, “You ever been nominated?” To which Momoa scoffed, “Nah,” like it was an absurd question.

Now, I’m not saying that the idea of Jason Momoa ever being nominated for a major award is absurd, but it’s also not something I think anyone would expect to happen any time soon. Not, at least, while he’s working on projects like A Minecraft Movie and Aquaman, or as Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl film that will premiere later this year.

All that said, Momoa is very good at what he does, playing the big galoot type, ready to fight and ride motorcycles and cause trouble, so he tends to stick with it. Not a bad move, considering how well that kind of thing pays. Nice work if you can get it.

Dave Bautista, on the other hand, is another very large man who plays a very different type. A former professional wrestler, he found a much wider audience when he landed the role of Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy. While he did his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his non-superhero roles were often in action films but were much more serious. He branched out in smaller roles in movies directed by respected filmmakers (see more about that below), and it’s fair to say that he rarely smiles on camera and laughs even less.

He also tends to stick to what he knows, the large but stoic man who doesn’t have a lot of patience for the tomfoolery of others, and is just trying to get by without causing too much damage.

So of course it makes perfect sense that these two very different actors would play brothers who are nothing alike, and that the result would be the kind of cinematic fun that used to be commonplace toward the end of the last century, but which we don’t get nearly enough of anymore.

We’ve talked before about chemistry, and how it can elevate a film, but when a movie rests entirely on the chemistry of its leads, that can be very risky, but also pay off with enormous rewards. That’s the case here, as the two start off with a deep antipathy that leads to the kind of sparks that are enjoyable to watch. The movie progresses with them starting to work together, still in conflict, until the inevitable third act brawl, which is played straight, as if both of the actors really want to win it. Who comes out on top isn’t important — also, no spoilers — but the result is as you’d expect: an understanding that allows them to get to the bottom of the caper and come out on top.

The movie itself is a classic formula: a mismatched pair who have to team up to save the day. There’s not a whole lot about it that’s terribly new, and one might even say it’s not terribly fresh, either. But that doesn’t really matter, because it’s the chemistry that Bautista and Momoa share, and the fun they’re both very clearly having, that makes this movie such a good time.

It’s a good reminder of how far you can go, and how much good you can do, when you actually enjoy your work.

The Careers: Dave Bautista was a professional wrestler for years before crossing over into film and TV, mostly in small roles. A lot of thugs. Things changed with Guardians of the Galaxy, and suddenly, the kind of work he was getting changed entirely. Working with James Gunn and showing off his comedic and action chops in the process opened him up to all kinds of other roles you don’t often see pro wrestlers getting. He showed up in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 and Dune: Part One and Part Two, M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion, the James Bond movie Spectre, genre fare like My Spy and its sequel, Stuber, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, plus The Killer’s Game and Trap House. He worked with Momoa in the Dune films, as well as Momoa’s Apple TV series See.

Momoa, on the other hand, got his start with the reboot of Baywatch in 1999, but it took him a few years to really take off. Small roles in movies and a run on the show North Shore carried him for a time before he landed on Stargate Atlantis in 2005 for its 78-episode run. A small break came with his casting in the title role of the 2011 reboot of Conan the Barbarian, but really, it was his work as Khal Drogo in the first season of Game of Thrones that changed everything. Sporadic work turned into constant work, first as the villain in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Bullet to the Head, then the lead in the IFC TV show The Red Road, and culminating in his casting as Aquaman in the DCEU. Momoa has bounced back and forth between movies and TV — the aforementioned See, as well as Frontier, and the 2025 limited series Chief of War — and while he might not be showing up in Oscar bait any time soon, it’s undeniable that the man is a star.

They both are, really, and it wouldn’t be so awful to see them together again. That would be fun for everyone. Them and us.

Key Takeaways

A familiar formula isn’t a weakness when executed with confidence and chemistry.

Bautista’s selective dramatic choices and Momoa’s star-driven projects show different, equally valid routes to longevity.

The visible camaraderie between the leads is a reminder that enthusiasm on set translates directly to on-screen appeal.