As a kid from the 1980s, I have an undeniable soft spot for meathead action movies and buddy comedies. The 80s gave us plenty of them, sometimes in a single film. From more highly regarded features like “Lethal Weapon”, “48 Hours”, and “Midnight Run” to more forgotten flicks like “Tango & Cash”, “Red Heat”, and “The Last Boy Scout”. I admit, their quality may vary. But they still entertain me some forty years later.

Perhaps that’s why I’m a little lenient when it comes to “The Wrecking Crew”, an unabashed throwback to those 80s bangers and semi-bangers. It’s a movie littered with action-comedy clichés, silly set pieces, and generic plot twists. But it gets by on the charm and playful energy of its two beefcake leads, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista. And it helps that the movie never takes itself too seriously.

With its big stars and genre appeal, “The Wrecking Crew” seems custom-made for the big screen. Yet it released straight to streaming, exclusively on Prime Video. It comes from director Ángel Manuel Soto (“Blue Beetle”) and screenwriter Jonathan Tropper (the upcoming “Star Wars: Starfighter”). Together they make a bombastic and proudly goofy cocktail that should be a money-maker for the streaming platform.

The premise is a simple one. After their father, a Hawaiian private investigator named Walter Hale (Brian Keaulana), is killed in a suspicious hit and run, two estranged half-brothers reluctantly reunite to determine whether it was an accident or if he was murdered. James (Bautista) is a Navy SEAL and a dedicated family man still living in Hawaii. Johnny (Momoa) is a hard-drinking and recently suspended police detective in Oklahoma.

Johnny returns home to Honolulu where he immediately clashes with James. The two haven’t spoken in ten years and old family wounds instantly begin to fester. But they’re forced to work together after evidence points to their father being targeted. The film becomes two bickering brothers working through old baggage while piecing together the mystery of Walter’s death. And of course the more they snoop, the more they become targets.

Several side characters fill out the story with varying degrees of success. Stephen Root pops up as an unhelpful police sergeant. Jacob Batalon gets another annoying foul-mouthed sidekick role. And Temuera Morrison plays the state’s Governor and an uncle to the brothers. But it’s the ladies who fare best. Roimata Fox is great as James’ firm and straight-shooting wife. Equally good is Morena Baccarin as Johnny’s fed-up girlfriend.

Much of the fun comes with the silly, over-the-top action. The fight scenes are particularly good as Bautista and Momoa are no strangers to roughhousing. There are also a couple of wild set pieces as the brothers fight off local crime syndicates and even the Yakuza. At the same time, some of the crazier action scenes are overly digitalized to the point of being obvious and gaudy.

There’s not much in “The Wrecking Crew” that will catch you by surprise. The story follows a fairly predictable trajectory, right down to the big baddie and how everything ultimately plays out. But Momoa and Bautista bring enough of their charisma and chemistry to make this by-the-book buddy action-comedy click. They even tease a possible second adventure which I would be onboard for. So in that regard, I guess this movie does its job.

VERDICT – 3 STARS