Prime Video’s The Wrecking Crew Is Flying Under the Radar

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The newest action-thriller in a series of originals isn’t quite as good as the previous installments, though it’s not necessarily a flaw of the film itself. It features Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista as two long-separated half-brothers who reunite to find out how their father died. Their investigation quickly reveals a conspiracy that’s far bigger than they imagined.

As a big fan of action-comedies, I was hoping The Wrecking Crew would really take off, especially since it uses that classic buddy-cop formula we all love. It got okay reviews, but it hasn’t really caught on like other films in the genre, which is a bit of a surprise. Honestly, seeing it fade into the background on Prime Video makes me wonder if they’re starting to worry that this type of movie just isn’t hitting with audiences anymore.

The Wrecking Crew Resurrects One of the Oldest (and Most Successful) Action Movie Tropes

Okay, let’s talk about The Wrecking Crew. Honestly, it’s a pretty classic move – take two action stars, throw them together, and let the explosions begin. This new Prime Video film does just that, pairing Jason Momoa, fresh off playing the villain in Fast X, with Dave Bautista. Bautista, who was hilarious as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, really shines here, though his recent films like My Spy and The Killer’s Game haven’t exactly been memorable. It’s a fun, don’t-think-too-hard action flick, and the pairing definitely works.

Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista are the newest actors to star in a buddy cop movie – a popular genre where two big stars team up for over-the-top action and comedy. Think of classics like Tango & Cash, with Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone, or The Other Guys, which paired action veteran Mark Wahlberg with comedic force Will Ferrell.

Despite being a well-worn formula, the buddy cop action movie remains popular. This pairing of law enforcement partners dates back to the very beginning of film, with many considering the 1949 Japanese film Stray Dog to be the first of its kind. American studios soon followed suit, releasing similar movies in the 1960s and 70s, like In the Heat of the Night. By the 1980s, Hollywood realized the potential of combining popular actors in these films, and the pairing of Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in 48 Hrs. became a huge success.

Seventy years after Stray Dog first popularized the buddy cop dynamic, The Wrecking Crew continues the trend with two popular action stars. Despite decent viewership on Prime Video, the movie isn’t generating much buzz or lasting impact, which raises the question: why isn’t anyone really talking about it?

Why Is No One Talking About The Wrecking Crew?

Despite premiering on January 28th, The Wrecking Crew hasn’t generated much buzz. After a week in release, the film’s impact has been surprisingly small, even though January is usually a quiet month for new movies. This lack of attention could point to a larger issue for the film.

Despite generally positive reviews, the action-comedy The Wrecking Crew hasn’t become as popular as many expected. While movies like this often receive mixed reviews from critics, it actually scored reasonably well on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that most critics enjoyed it.

The movie’s critic score is quite high, but it’s a bit surprising considering audiences rated it lower at 69%. User scores on IMDb average 6.9 out of 10. Usually, action-comedies are liked more by audiences than critics, but this film seems to be the opposite.

Viewers are really enjoying The Wrecking Crew on Prime Video! According to streaming data from FlixPatrol, it’s currently the most-watched movie on the platform, surpassing recent additions like Ballerina and A Working Man.

Despite all the buzz around The Wrecking Crew, its success seems to be based on numbers alone. While the film has generally positive reviews and is popular on streaming services, it hasn’t really captured the public’s imagination. This is likely because it doesn’t offer anything particularly fresh or original to the action genre, making it easily overlooked and forgotten.

The fact that The Wrecking Crew didn’t make a big splash might highlight a broader problem for Prime Video and other streaming services. While original movies on these platforms often get good initial views, they tend to be quickly forgotten. This could be because there are simply too many streaming-only releases, especially in certain genres.

Is Prime Video Relying Too Heavily on a Single Genre?

A possible reason why The Wrecking Crew isn’t resonating with viewers is that audiences might be getting oversaturated with similar buddy cop action movies on Prime Video. The streamer consistently releases action-thrillers, like Jack Ryan and now The Wrecking Crew, and viewers may be experiencing fatigue from the constant stream of this type of content.

Over the past few years, Prime Video has released several movies following a similar formula: pairing established actors in lighthearted, but not very deep, action comedies. Just recently, two months ago, they launched a buddy-cop film. Before that, Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, and Keke Palmer starred in The Pickup, and a month prior, Idris Elba and John Cena were in Heads of State.

Prime Video seems to be relying heavily on buddy cop action-comedies, and viewers might be starting to feel like they’re seeing the same movie repeatedly. The storylines are becoming very similar, often differing only in which action stars happen to be featured together.

Prime Video isn’t alone in this. Buddy comedies are generally easy and often successful movies to produce, thanks to their simple concepts and popular actors. Streaming services make this even more apparent, as there’s no box office performance to downplay their popularity. Because of this, many streaming platforms, especially Netflix, are now actively creating and releasing these types of films.

Comedies about mismatched pairs, like The Wrecking Crew, might be more successful if there weren’t so many similar movies and shows available. Just as audiences can get tired of big franchise sequels, streaming services might find that people are starting to lose interest in the typical “buddy cop” formula. Simply pairing two well-known actors in an action-packed story may not be enough to attract viewers anymore.

As demonstrated by the film The Wrecking Crew, movies in this genre aren’t achieving the same level of popularity they used to, and this issue will likely continue unless addressed.

The new film The Wrecking Crew could be a turning point for streaming movies. Viewers are starting to feel like they’ve seen the same stories over and over again. Streaming services will soon need to come up with truly original content to keep subscribers interested, or they risk falling behind in the competitive streaming landscape.

The Wrecking Crew is available to stream on Prime Video.

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2026-02-06 07:41