RIYADH: Angel Manuel Soto directs this odd-couple action-comedy with a confidence and flair that — along with the chemistry between its central performers and its better-than-you’d-ever-expect script — just about raises it above the slop swarming the streamers.
Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista play estranged half-brothers Jonny and James Halle. Both have the same father — a not-much-liked private detective called Walter who’s just been killed in a hit-and-run in Hawaii (where they were raised and where James, a Navy SEAL, still lives). Neither brother is particularly upset to hear the news of Walter’s death, but when Yakuza henchmen attack Jonny in his Oklahoma home (where he’s a maverick, heavy-drinking cop) demanding a package sent by Walter (a package he hasn’t yet received), he decides to return to Hawaii for the first time in years to attend the funeral and investigate further.
Jonny’s reunion with James is less than cordial, but he does meet James’ wife Leila and their kids for the first time. Leila is a child-psychologist — not afraid to call the brothers out on their emotional shortcomings, nor to try and help them fix their fractured fraternity.
The brothers’ investigation uncovers a plan to build a casino on Hawaiian home lands (an area held in trust for Native Hawaiians). The developer is the extremely wealthy Marcus Robichaux (played with gleeful pantomime-villain campness by Claes Bang), who — it turns out — had hired Walter to investigate his wife, who had hired Walter to investigate her husband.
Now our heroes know who they have to bring down, they’re into far more comfortable territory (both for the characters and, you suspect, the actors). Yep. Forget the dialogue, it’s action time.
Cue multiple scenes of high-octane mayhem expertly helmed by Soto in what’s essentially a slightly updated (emotional healing!) throwback to the dumb-but-fun action blockbusters of the Eighties and Nineties. The nostalgia isn’t hidden, either. The soundtrack starts with Guns N’ Roses and ends with Phil Collins. And there’s a shoutout to Jean-Claude Van Damme in between.
There’s a plot here too, but, honestly, who cares? Momoa and Bautista get to flex their considerable muscles, show off their ink, and make a few wisecracks. No one’s watching this for a clever twist, right? Watch it hoping for a couple hours of entertaining excitement and you’ll be well satisfied.
