'Wrecking Crew' director breaks down original brutality while honoring action hits
LONDON, United Kingdom — "Lethal Weapon" and "Oldboy" are some of the films referenced in Ángel Manuel Soto's "The Wrecking Crew," which still manages to deliver some quite original action sequences.
The new movie from Prime Video stars Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista half-brothers who begrudgingly reunite and embark on an action-filled mission following the death of their father.
In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, Soto shared how he managed to balance homages to favorite action films while making his own path.
"We're honoring them, not trying to do carbon copy of anything," Soto explained, using a sequence at the end that mirrors the iconic hallway scene from "Oldboy" as an example. "It doesn't matter how you do it, it will forever be the 'Oldboy' sequence."
The director did admit dreams of one day hearing people say "oh that's the Ángel sequence," continuing by expressing no shame about being open about the films that shaped him.
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"I didn't have the chance to go to film school, I only learned by watching and exploring," said the filmmaker. "I want to do something like 'that' but my way, my sensibility."
As for the movie's brutality and violence, of which there are many, Soto shared he was inspired by personal fears that he wanted to impose on others.
One example he gave was cutting his fingers on a cheese grate — a kitchen item that prominently appears in an early sequence featuring Momoa's Jonny.
Another was stretching his arm out the window of a car only to lose it by hitting a post, which sort of takes place during an intense highway scene.
"The Wrecking Crew" also stars Claes Bang, Frankie Adams, Roimata Fox, Temuera Morrison, Morena Baccarin, Stephen Root, and Bautista's fellow Filipino-American actor Jacob Batalon.
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