Available for discovery right now on Netflix are two action-thrillers that offer something a little bit different. 2020 action-thriller Becky surprised audiences with the story of a young girl forced to defend her home from escaped criminals, channeling her pubescent anger into elaborate traps that outwit men several times her size.
She’s back for more in The Wrath of Becky, the 2023 sequel, where she rescues her beloved dog from a gang of far-right insurrectionists. Loud, brash, and a lot of fun to watch, Becky and its sequel found an unusual niche and used it to tell two outrageously entertaining stories. With a third film, The Last Temptation of Becky, due out this year, now’s the perfect time to check them out.
‘Becky’ Is About a Teenage Girl Who Becomes a One-Person Army
Becky stars Lulu Wilson in the title role, a 13-year-old girl mourning the death of her mother and furious at her father, Jeff (Joel McHale), for getting engaged to his new girlfriend. After she storms into the woods with her dog Diego, Jeff and the rest of his future family have their home invaded by a gang of escaped Neo-Nazis, led by Dominick (Kevin James). They are searching for a key lost in the woods, and hold the family hostage, believing Becky has it. Unbeknownst to them, the girl is a masterful tactician who uses her skills to trap, kill, and defend herself against them.
Where the first film plays like a kind of blood-spattered Home Alone, The Wrath of Becky moves into John Wick territory. Three years on from the events of the first movie, our hero lives off the grid and peacefully, until a run-in with a gang of insurrectionists led by the psychotic Darryl (Seann William Scott) leads them to attack her home and steal Diego. Incensed, Becky goes to war, finding the cabin the gang are living in and terrorizing them to save her best friend, and prevent their plan to attack a local senator.
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Both movies take a slightly different approach, but offer the same payoff: a fast, feral, and wildly satisfying revenge saga featuring elaborate fighting scenes, gory deaths, and dry humor to cut through the darkness. The second movie is more gleeful with its fury than the first, echoing Becky’s transformation from lost teenager to lone survivor. However, both contain the kind of chaos that makes them a good choice for a riotous double bill.
Lulu Wilson Makes Becky an Instant Action Star
The young star of this soon-to-be-trilogy is remarkable in that she is around the same age as her character, but holds the screen throughout. Her performance creates a deliberately heightened connection between the fire of her grief and her ability to become a killing machine, delivering a sideswipe of sarcasm with every killer blow as if redressing the balance of her pain.
The second movie finds her still ferocious, but with a sense of purpose. Being disconnected from society makes her self-possessed, strategic, and punishing. She controls the narrative rather than reacts to it. When Darryl sneers that their fight was “fun while it lasted,” Becky, her face red with blood, calmly smiles and says, “It’s not over yet.”
Both Thrillers Feature Comedy Actors Showing Their Sinister Side
Kevin James looking menacingly ahead in BeckyImage via Keri Anderson / © Quiver Distribution / Courtesy Everett Collection
There’s something unnerving about seeing an actor who is normally known for making you laugh suddenly send chills up your spine. Kevin James made his name as the loveable King of Queens and Paul Blart: Mall Cop, but is barely recognizable here as he transforms into a vindictive, violent criminal who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Sporting Nazi tattoos and hateful rhetoric, the sight of him throws you off balance almost as much as the vision of a young teen becoming a killing machine.
That connection continues in The Wrath of Becky, with Seann William Scott, best known as Stiffler from the American Pie films, turned into a calculating, evil extremist with plans to cause mass suffering. There’s not a hint of his comedic past in his portrayal of a somber, humorless fanatic who views Becky more as a distraction than a threat.
The ending of the second film sets up a big reveal for The Last Temptation of Becky, where the origin of the key Becky found in the first movie is teased. Wherever it heads, the forthcoming movie looks to cap off a breathless, irreverent trilogy that takes the rules of the action-thriller and tears them up like a spiteful teen.