Prime Video’s Rambo-meets-Batman action thriller is dominating streaming

It used to be that if you fancied a top-tier action flick on streaming, you'd instinctively head to Netflix. But, to be honest, Prime Video is properly stepping up its game these days—especially when it comes to original action thrillers that aren’t just ticking off the usual clichés.

Prime's rolled out a few decent titles of late—think Jack Ryan: Ghost War, Pretty Lethal, and The Wrecking Crew—and now it’s got a new Mexican action film, Vengeance, that’s seriously putting up a fight in the genre stakes.

Rambo and Batman Walk into a Bar...

The elevator pitch for Vengeance is pretty much ‘What if John Rambo got a Bruce Wayne-style bankroll and went full tilt after his enemies?’ It’s directed by Rodrigo Valdés, with Omar Chaparro leading as Carlos "El Toro" Estrada, a decorated special ops captain who’s probably not someone you’d want to cross. Chaparro’s usually known for comedies, so seeing him smashing blokes through windows is a bit of a gear shift.

The story kicks off with Carlos being given a hero’s reception for his role in taking down some arms dealers. So far, so standard. But during the celebration, he gives what you could charitably call a “brave” speech in which he pretty much accuses senior military brass of being in bed with criminal syndicates. Not one to mince his words, is Carlos.

His reward? Pretty nasty, as expected. While on holiday with his wife, a hit squad shows up and kills her practically in his arms. Carlos vanishes from view for six months, only to re-emerge filthy rich thanks to a random stroke of good fortune—yes, think Bruce Wayne, but with fewer bats and a bit more swearing.

Rather than retreating to a mansion or therapy, our man Carlos decides to throw all that new cash into his own private campaign against the villains responsible. Cue a lot of gunfights, bare-knuckle brawls, and some properly brutal vengeance scenes. Along the way, he unravels layers of corruption within the military and gets stuck into the criminal muck, all of which threatens whatever’s left of his morals.

What You’re Actually Getting

• Director: Rodrigo Valdés
• Star: Omar Chaparro as “El Toro” Estrada
• Supporting Cast: Alejandro Speitzer, Paola Núñez
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Vibe: Action-packed, fast-moving, no-nonsense revenge drama with a high body count
• Style: It’s not as sleek as John Wick, but makes up for it with grim determination and inventive fight scenes—very much made for people who want their action lean, quick, and constant

Reviewers haven’t exactly landed on a single take here—some are finding it “pure entertainment”, others reckon it’s “rollicking” and a proper gut-punch revenge film. It doesn’t look for philosophical depth, let’s put it that way, but there’s no shortage of fractured jaws and gunpowder.

Breaking Records (Well, Sort Of)

Here’s where it gets interesting. Vengeance turned up in Mexican cinemas for a quick run earlier this year, then dropped onto Prime Video in April. Since landing on the platform, it’s apparently gone a bit ballistic in terms of viewership.

According to Amazon themselves, for the week of 29 June to 5 July, Vengeance landed in fifth place amongst non-English Prime Video originals. That puts it above a bunch of other international action titles, including System, A Family of Bastards, and Agent Zeta. The only films to top it were the massively popular Spanish romance trilogy (Culpa Mia, Culpa Nuestra, and Culpa Tuya) and an Italian romantic comedy called No Place to Be Single.

Not everyone’s been blown away by Valdés’s direction or Chaparro’s pivot from wisecracks to bullet storms, if we’re honest. But for fans after a bloody, cut-to-the-chase action film in Spanish, it’s definitely one of the bolder titles Amazon’s offered up this year.