Kevin James playing a neo-Nazi skinhead in a blood-soaked action thriller sounds preposterous on paper, and while Becky was very much that, the hard-boiled home invasion story turned out exponentially better than it had any right to be. Just like that, a prospective new franchise was born, with The Wrath of Becky upping the ante significantly.
Lulu Wilson returns as the teenage title hero, with the story picking up three years after she’s annihilated a band of rogue invaders seeking to retrieve a mysterious key. Now rebuilding her life in the care of Denise Burse’s Elena, things take a turn for the violent once more after her new home ends up being broken into, leaving the self-proclaimed “Noble Men” in world of hurt after they swiftly discover who they’ve decided to mess with.
Seann William Scott steps into the James role as “comedic actor playing a maniacal sociopath,” and the reviews were much stronger for the follow-up. Whereas the first installment netted a decent 72 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, The Wrath of Becky is Certified Fresh with an 86 percent approval rating.
Talk of a threequel has already been confirmed, and if it continues on its current trajectory, then the Becky saga is well-placed to become one of the most quietly acclaimed B-tier properties around. Streaming subscribers are finding that out for themselves, too, with the second chapter currently riding high as one of the most-watched features on Paramount Plus, per FlixPatrol.
There’s only so many times you can rehash the formula, but at the same time, we’d be happy to see it again.