Ruthless Bastards (2025) Review: Old-School Action With Plenty of Grit

This Ruthless Bastards review starts with a simple promise: two grizzled hitmen, one last job, and a lot of bad blood. Bruce Fontaine's Canadian action-crime film is a small, rough-edged throwback that knows what it is. It won't change your life, but it has a few pleasures for fans of old-school genre fare.

Ruthless Bastards Review: The Story So Far (No Spoilers)

The Ruthless Bastards plot is easy to follow. Nico Hawk and Rick Hart used to be a tight team of enforcers, but their partnership ended in hatred. Now a lucrative final assignment pulls them back together, with a $5 million payday on the line, according to Prime Video's description.

Their target is Sunny Gill, a rising crime boss. To get paid, the two men must set their rivalry aside, at least in theory. The friction between them drives the film more than the job itself.

Writer Varinder Jhattu keeps the setup lean. If you like straightforward crime stories with a ticking clock, this fits the mold. It is a 2025 release, arriving on 11 November 2025, and runs about 90 minutes.

What Works in Ruthless Bastards

The biggest strength is the pairing at the center. Critics keep returning to the chemistry between the two leads, and it is easy to see why. City on Fire calls them fun to watch as they play off each other, and Film Threat describes the film as a gritty action throwback.

Here are the highlights:

• Lead chemistry: the bickering feels lived-in, which sells the idea of old partners who resent each other.

• Old-school fight style: Film Threat points to a Hong Kong-inspired approach to fight choreography.

• Tight running time: at around 90 minutes, the film doesn't overstay its welcome.

It also wears its B-movie identity with some pride. For viewers who miss the straight-to-the-point action of earlier decades, that counts for something. If you browse our action movie reviews, you'll find plenty of bigger productions that have less personality.

Ruthless Bastards Cast and Performances

The Ruthless Bastards cast is led by Sean Patrick Flanery as Rick Hart and Casper Van Dien as Nico Hawk. Flanery and Van Dien carry the movie, and their rapport is the main reason to press play. They bring a weary, sarcastic energy that suits two men tired of each other and of the life they chose.

Parmish Verma plays Sunny Gill, the ambitious crime boss at the center of the job. Hasleen Kaur appears as Ishanna Sidhu, Alex Zahara as Treyton Jones, and Alex Bogomolov as Evgeny Sergeev. The supporting players fill out the criminal underworld competently, though the script gives them limited room.

One review notes that Van Dien feels underused for much of the film. That is a fair point, given how strong the duo is when they share the screen.

Where Ruthless Bastards Stumbles

The plot is relatively basic, and critics say the action can be inconsistent. Some scenes land with a satisfying crunch, while others feel cheap or under-staged. The budget limits show, and the film doesn't always hide them.

The story also offers few surprises. If you want an intricate crime puzzle, look elsewhere, perhaps to our crime movie reviews. One IMDb user dismisses the film as strictly a B-movie product, and while that is harsh, it captures the ceiling here.

Public scores are modest. IMDb users currently give it 4.1/10, and Prime Video shows 3.4/5 from a small number of ratings. Critics have been kinder, with City on Fire at 6.5/10 and Film Threat at 7.5/10.

Is Ruthless Bastards Worth Watching?

Yes, if you go in with the right expectations. Is Ruthless Bastards worth watching comes down to your tolerance for low-budget action. The leads are the draw, and the film's short length makes it an easy evening pick.

It is not a standout of the genre, and the inconsistent fights and thin plot keep it from rising higher. But there is charm in its no-frills approach, and the Flanery and Van Dien pairing gives it a spark many bigger films lack.

If you enjoy a similar heist-gone-wrong mood, you might also try Fuze (2025) afterward. Director Bruce Fontaine delivers a modest but energetic genre exercise, and that is enough for a casual night in.

Who Will Enjoy Ruthless Bastards

• Fans of gritty, B-movie action and 1990s-style buddy thrillers.

• Viewers who like Sean Patrick Flanery or Casper Van Dien and want to see them share the screen.

• Anyone after a short, simple crime story that doesn't demand much attention.