Dave Bautista’s $1.3M Post-Apocalyptic Action Thriller Finds Redemption on Streaming

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I have to say, I’m really glad more people are finally discovering this movie! It didn’t do well in theaters when it came out six months ago, but it’s been gaining traction on streaming lately. It stars Dave Bautista as a treasure hunter, and the story is set in a world completely wrecked by a massive solar flare. It came out on September 19th, 2025, and I think it’s a really cool action thriller!

The film, directed by J.J. Perry and featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Olga Kurylenko, and Kristofer Hivju, had a small release in several countries including parts of the Middle East, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Israel before coming to the United States. Despite costing $56 million to make, it only earned $1.3 million in theaters.

Six months after its release, Afterburn is now a popular movie on Prime Video. It currently ranks as the third most-watched film worldwide, according to Flix Patrol. Only The Bluff and Bautista’s other recent movie, The Wrecking Crew, are performing better.

Dave Bautista Plays Against Type in ‘Afterburn’

Okay, so I just finished watching Afterburn, and Dave Bautista is fantastic in it. The movie’s based on a Red 5 Comics graphic novel, and it’s a pretty wild ride. He plays Jake, who’s sent to France in this really broken-down world to track down the Mona Lisa for a guy who thinks he’s the King of England. You’d figure someone on a treasure hunt like that would be a pro, right? But that’s where it gets interesting! Bautista usually plays these super-capable soldiers, but Jake is totally the opposite – he’s definitely not an expert, and that makes the whole thing way more fun.

Okay, so everyone assumed Jake was this super-skilled, battle-hardened soldier, right? But apparently, the creators decided it would be way more interesting if he wasn’t! David Bautista actually told ScreenRant that they deliberately made him inexperienced. He pointed to this one scene where Jake is skydiving – it really shows how new he is to all this military stuff, and it’s hilarious because we expected something totally different.

We initially considered having the characters believe he’d been through this before for comedic effect, but it turned out he was completely unprepared and didn’t know what he was getting into.

‘Afterburn’ Proved To Be a Divisive Action Thriller


Inaugural Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

Despite receiving critical acclaim for films like Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and The Wrecking Crew, Dave Bautista’s Afterburn wasn’t well-received. The film currently has nine negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and hasn’t earned a Tomatometer score, indicating it didn’t attract much attention.

However, audience reactions to Afterburn were mixed, with the Popcornmeter scoring 57%. Some viewers praised it as action-packed and well-acted, while others found the story lacking and the script weak.

I was so excited to hear about Afterburn – it’s a huge hit overseas! It’s a real bummer it’s not on Prime Video here in the States, though. Luckily, I found out you can watch it on MGM+, and it’s pretty affordable if you subscribe through Amazon Channels.




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2026-03-17 22:19