2017 Navy SEAL Movie With J.K. Simmons Becomes A Streaming Hit On Netflix

Today, the streaming movie is a well-established phenomenon. A modern analogue of the dreaded direct-to-video film, streaming movies are epitomized by, say, a Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy that takes over Prime Video. Or perhaps Cameron Diaz's first film in 11 years which, while marred by terrible reviews, still manages to dominate Netflix. So, an action thriller from the second unit director of "Titanic?" That's surely got Netflix written all over it.

Interestingly enough, however, "Renegades," from filmmaker Steven Quale ("Final Destination 5"), did get a theatrical release back in 2017. It wasn't in the United States, but it was a theatrical release nonetheless. Unfortunately, when you spend the equivalent of $77.5 million on a film, you surely hope it will make more than $1.5 million at the box office, even if it only hits theaters in Germany and France. "Renegades" (also known as "American Renegades") saw a theatrical debut in the two European countries back in 2017 and found its way stateside via a DVD and Blu-ray release from Lionsgate. But it not only failed to make major money, it was an outright critical failure; "calamity" is the only word I can think of that covers it.

So, what is "Renegades" and why does everyone hate it? It's a film written by Luc Besson and Richard Wenk about a team of Navy SEALs that embark on a mission to retrieve stolen Nazi gold from a sunken city at the bottom of a lake. If that sounds like the kind of bombastic actioner that might be so bad it's good, take a look at its 11% Rotten Tomatoes score. Hey, at least it has J.K. Simmons in it for some reason.

But wait. Just as "Renegades" was looking like the kind of film that would never receive any kind of mainstream recognition, a savior emerges to dredge up the ill-fated action film from the gloomy depths of obscurity. Yep, Netflix viewers are watching this thing in droves.

"Renegades" ... do you really want to know the full plot to this one? Beyond Nazi gold and Navy SEALs, there's very little else to cover, but if you like the idea of J.K. Simmons as a stern Admiral with a penchant for chastising his insubordinate soldiers, it has that going for it. Still, 11% on Rotten Tomatoes ... yikes.

But Netflix subscribers apparently can't get enough of Steven Quale's previously unseen film. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks streaming viewership figures across the various platforms, the movie has actually fared quite well on Netflix, where it's currently number three on the U.S. most-watched film charts. On February 2, 2025, just one day after it debuted on the service, it entered the charts in the number two spot before slipping down to number three a day later. But that still means that, for a day, it outdid Ralph Fiennes' delightfully wicked feast, "The Menu," which at the time of this writing is the number one streaming movie on Netflix in the United States.

Will "Renegades" be able to battle its way to the top spot? Well, it'll have to defeat the inexplicably mighty "Back in Action." Cameron Diaz's disappearance from Hollywood for 11 years was apparently enough to ensure her return would be a big deal, and "Back in Action" has now been dominating the Netflix charts for a couple weeks. It's currently number two on the U.S. rankings, which means "Renegades" has its work cut out for it. If the film can overcome truly abysmal reviews and the allure of Diaz to get the job done, though, it will be a small victory for Quale and whatever European distributor lost millions on his movie — but a victory nonetheless.