‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is action and fun, just not much more
As the Fast & Furious franchise begins production on its 9th film in the franchise, nicknamed Furious 9 for now, a spin-off starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham lands in theaters: Fast & Furious presents Hobbs & Shaw.
After a split introduction to the titular illustrates their different routines and attributes, the pair enter slimy establishments (in Los Angeles and London) separately, ultimately investigating the same dangerous plot: a deadly virus is in the open and threatens humanity. Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) has injected herself with this virus, starting a countdown to her untimely death and the release of the virus upon the public, so a cat-and-mouse film kicks into high gear.
Idris Elba stars as Brixton, a talented former spy (shot in the face, left for dead by Shaw), returns as a cyborg, tech-enhanced baddie with a bad attitude, claiming to basically be “Black Superman” as he drops the hammer on Hobbs and Shaw.
The film, directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde) uses humor to thread the insane action sequences together, creating a buddy flick mashup with a spy and Gone in 60 Seconds film. The are a couple of insane cameo roles to keep the audience laughing as Hobbs and Shaw bicker endlessly and deal with their personal family issues.
Hobbs & Shaw is 100% and audience, popcorn film, coming out in August to avoid competition with Avengers: Endgame, but will surely light up the box office before kids head back to school.
All of the acting is solid, but some of the dialogue lands flat or is just silly (Brixton rhyming “genocide” was horribly stupid) and the believability factor shoots right out of the window just moments into the film, but…that’s sort of the point.
Kirby, after a great job on Mission Impossible Fallout, really does a great job in the “action chick” role and should warrant consideration for bigger roles, joining the DC or Marvel franchise at some point.
Some of the secondary cast is truly awesome in the minor roles: Helen Mirren as Queenie (Shaw’s Mom in prison); Cliff Curtis (Fear the Walking Dead, Risen) pulls off a role as Johnson’s brother; Lori Pelenise Tuisano as The Rock’s Samoan mama and Eliana Sua as Hobbs’ daughter Sam.
If you are expecting something groundbreaking, you are expecting way too much and frankly, Leitch is a “stunt guy” so that’s NOT his strongest asset. There are times where the dialogue is just exposition and lazy storytelling, which lands super flat if it’s from Johnson.
Stay through ALL OF THE CREDITS, there is a laugh at the very, very, very end.
Fast & Furious presents Hobbs & Shaw earns 6 out of 10 stars
This is a great, fun time. There is some cussing (one F-bomb to keep their PG-13 rating), nothing sexually racy and something perverse. If you are a fan of the originals, the street racing, this will surely disappoint as the “Chop Shop” element doesn’t come into play until the very act.
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