Directed by David Leitch, the Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs &Shaw sees Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw working together to prevent a virus getting into the hands of an augmented assassin known as Brixton.
In my opinion, the Fast series should’ve stopped at Furious 7. We didn’t need Fate of the Furious, but without it we would’ve been without the hilarious dynamic between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, we wouldn’t have received Hobbs & Shaw.
This movie is all kinds of silly where the laws of physics are constantly broken, and we now have a cyber-genetically enhanced villain who nicknames himself ‘Black Superman’. In this franchise? Was this ever out of the question?
Objectively, I don’t know if this movie is even on par with being average because it’s akin to a cartoon. It doesn’t matter, because this movie is keenly aware of what it is. As a result, it ends up being a ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of scenario.
In this case, I found it irresistibly entertaining. Johnson and Statham might not exemplify golden standards of acting, but they know how to kick ass and trash talk the hell out of one another. My favourite moments in the movie stem from them tormenting and insulting each other. One moment in particular left me laughing for a solid two minutes.
The dialogue is completely juvenile tripe but the two make it work, and the humour also lends itself effectively to the action. These moments of humour sprinkled in the fight scenes made them more memorable.
Other additions to the cast include Vanessa Kirby as Hattie Shaw and Idris Elba as Brixton. Kirby does a slick job as Deckard’s estranged sister, with a charm she neatly balanced between rough and elegant.
Elba nailed Brixton. This was an over-the-top villain done right, and he puts up a pretty good fight against Hobbs and the Shaws. I really enjoyed the dominatingly sinister charisma Elba brought to the role.
There’s a bevy of set-pieces in this movie. David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) consistently weaves good editing and camerawork throughout and are all paced very well.
Hobbs & Shaw does falter. The first two acts were quite consistent, until the third act starts being something it’s not, the message of 'family’ jarringly re-surfacing, and with this franchise it’s testing my patience with how annoyingly preachy it has become.
The movie is also too long. I genuinely felt like the movie had wrapped up after the second act so it’s a bit exhausting once the final third rolls in. But the action is still cool and the actors are fun to watch.
That’s Hobbs & Shaw in a nutshell. It’s simple, entertaining and hilarious. It’s bad, but it relishes it. I praise its self-awareness and the charisma of its cast for a wild trip. Being candid, I’d rather see a sequel to this, than the upcoming Fast 9. Have fun!
Written by Seán Mac G.
Comments