About the film (courtesy of Universal Pictures):
Ever since hulking lawman Hobbs (Johnson), a loyal agent of America’s Diplomatic Security Service, and lawless outcast Shaw (Statham), a former British military elite operative, first faced off in 2015’s Furious 7, the duo have swapped smack talk and body blows as they’ve tried to take each other down. But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton (Idris Elba) gains control of an insidious bio-threat that could alter humanity forever — and bests a brilliant and fearless rogue MI6 agent (The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby), who just happens to be Shaw’s sister — these two sworn enemies will have to partner up to bring down the only guy who might be badder than themselves. Hobbs & Shaw blasts open a new door in the Fast universe as it hurtles action across the globe, from Los Angeles to London and from the toxic wasteland of Chernobyl to the lush beauty of Samoa.
First off, don’t you think Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a bit much? Well I do too, so we’re going to shorten that up to simply Hobbs & Shaw from here on out. I get the brand name and all but Universal Pictures is putting me in the fast lane to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome right now! Okay now onto the fun stuff here.
Universal Pictures has wisely reset and refocused their alpha-male standoff that featured Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, first seen together in Fast Five (2011), to a much more palatable pairing of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, who made his first franchise appearance technically in Fast & Furious 6 (2013). This relationship seemed to click better (if you believe the rumors regarding clashing egos of the former) so to keep things fresh and constantly evolving, a Hobbs & Shaw standalone vehicle was born.
David Leitch, director of Atomic Blonde (2017) and Deadpool 2 (2018) proves that he’s up to the task of grabbing the wheel of this high octane spin-off idea and shifting it into a new gear of action and (if I’m being completely honest) absurdity. This approach is exactly what the franchise needed to keep things fresh. As you will soon see, Leitch has zero qualms about transforming his vision of a adrenaline pumping escape from all things practical. Who wants to get bogged down with realism when just going for it is infinitely more exciting?!
There’s no reason to be sheepish or apologetic. Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby and so many others looked as though they were having the time of their lives. As far as veering off the road that the Fast & Furious franchise started down, Hobbs & Shaw should have a bright future if its decided that they want to continue on.
The chemistry is great between the main roster of stars as well as the other pieces that fall into place throughout this winding road of craziness. And even though Hobbs & Shaw clocks in at 135 minutes, there’s very little downtime that’ll have you checking your watch. And you’ll have to see there for the entire duration assuming you want to catch all of the end credits extras. Johnson and Statham play very well off of one another, and Idris Elba looks very good in a villain’s skin. If fast vehicles, constant action, rapid-fire humor and an engaging plot is your idea of a good time, this is where you’ll want to be to kick off the last month of Summer blockbusters. See it in theaters now.
