Hobbs & Shaw stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham as the two title characters in this spin-off from the Fast & Furious franchise. When Shaw’s sister Hattie, played by Vanessa Kirby, prevents terrorist Brixton Lore - played by Idris Elba - from stealing a deadly virus known as Snowflake, Lore frames Hattie as a traitor and murderer who stole Snowflake, forcing her to go on the run. Hobbs and Shaw are soon called in, and have to put aside their differences to stop Lore and save Hattie.
The Fast & the Furious films have progressively become sillier and sillier as the series went on, with The Fate of the Furious starting to get in ridiculous territory with convoluted terrorist plots, and the main characters getting called in to save the day like they’re a bunch of superheroes. Hobbs & Shaw takes the ridiculousness to a whole new level, with its action sequences going into total over-the-top territory. Characters take immense amounts of damage with almost little scratches, while at other times, they manipulate their environment to the point that objects are utilized in ways that would almost guaranteed never happen in real life.
While it is extremely silly, it’s still a lot of fun. The film is one that for the most part doesn’t take itself too seriously, and just focuses on having a blast. It knows what kind of movie it is, and just rolls with it. The action sequences are almost always accompanied by party music blasting throughout each scene, as Johnson and Statham just tear through bad guys with ease. Meanwhile, Elba plays this villain who’s also part cyborg that seems able to do nearly anything, and the film is less focused on explaining that aspect of him, and more focused on making sure he wreaks as much havoc as possible. The film feels like a constant adrenaline rush.
Though it isn’t the action sequences that make this movie worth the watch, but rather, Johnson and Statham themselves. The film heavily marketed the pairing of these two action stars, and rightfully so. While they were fun to watch go at it in previous Fast & Furious films, they are even more entertaining here.
\While previous entries in the franchise have been funny, this is probably the first full-blown action-comedy because of them. Much of the film is dedicated to these two constantly trying to one-up each other when it comes to beating up bad guys, as well as just flat-out insulting each other. There are sequences that will stop everything else that’s going on to just focus on these two trading insults. They do bring the scene to a grinding halt and may be jarring for some, but they are admittedly hilarious, and much of what makes this film fun is Johnson and Statham’s chemistry.
Unfortunately, while Johnson and Statham are both great, nearly everyone else in the film isn’t given the same respect that they are. Vanessa Kirby is easily the strongest of the supporting cast, mainly due to the fact that she gets her fair share of screen time getting in on the action with the two lead characters. If there’s one thing this movie proves, it’s that she can easily lead her own action movie, as she moves about gracefully in each beat-em-up sequence, and has a great time doing so.
In terms of characterization, she’s not exactly the most well-written otherwise. The film tries to give her a personality, flashing back to when she and Deckard were younger, while also forcing in some scenes of her flirting with Hobbs. But these feel more shoehorned in as an attempt to flesh her character out, as nothing truly substantial or memorable ever comes from these sequences.
While Idris Elba is also fun to watch, it’s mainly due to the actor himself rather than his characterization. As mentioned, the film doesn’t really get too much into Brixton Lore’s background, other than that he knew Shaw back in the day. Beyond that, he’s a typical bad guy bent on world domination, who seeks a deadly virus, which itself is also a recycled plot device. If Elba didn’t play Lore, he wouldn’t be as interesting.
The rest of the film’s supporting cast essentially goes to waste, outside of Eliana Sua as Hobbs’ daughter, who gets in some funny scenes alongside Johnson. Helen Mirren reprises her role from the previous film as Deckard and Hattie’s mother, but the movie never properly utilizes her character. Her two scenes are neither funny nor anything that advances the plot, and essentially just eat up screen time. The same can be said for some of the film’s cameos (who I won’t spoil here), most of whom are featured in sequences that go on for way too long and come off as jarring more than anything.
And if there’s one major flaw with Hobbs & Shaw, it’s the fact that it definitely goes on for way too long. At two hours and fifteen minutes, this movie begins to run out of steam quickly when it gets to the third act. While many of the other entries in the franchise ran for the same length, it’s felt even more so here.
This is mainly due to the fact that the film had an opportunity to end at the 90 minute mark in a sequence that would have been a satisfying enough ending, and could have easily just set the movie up for a sequel. Instead, the film derails by dedicating another 45 minutes to a storyline that stays true to the franchise’s overall themes of family, yet was still a plot element that wasn’t even remotely hinted at at any other point earlier in the film.
Not only does this drag the film out longer than it needed to be, it’s also the least fun part of the film. There aren’t as many laughs, while there’s only one ridiculous action sequence that’s truly memorable. This also winds up being particularly jarring due to the fact that the tone shifts away from being more like a self-aware cartoon to something a bit more serious and somewhat grounded, causing the movie to overstay its welcome.
While Hobbs & Shaw suffers immensely from a bloated runtime and some poor characterization, it’s still overall a fun entry in the Fast & Furious series. For the most part, it’s ridiculous and over-the-top, with action scenes that are reminiscent of a cartoon. But what makes the movie truly worth it are its two stars. Johnson and Statham share some fantastic chemistry together, with hilarious one-liners and vicious insults, and if anything, this film makes a great case for them to star in more movies together.
Recommendation: Watch It
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