Hobbs & Shaw (2019) Directed by David Leitch. Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby. IMDB says: “Lawman Luke Hobbs and outcast Deckard Shaw form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.”
As The Fast and the Furious franchised has retooled itself over the last few films starting from Fast Five, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) became a clear standout, fan-favorite character. His feats of strength (hello, flexing through arm cast) and ongoing list of one-liners (cheesy but fun) made him one of the best parts of the franchise and breathed a lot of new life into the old cast of characters. It’s not surprising that he would be the subject of the first Fast and Furious spin-off film. A bit more surprising is its second hero being Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), perhaps the biggest adversary of Vin Diesel’s crew. While he’s perpetrated some of the series’ worst offenses, the story arc of The Fate of the Furious gave Shaw a bit of leeway. Some of the most entertaining scenes of the last franchise installment involved Hobbs and Shaw bantering and insulting each other. Obviously, some film execs saw those scenes and thought “I think there is an entire (2 hour + long) movie here”. They were kind of right.
What brings these two adversaries together is a plot of world domination, of course. There is a super virus that must be found before it releases into the general population. Since Hobbs is the best tracker in the biz, he’s naturally called in to help. A rogue MI6 agent is on the run with the weaponized virus – an agent named Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby), who just so happens to be the sister of Statham’s character. Shaw is brought into the fold for his connection to the missing person, reluctantly forced to work alongside Hobbs. Also on the hunt for the virus, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba) is some type of superhuman agent for a shady organization. While the story isn’t always the strongest, the actors seem all in and are having fun with it. Kirby was a wonderful addition who gets her share of badass moments, while its amusing watching Elba play a ridiculous villain.
Director David Leitch (John Wick) brings style to the action sequences, with plenty of fist fights, the occasional car stunt, and lots of explosions. There’s nothing quite as obscene as some of the biggest Fast and Furious set pieces, but there’s at least one that gets close. Overall, it’s not terribly original and could be tighter overall (especially in the long third act), but if you’re mostly there for the starring duo you shouldn’t be disappointed. It’s a fun night at the movies, with a decent amount of humor and plenty of fun action sequences.
FTS SCORE: 70%
Hobbs & Shaw
is currently in theaters.