Derek’s Review: Hobbs & Shaw

Some movies, you get exactly what you pay for. A Tarantino film will be heavy on character and style, a Coen Brothers film will just give you a snapshot of a timeline and a Fast and Furious will, inevitably, do the impossible, all with an explosion and a wink. Hobbs and Shaw is not breaking that cycle, but then again, why would they.

Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is back and still kicking ass. Chasing down criminals and putting big hurt to anyone that gets in his way. Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is still suave and deadly, a man that lives in the shadows, but parties in the light. Continents apart, they both are hot on the trail of criminals and a deadly virus.

Sidestepping these lovely gentleman, we meet Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), a special operations officer with a mission to secure a mysterious package. Unfortunately, her teams success in this is short-lived as a soldier named Brixton (Idris Elba) appears and single-highhandedly wipes the floor with her unit. With little choice, she escape with the weapon, only to be framed for her teammates death and be branded a villain.

On their respective hunts, Hobbs and Shaw are approached by the CIA with information. Come to London to get information and help save the world, once again. This of course becomes a losing proposition as the two come face to face with anger and animosity boiling over. Working as a team is not an option, so they separate and head out to find the woman that might possess a world-ending weapon. Upon tracking her down, they soon discover that her ties run deeper than some know and the weapon and its danger are already in hand.

Final Thoughts:

My first thought as I exited this film was, “Did I hurt myself from rolling my eyes too much?” Then, I took a step back and remembered what came before Hobbs and Shaw. Cars flying and doing the impossible is a Tuesday morning for the Fast and Furious franchise. And this is very much part of the franchise as the two steadfast ideas are large and in charge, family and furious fueled mayhem.

Dwayne Johnson take the opportunity to really expand his character’s backstory with this film. Including his Samoan heritage and his role as a father. Statham also expands the history of Shaw, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he still killed Han. (Seriously, people keep forgetting this.)

All in all, its a fun movie with lots of cameos and surprises. And if you already like Fast and Furious films, this one will deliver from the same menu.

Grade: C+
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2h 15m