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Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
(Universal Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
After eight movies, the ever-popular “Fast & the Furious” franchise is taking a break from the fast cars and hot action that comes to define the series. That’s why we have their first ever spin-off film, “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” which brings these characters’ comic chemistry from 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious,” which wowed both critics and audiences.
The first director in this potential new spin-off series is David Leitch, whose recent action hits include “Atomic Blonde” and “Deadpool 2.” The only question is whether the franchise’s fan base will embrace this new iteration without Vin Diesel and company.
Special agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and criminal mastermind Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) couldn’t be any more different from each other. However, they do think about family, including Hobbs being a single dad to his daughter Sam (Eliana Su’a), while Shaw looks out for his imprisoned mother, Queenie (Helen Mirren). The action starts when Shaw’s estranged sister and MI6 agent Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) finds herself on the run after injecting herself with a deadly virus, The Snowflake. The CIA soon puts the two characters back together for another mission, allowing them to once again resort to hilarious insults.
Hattie comes to reveal that she’s been hiding the virus from the evil Brixton (Idris Elba), who’s a biologically enhanced super-agent from a mysterious organization called Eteon. This leads to one big action sequence after another as the duo must traverse the globe to help Hattie rid of the virus from her body. It all comes to ahead as Hobbs reunite with his Samoan family including his estranged brother Jonah (Cliff Curtis) to help them prepare for their final showdown.
For those wondering how this spinoff film factors into the “Fast & Furious” universe, there’s not much to it in all honesty. The movie feels like a mashup of different action movies like “Mission: Impossible,” “James Bond” and the Bourne movies, only mixed with both sci-fi and superhero elements. There’s still some essence of it with the tripped-out cars, beautiful women and exotic locations. However, it still lacks the emotional weight of some of the previous entries had that could be considerably a letdown to some fans. Not that the whole movie is wholly terrible, but it makes you wish for the realism of the very first “Fast & Furious” film.
But for the most part, the fun factor remains very high. The fight scenes are well shot and brilliantly choreographed to the point you can see every punch being pulled. Naturally, the action sequences are outrageously entertaining where each one will have you shaking in the seats. Plus for any car lover, seeing those cool-looking automobiles will give them the biggest smile on their faces they ever got.
As the stars of the show, both Johnson and Statham are at their very best. Amid all the chaos, they retain both their tough exterior and charming personalities while delivering some hilarious moments. Much like last year’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” Kirby is great as a female agent but with a more vulnerable side. Elba is also credible bringing something fun and threatening to an otherwise two-dimensional villain.
With “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” the franchise introduces a new spin-off series with a different tone and a different kind of fun. A lot of fans will likely eat it up especially the much-more ludicrous nature of the story. But for those who wish for a more traditional entry with all the speed and testosterone they’ve come to expect, there’s a “Fast & Furious 9” in production for next summer.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for prolonged sequences of action and violence, suggestive material and some strong language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
