Last week my girlfriend and I were set on watching the film “Yesterday” before it was pulled from theaters. When we got to the theater however, the theater was full so we were forced to pick another movie or go home. Having seen almost every other movie screening, we settled on “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”. The trailer didn’t wow either of us but I like some of the films in the franchise and we both enjoy Dwayne Johnson’s movies typically.
The film is a spin-off from the main “Fast and Furious” films and focuses on the characters of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw as they are both sent on a mission to recover a deadly virus carried by a woman who turns out to be Deckard’s sister. They aren’t the only ones trying to get ahold of her however as a cyber enhanced superhuman and terrorist is also hunting her for the virus she has inside of her.
As far as popcorn munching crowd pleasers go, this movie was fairly enjoyable if you turn your brain off and just enjoy the visuals. The biggest problem with the film is that it is just kind of dumb (which is not a new problem for the “Fast & Furious” franchise). The movie ignores anything remotely realistic in favor of explosions and fist fights.
The cast was probably the best part of the film as Dwayne Johnson once again proves how charming he is as a leading man even in something so over the top. Jason Statham isn’t one of my favorite actors but he has a good back and forth chemistry with Johnson that plays like a classic buddy cop pairing from 80s movies. Idris Elba does the most with the throwaway villain role he was given. Vanessa Kirby is good but doesn’t exactly steal any scenes. On the other hand, Helen Mirren lights up the screen during the few scenes she has in the movie.
::Spoiler Alert:: One of the highlights of the film were the many cameo appearances featured throughout. In addition to WWE superstar Roman Reigns in a non speaking role, we also get Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart in humorous roles. I just wish the cameo appearance planned for Keanu Reeves would have worked out.
Now, the film is roughly thirty minutes too long and lacks direction but this isn’t helped by the fact that the movie suffers from franchise fatigue so you notice the flaws more. I felt the same way about “The Fate of the Furious” and I think this is a franchise that could use a breather. All the in fighting among the cast (most notably Tyrese Gibson) isn’t helping the franchise as a whole either. For a franchise that stresses the importance of family, the cast certainly isn’t acting like family (although this film didn’t focus on family much anyway).
The movie is a big dumb enjoyable car wreck of a film anchored by The enjoyable charm of Dwayne Johnson. This film won’t be considered a masterpiece to most, but it is still a fun ride.
Grade: B-
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