Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

I'm a mild mannered fan when it comes to the Fast & Furious franchise for the most part. 

I'm always excited when a new one comes out and I generally really enjoy their brand of insanity, but I also don't find a need to watch them more than once or twice outside of Fast Five. Each recent one, FF6, F7, and F8 all earned great/good reviews but they're also kind of like candy. I eat it and enjoy my time while eating it, but not much sticks with me after the fact. 

That's fine, because that's what I (and others I assume) go to these films for. 

With the Hobbs & Shaw spin-off, I was tentatively excited. Johnson's Hobbs was the borderline-savior of the franchise (that, and a really damn good movie with F5) even if his presence in films after it have been limited and Statham's Shaw is an interesting enough character to keep around. Together, they hate each other so their back and forth is fun; but can it sustain an entire film? Throw in Idris Elba as the main villain and David Leitch as the director and you suddenly have my attention. 

Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, Hobbs & Shaw ends up just being "okay" in a franchise that is usually more entertaining than that. If you've enjoyed the franchise thus far, then by all means go - I did have fun throughout - but I also don't imagine this making the top of anyone's "top of franchise" lists. 

Part of the reason for that, frustratingly so, is the marketing. There are some real bonkers moments and when the first couple trailers came out with snippets of them, I figured, "I bet there's some real gonzo ones in store!". I found that by the time the credits had rolled, I'd seen all the "cool parts" in the trailers to some extent and while yes, they are cool on the big screen, it's maddening that the most bankable franchise outside of Marvel feels the need to blow its load in the trailers. I honestly love watching trailers. They get me amped for movies and they're an art form in and of themselves. BUT(!) they should not, in retrospect, be a detriment to the movie you created and with Hobbs & Shaw, they are. 

"This is MY movie!"
"HEY! I said it's my movie!"

Mission: Impossible & F&F merging? Whaaa?

Outside of the trailers, I also found the action to be in a weird valley between passable, awesome, and overly fake. Disappointingly, almost all of the hand-to-hand combat is tedious, boring, and poorly shot with too many cuts and edits. John Wick or Atomic Blonde (or even Deadpool 2), this is not. The car chases are thrilling and often where the best bits have been spoiled, but are still awesome. And then there are moments where physics are clearly defied to a substantial degree and the green screen CGI kicks in. Again, for a franchise this bankable, could we not get better special effects? It truly is a bummer because Leitch is more talented than this, the Furious franchise has surprised us with stunts better than this before, and they totally blew the insanely awesome automatic-motorcycle-thingy outside of two awesome moments. 

So what remains? Luckily what we're left with is a fun cast of characters in Hobbs (Johnson) and Shaw (Statham). Their banter back and forth is often amusing and sometimes worth a laugh out loud and it's clear that they're both having fun with the insults and zingers. The film is far too long to sustain the shtick in general, but it's fun when it's good. Elba's villain is intriguing, as is the background villain he reports to whom remains in the shadows. Brixton is interesting because of Elba's swagger and ability to nonchalantly be a cocky monster. The "secret weapon" of Hobbs & Shaw however is Vanessa Kirby as Shaw's sister, Hattie and I'd go as far to say that she's the best addition to this franchise since Johnson's Hobbs. She kicks total ass and gets most of the best hand-to-hand scenes and is generally a wonderfully appreciated female presence in the midst of the alpha male pissing contest that Statham and Johnson partake in. One would hope that she finds her way to the core set of films and whatever sequel comes of this film. 

"I'm black Superman!"
Yoooo duuuuude. That's racist!

Throughout Hobbs & Shaw I enjoyed myself. There's a pretty good soundtrack that blasts per standard of the F&F franchise and there are some surprise guest stars that will have you chuckling (though I'd argue they overstay their welcome). It's an obvious and unsurprising extension of the Furious franchise that pays some homage to where it came from while also doubling down on being different (i.e. having basically a superhero in it). But at the end of it all, it felt a little more superficial than these films usually do, perhaps because I was unsurprised, or perhaps because it overstays its good will, I'm not sure.

CONS

• At 2hrs and 15 mins it's entirely too long
• Hinders the whole alpha-male competition comedy too
• Okay action in general, but disappointing when you consider who the director is. Most of the hand-to-hand stuff has poor editing
• Some weird editing in general (even outside of melee combat)
• Wonky CGI for a franchise this big and lucrative
• Way too much was revealed in recent trailers and TV spots

PROS

• Packed with fun characters. Hobbs and Shaw's back and forth is usually good fun and Johnson and Statham are having an enjoyable time with it
• Idris Elba's villain, while fairly cliche, is elevated by his charisma and swagger. Plus he's got an awesome bike that's totally unrealistic but easily created the coolest scenes in the film
• Vanessa Kirby's Hattie is an awesome addition to this franchise and helps balance this film
• Wild, bonkers action that often defies physics. Some set pieces are awesome on a huge screen
• Few surprise guests that get solid laughs and the script overall is playful
• Fitting, loud soundtrack
• Maintains the emphasis on family, particularly at the end where it feels most genuine

Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10