By Charles Kirkland Jr.
Two alpha males have to learn to work together to save the world in The Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw.
When the world’s most deadly virus gets stolen from an MI6 raid gone wrong, both super tracker Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and renegade Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) get put on the case to find the virus and the thief. Hobbs and Shaw have no desire to work together and set out on their own. When the thief turns out to be Deckard’s sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), both men are forced to form an alliance to keep the virus out of the hands of Brixton (Idris Elba), a cyber-genetically enhanced villain, save the life of Hattie and protect the fate of the world.
Written by Furious saga veteran Chris Morgan and directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2), Hobbs and Shaw stars Johnson, Statham, Elba, and Kirby along with Helen Mirren and Cliff Curtis. Hobbs and Shaw is the ninth installment in The Fast and Furious saga and the first spin-off from the main universe. Although this film is the ninth in time, all signs point to this film happening out of sequence and most likely after the events occurring in the upcoming Fast and Furious 9 slated for release next year.
When you put two of the world’s biggest stars together in one film, you have the makings of a box office juggernaut unlike anything this year save for Avengers: Endgame. This movie does not disappoint. Instead of resting on the fact that you have Johnson and Statham appearing as the stars of the film, Hobbs and Shaw is an incredibly action-packed and hilariously enjoyable movie from beginning to end.
Johnson speaks more in this movie and has more charisma than in any other of his Furious appearances. Likewise, Statham’s Shaw character is much more developed and crafty than any of his other appearances. Neither of the stars backs down and actually pushes the other toward creating the best mismatched buddy-cop movie since Lethal Weapon.
While Johnson and Statham are pushing each other, they literally have to team up to match the evil essence that Idris Elba brings to the film. Brixton (and his superbike) is a formidable villain who catches bullets and punches through metal doors. Elba’s performance is delightfully mean from the moment he announces on the screen that he is the bad guy. However, Brixton’s employer, a computer voice on a screen, is the real bad guy though who leaves the audience wondering who it is and when will we find out.
You won’t find out who the big bad is in this movie (there has to be room for a sequel) and there are two end credit scenes that should be seen (Fast and Furious has been doing these scenes almost as long and as well as Marvel has.) Additionally, there are two surprise cameos in the film that are jaw-droppingly ridiculous fun.
Dripping with testosterone and reeking of burned rubber, The Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw is rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action and violence, suggestive material and some strong language. It is the summer blockbuster movie that you have been missing. It is easily the most insanely fun movie of the year that ups the bar for the whole Furious universe.
Grade: A