What do you get when you mix two of the biggest action stars of the past decade, Idris Elba, a couple unexpected characters, and some over the top action? You get one hell of a ride full of action. This Hobbs & Shaw review will explore the movie and what made it such a fun ride.
Hobbs & Shaw is a spin-off of the original Fast and Furious franchise which has spanned across eight movies with a ninth coming out later in 2020. Hobbs & Shaw is the first of the spin-off movies with another planned spin-off with an all-female cast.
Hobbs and Shaw starts by showing us both lives of Jason Statham (Shaw) and Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) and how they approach their daily routine. Shaw is more refined and structured. Whereas, Hobbs’ daily routine consisted of drinking raw eggs and a rigorous workout routine. Differences are again highlighted in how they approach chasing down a suspect with information and how they fight. The movie showing both dynamics of these characters as almost a polar opposite is a nice touch and highlights how difficult it might be for them to team together.
Dwayne and Statham are their typical charismatic selves. The movies give them both some time to allow for banter, in fact, there is an entire scene devoted to it. Both actors carry their respective weight in the action sequences, which most of the time are over the top, but it is the Fast and Furious franchise. I think we can all expect there to be some over the top action. For example, there is a scene where Dwayne Johnson holds a helicopter. Like I said, over the top, but to be expected and the execution is appreciated.
Family Connections
One of my favorite parts of the recent additions to the Fast and Furious franchise is the underlying theme of family. The family theme is again utilized within Hobbs and Shaw. We finally learn more of Hobbs backstory once we are in Hawaii and meet more of his Samoa family. It is learned that their Father brought them into the illegal car trade and that caused a rift between Dwayne and the rest of his family. While this revelation is not world-changing, it does give us a clue into some of Hobbs personality and his background.
Shaw’s family is explored in the movie. This movie introduces his sister (Hattie) who was played by Vanessa Kirby and, again, shows his mother. They show a close-knit family who are extremely loyal to each other. This shows another side to Shaw besides this heartless assassin. He has a heart but it is guarded, and Statham plays that type of character well.
The Villian
Idris Elba, playing the character Brixton, is a powerhouse and he carried that into this movie. His action scenes were excellent and his connection to Shaw helped give him solid reasoning for his motives.
His character was part of the “Etheon Corporation” and it’s sole purpose is to save Earth by killing billions of people with a supervirus. It was a fairly common motive, but it fit for the movie and provided a larger villian. The main leader behind Etheon Corporation hides behind a modulated voice. It makes you wonder who the main leader is since we know that the this character will be back in a sequel.
So who could it be? I would love to see your theories in the comments.
Final Thoughts
I went into this movie expecting well executed fight scenes and over the top action. Did this movie deliver? Absolutely! Plus, it is always great seeing Statham and Johnson doing what they do best. Hobbs and Shaw also had their characters a bit more fleshed out by telling us more backstory and introducing more family members. Having Idris Elba play the bad guy was icing on the cake for this movie, and he played an excellent bad guy even if a bit one dimensional at times.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie as it offered action, a solid story, good characters, and even a few surprised appearances. It was a nice addition to the world of Fast and Furious. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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