Hobbs and Shaw: A Promising Step Forward for Fast and Furious?

In an age when big-budget filmmaking seems to almost exclusively equate with superhero movies, the Fast and Furious series is one of the few remaining franchises that offers something a bit different from the usual. That’s what draws me in and makes me want to give these movies a shot. 

Regardless, the Fast and Furious franchise, just like superhero movies, choose to focus on action and explosions as opposed to story. That’s the thing that’s stopped me from becoming more invested in the series. Aside from Hobbs and Shaw, I’ve only seen the 6th and 7th installments. The trailers for this, however, promised an entertaining and funny ride and with the Rock and Jason Statham at the center of it all, this spinoff promised to focus on all the best parts of Fast and Furious. 

Luckily, that’s pretty much exactly what Hobbs and Shaw delivers. That first trailer is a perfect representation of what you get during this action packed thrill ride. The characters of Hobbs and Shaw are really the only things that scream Fast and Furious. Besides that, the film represents a step forward for the franchise that takes on its own unique style. A reinterpretation of the classic, 80’s buddy cop story.  

After his role in Spy, Jason Statham proved he has some serious comedic chops and he certainly gets to flex them in Hobbs and Shaw. That was one of the major strengths of the film. The humor was almost always on point and a few surprise cameos made that element of the story even better. 

The action is also fantastic and Idris Elba’s villainous character pulls off some pretty awesome tricks with his tailor-made, black motorcycle. All that combines to make something in which there is almost never a dull moment. I say almost because at 2 hours and 15 minutes, you definitely feel the movies length by the end. I was excited to walk out of Hobbs and Shaw pumped up but by the finale, the film had overstayed its welcome.

Fortunately, it’s still mostly stupid, meaningless fun that seems to know exactly what it is and that’s why it succeeds. While you feel its length by the end, it’s an extremely good time at the theatre and the Rock and Jason Statham must have had a blast during filming. This is definitely a large bucket of popcorn type of movie and when it works, its the no nonsense type of entertainment you want. A perfect opportunity to pass the time on a warm summer afternoon.