Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019 Film) Review

With its first spin-off, the "Fast & Furious" franchise continues to expand, but does "Hobbs & Shaw" prove there's life beyond Vin Diesel and company?

A deadly virus has been stolen by Hattie Shaw, so when the genetically-enhanced Brixton Lore starts coming after her, Luke Hobbs and brother Deckard Shaw must work together in order to find her and destroy the virus before Lore uses it to bring about the end of humanity.

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham star as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, the film's titular characters. Vanessa Kirby and Idris Elba round out the cast as their respective characters, Hattie Shaw and Brixton Lore.

David Leitch directed "Hobbs & Shaw," the ninth installment in the "Fast & Furious" franchise. Johnson and Statham co-produced the film with Chris Morgan and Hiram Garcia. Morgan and Drew Pearce co-wrote the script. Universal Pictures distributed "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."

Overall Thoughts

Until a few weeks ago, I had never seen a "Fast & Furious" film before. Part of the reason I've recently been marathoning through these films is because of this spin-off, "Hobbs & Shaw." The trailers for this movie were fun and Johnson and Statham seemed to share a good comedic chemistry. Idris Elba looked to be enjoying the role of a super-powered maniac and the action stunts looked, as only "Fast & Furious" can do, crazy and preposterous, but also cool.

Well, if you liked those trailers, I'm disappointed to say that the movie's best moments are the scenes you've already seen in the trailers. Otherwise, it's super low energy, has bizarre cameos, and plays out like a wannabe "Mission: Impossible" movie. Of course, Vanessa Kirby, who had a brief role in last year's "Fallout," is here playing Hattie Shaw, but the film uses the "character injects a deadly virus into herself to keep it out of wrong hands" plot point from "Mission: Impossible II." The film just doesn't feel like a "Fast & Furious" movie, despite Leitch's efforts to convince us otherwise.

I'd probably dislike this movie more if it didn't have the two leads: Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw are incapable of getting along, so watching them try to work together is expectedly humorous. Although it is used too much, having them trade overblown playground insults isn't completely unfunny. I liked the little pranks they'd pull on each other and also how they observe and consequently mock their respective fighting techniques. Vanessa Kirby often felt out of place next to the two, primarily because she's stuck playing the carrier of the film's MacGuffin and isn't given anything else to do beyond that. When she does join in the banter, she is amusing, though the decision to set up some hint of romance between Luke and Hattie was mistaken. They didn't feel like a match and it felt uncharacteristic of the two.

Almost every "Fast & Furious" movie fits in a message about family and unity. Though Vin Diesel and company are missing from "Hobbs & Shaw," the film still manages to work that theme in. Luke Hobbs rebuilds his relationship with his family while Deckard tries to get along with Hattie per the request of their mother, played by Helen Mirren. While it was, at times, poignant, I suspect the reason why director David Leitch included this was to make it fit in with other "Fast & Furious" movies since other staples of the franchise are missing.

For me, Idris Elba's Brixton Lore was the worst part of the movie. Historically, while "Fast & Furious" villains aren't exactly the best, Lore set a new low for the franchise. I found his motivations boring and his scheme dull. Plus, I don't understand how you could make a character with superpowers unimpressive, but here we are. Every action scene lacked excitement and tension. I didn't feel like anyone was in true peril and worse, because the trailer already gave away all the cool stunts, there wasn't much to get excited about. In fact, I think the most exciting thing about seeing "Hobbs & Shaw" in theaters was getting to watch the trailer for Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie, "Tenet."

Rating: ★★

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham's Hobbs and Shaw may be fun to watch, but a tedious plot, villain, and stale action scenes make their spin-off movie among of the lesser of the "Fast & Furious" canon.

If you're a "Fast & Furious" fan, you may like this movie. I'm not so much a fan, so I may not have the perspective that I guarantee others may have. For those of you who aren't fans, this isn't something you need to pay to watch in theaters. There are other films currently playing that you could see instead. You could, perhaps, sit down one afternoon and stream this when it's available, but it's not a must-see.

Conclusion

This has been my review of "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." I hope you enjoyed this review. Have you seen the film? If you have, share your thoughts in the comments below. Furthermore, feel free to recommend a film for me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm Dallin, your resident film fanatic, and I'll return soon with another review.