Movie Review: Hobbs and Shaw (2019)

Summary: Lawman Luke Hobbs and outcast Deckard Shaw form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.

This will be a short review.

Pros:

Cast and Characters. These characters are straight forward, I mean, there’s a little character development as Hobbs and Shaw are forced to work together and they’re very different, with different methods and outlooks but at their core, they’re the same person. Hobbs is the hammer and Shaw is the scalpel. What movie is that reference from?

• Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs. Luke is a DSS agent who is assigned by the CIA to work with Deckard in order to stop a dangerous serum. Luke is completely against this idea because he and Deckard don’t get along, because Shaw is a bad guy! Or has been in the past! Dwayne Johnson is likable! I mean, how could anyone dislike him. To be honest, Luke is just the big, muscled guy with a heart of gold, who will do whatever he can to achieve his objectives, that isn’t going to always win him favor because he is very noticeable. There’s not a ton going on, I mean, we meet his daughter and get more into his backstory which is fine but at times, it felt out of place and I think it had to have been Dwayne’s idea to include all that stuff at the end. If so, cool lol but still kind of random. I guess we had to get a bit of Hobb’s way of doing things since we had a lot of Shaw’s ways… lol. Gosh, I keep getting sidetracked lol, but Dwayne Johnson is great as always lol.

• Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw. He is a mercenary who worked with the British Special Forces and MI6. He is so smooth and suave and the opposite of Luke Hobbs. He was a villain in previous films, so he and Hobbs are still at odds from that even though they did kind of work together. So, the very beginning, we see that his character has his way of doing things and he often makes fun of Hobbs because of how different and obvious he is, it’s a running joke about how big Hobbs is lol. Statham is just cool. I’ve always thought he was cool whenever I see him in a movie, even when he’s playing a bad guy (Cellular anyone lol). He’s very funny and how he incorporates his humor and his stunts works great for him. Plus, he has great chemistry with Dwayne Johnson.

• Idris Elba as Brixton Lore. He is a cyber-genetically enhanced terrorist working for Eteon and former MI6 field agent who has a history with Deckard. They’ve upped the ante with this villain in that he really is like a supervillain in how he can move and the things he does. I mean, the way he operates his motorcycle will wow you. His entrance was great, his last scene in the film was great and he really kicked butt. He’s taller than Statham but nearly as big as Johnson but he is so imposing that you worry for both Hobbs and Shaw. He has his own issues with Shaw and a lot of that spurs him on, but he has his objective, and nothing stands in his way. Not even 16-wheeler trucks. Idris Elba is commanding and charming, even when he’s evil. Plus, I love when he uses his own accent, man, if he came to my door trying to sell something, I’ll probably buy it as soon as he says “hello”.

• Vanessa Kirby as Hattie Shaw. We meet her early on and then she becomes more important as the film goes on. She’s competent and I really liked her. She is very similar to Deckard in ways but with a little mix of Hobbs due to her honor. She’s a nice middle ground between the two. I’ve seen her in a few things, minor roles in action films and I really liked her. I wasn’t sure if I would when we first met her even if her introduction was also cool, but she grows on you and I like her interactions with her brother and with Hobbs. I keep saying people are likable but it’s true.

Wildly Entertaining. Listen, even if you don’t care about the story in these films (which I mean who really does) just know it’s so entertaining. My friend and I saw it in Dolby which was AHMAZING (I think I’m spoiled now) and you will enjoy it so much if you don’t think about it so much. The fight scenes, the entire sequence during the climax fight with the cars and the airplane. Not to mention, the fight in the rain. I love these movies because they’re so much fun and I love it. I was so into it and plus Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham work so well together and watching them go at it and work together it a great time.

Great Action Sequences. There are a lot of action sequences in this film and let me just say they’re all good. One of my favorites is the car chase scene with Idris Elba on his motorcycle, I boldly say that that scene alone is better than at least three of the Fast and the Furious films (Fate of the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Fast and the Furious). I mean there are SO MANY great actions set pieces. SO MANY! The last 45 minutes alone is just so great. The fight scene in the rain is great and the stuff with the plane and the cars! I mean ARGH! It was so fun!

Awesome Villain. Idris Elba is a great actor and he’s a great villain and while his motives were kind of meh, he was a great foil to both Hobbs and Shaw, and he was a formidable opponent. He had some extra special stuff going on which made him even better to face off against these two people which was cool. I mean, motives shmotives lol. Idris Elba is so charming, and he uses his own accent in this which makes it even better. My friend even said she didn’t even listen to a word he said during a villain’s monologue because he’s so beautiful. I mean I get it lol. His arguments were interesting, I can’t imagine anyone really falling for it, I guess some would, but I liked that he really believed in his cause and that he lived it.

Pretty funny. I mean obviously, not all the jokes will land for everyone which is okay, but there are a lot of jokes that do land. Johnson and Statham have great chemistry and good comedic timing. Not to mention, their delivery of certain lines works out because sometimes the lines are just ridiculous, so the actual line and then the delivery makes it funny. The airplane sequence, the one where they’re just riding a plane lol, is cute and there’s a comedian in the film, who has some funny interactions with Hobbs and Shaw. Also, there’s another comedic actor in the film, who I believe is also uncredited and they’re a delight each time they’re on screen.

Cons:

Too Long. This movie is 135 minutes, which is about 2 hours and 25 minutes and I think it could have been 25 minutes shorter. I thought that it should have ended before the big climax at the end. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was awesome, but at one point, I was like “Okay, it should be over now”, it felt like they wanted to drag it out longer and I don’t think it really had to do that.

Who Comes for the Story? The story is fine I guess but it’s not what you come to these movies for. The Fast and the Furious has always had its charm and while this is a completely new franchise (spinoff), it has the same issue of the story not being that interesting. You go for the characters and for what crazy tricks they’ll do next. The whole thing with whatever serum this is, I mean who cares? I was into it because of the characters and their antics not because I cared about what the villain was after or what the good guys were trying to do. There’s technology and stuff and this evil group of people who are run by some mysterious being… bruh, I don’t even care lol.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER BROTHER!? This is more of a personal thing, but WHAT ABOUT OWEN! I mean, we met Owen before we even met Deckard, he comes into the picture because of what happened to Owen and he’s hardly even mentioned in the film. It’s like he doesn’t even exist. We see a random person in a flashback, but he’s never mentioned and throughout the entire movie, I was like “WHAT ABOUT OWEN!” The mother, Deckard and Hattie don’t even MENTION HIM. CONTINUITY PEOPLE!

Overall, this movie is pure fun. If you go into this movie thinking you’re going to get some well put together narrative with complex acting… this is not that film lol. The acting is good, the actors are clearly having fun in their roles. All the main characters we encounter are likable and the actors do such a great job in their roles, they’re having fun but they’re taking it seriously. The action is SO GOOD and if you can see this film in Dolby, do yourself a favor and see it in that format. It’s very entertaining. I mean I had such a great time. Also, Idris Elba is good as the villain. I mean really good. Now, even with all that goodness, there are some negatives, like my personal issues with the continuity, I need to know what’s going on with the other brother and why they only mentioned him like once. But also, the story is just stupid, and I did not care about any of that because who does. Lastly, it’s too long because the entire sequence on the island, while super cool and one of my favorite action set pieces, it just feels random. But if you don’t put too much logic into the film and you like The Fast and the Furious franchise, then this movie will scratch that itch… and this one is at least number 3 or 4 in my ranking of the F&F movies.

Rating: 3 out 5 stars. 

Have you seen The Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw? Are you interested? Which is your favorite Fast and Furious film?

Let me know your thoughts below!

Thanks for reading and keep your eyes open for more movie reviews!

Oh! By there way, there are three end credit scenes. One kind of early on, then one in the middle (I think) and then one at the very end.