Movie Review: Hobbs and Shaw

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

I started this review right after seeing Hobbs & Shaw (on 8/6) aaaaand never got around to finishing it...until now! 

I am happy to report Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) was everything I wanted it to be... a big, dumb, fun action flick with lots of snark, courtesy of The Rock and Jason Statham. 😎 It did a good job feeling like it fit into the Fast and Furious universe, while also being more of a typical action flick. 

The movie opened with a montage of Hobbs' and Shaw's morning routines. This gave the audience a glimpse into where they are in their lives at the moment, as well as showing how similar they are to each other...for example, they both eat eggs for breakfast - Hobbs "Rocky style" and Shaw as a skillfully crafted omelet. They proceed to find their respective marks, badgering information out of them, mirroring each other's methods but with a unique flair.

Naturally there's a(nother) cataclysmic scenario which brings them together, this time in the form of a super virus that can wipe out half the population in order to save the planet, blah blah blah. The virus was confiscated by British Intelligence, who were immediately attacked by the bad guys (the organization is called Eteon), lead by super soldier and self-proclaimed "black Superman," Brixton (Idris Elba). In order to keep Brixton from taking the virus, an agent injects herself with it and escapes, in hopes of finding a way to get it out of her system before it kills her. This is really the hook of the movie, because the agent just happens to be Deckard Shaw's (Jason Statham) sister, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby). 

Vanessa Kirby needs to be in more things. She does a great job being feminine, strong, snarky, quick thinking and entirely capable. Her repartee with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) sounded a lot like his conversations with her brother (Jason Statham), adding to them feeling like authentic siblings. As an audience, you quickly care about her as a character, which increases your investment in the movie itself. She was a great addition to the franchise and I hope she remains part of it going forward. 

There are some great cameo throughout the movie, including Hobbs' CIA contact Locke (Ryan Reynolds) and Air Marshall Dinkley (Kevin Hart)...and for the diehard Deadpool fans (pun intended), Agent Loeb was played by Rob Delaney, otherwise known as Peter in Deadpool 2. 

My biggest complaint about H&S was the length. There were several long fight scenes that, trimmed down a bit, would have made it a better, tighter movie. The anatomically related, testosterone fueled  snark hurtled between Hobbs and Shaw, while entertaining to a point, could have easily been reduced. I will give them "credit" for only having one typical Fast and Furious scantily clad chicks scene. I don't even remember what was going on around it, just that when it came on the screen I thought "and here's the obligatory cleavage and mini-skirts...check." 

The other issue that bothered me was a huge plot hole involving Shaw's brother. So, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) was introduced in Furious 7  (technically the end of Fast 6), where he's one of the main baddies of the movie. They retcon his character in Fate of the Furious into more of a misunderstood  Jason Bourne type. In H&S, it's revealed that he was framed by Brixton (Idris Elba) and Eteon because Shaw wouldn't join in their nefarious schemes. As these details unfold, Shaw says something along the lines of "you forced me to kill my brother" to Brixton. The only brother we are aware of is Owen Shaw, played by Luke Evans. He was the bad guy in Fast 6, is shown unconscious in the hospital in Furious 7 and reappears to help Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) rescue Dom's (Vin Diesel) baby in Fate of the Furious...but as far as we're aware, he's still alive. Has he been killed between movies (which wouldn't make sense, since Deckard was framed before both Fast 7 and FotF took place)? Or was there another Shaw brother?...or was it just a throw away line that aided Deckard Shaw's revised storyline? I gots to know! 😱

There are a lot of fun tidbits/easter eggs thrown in H&S. Screen Rant put together a 10 Details You Missed From Hobbs and Shaw video...I claim to have caught three of them. 😊 Arguably the best one was who is credited as the "Eteon Director," which I did not notice. 

Trivia:

1. During the scene when Shaw shows off his collection of cars to Hobbs, he pauses on a Mini Cooper, saying that it was used during a mission in Italy; a clear joke on The Italian Job (2003), one of Jason Statham's previous hit movies.
2. This movie takes place two years after the events of The Fate of the Furious (2017).
3. WWE superstar Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa'i) plays Luke Hobbs' (Dwayne Johnson's) brother in the film, but in reality they are cousins. Both Roman and Dwayne announced this on their respective Instagram pages.
4. Dwayne Johnson was very supportive of exploring the idea of Hobbs's family, allowing for many Polynesians to be cast as his relatives. This was a definite nod to Vin Diesel's constant references to "family" in the previous Fast & Furious movies.
5. Idris Elba refused to say a scripted line for his character, calling himself "the black James Bond". He instead used the phrase "black Superman". Elba has been rumoured to be in consideration for the role of James Bond, and would be the first black actor to portray Bond.
6. Helen Mirren reprises her role from The Fate of the Furious (2017) as Shaw's mother. She originally landed the role after she had indicated her desire to be part of the franchise one day, and the producers were happy to accommodate her.
7. Dwayne Johnson said he tried hard to get Jason Momoa to play the role of Hobbs's brother, but scheduling issues prevented it from happening. However, Dwayne gave fans hope for a future collaboration, adding, "Next Hobbs movie for sure".
8. Deckard Shaw is about two years older than his sister, Hattie. In reality, Jason Statham is 21 years older than Vanessa Kirby.
9. The film's trailer indicates that Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is a former MI6 agent. This is a significant alteration from his original depiction in the "Fast & Furious" franchise (in "Furious 7") as a villain who originally served in the British special forces before his abilities as an asset became a liability. Retconning him as an MI6 operative puts him on a footing more akin to a James Bond-style spy, as most field operatives come from a special forces background and his status as a MI6 operative would not have been made common knowledge.
10. Many fans of Game of Thrones (2011) were dismayed that Locke (Ryan Reynolds) spoils the ending of the series in the beginning of the movie, since many of them had not seen the final season yet.

If you haven't seen the Fast and Furious franchise, Hobbs and Shaw is still reasonably watchable. A few things would be a little confusing, but just to the extent that you might feel like you were missing something. If you like action movies and these stars, I'd say it was worth seeing (especially on a $5 Tuesdays!). 


~ Katie Q. 🐧