Hobbs and Shaw

Details: MPAA Rating: PG-13

Cast: Dwyane Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, Idris Elba

Release Date: August 2, 2019

Pros: When it was announced that a spin off of the Fast and Furious franchise was in the works, I was excited but also incredibly weary. After watching the Fate of the Furious, my expectations for the next couple of Fast and Furious movies went plummeting. I thought the franchise lost its spark. Thankfully, I was very mistaken. Hobbs and Shaw was exactly the boost the FF franchise was looking for. It was jammed packed with very well choreographed action sequences, hilarious dialogue, and an excellent cast. To start off, the action sequences worked really well. Although, Hobbs and Shaw strayed from the rest of the FF franchise as it didn't use nearly as much cars as the other films, it provided a fresh take on the Fast and Furious franchise that we hadn't seen in a long time. Speaking of new things, I thought that the "super powers" aspect on Idris Elba's character was a very interesting approach and I also thought that it worked very well with the story especially how it worked with the mystery of the shadowy organization surrounding the movie. Another thing that I did not expect in the movie was the humor and chemistry. In the Fate of the Furious, there was already some pretty good humorous chemistry between Johnson and Statham, but this movie brings it to a whole new level. Every time Hobbs and Shaw were on the screen there would always be some sort of witty, hilarious back and forth between the two characters and it never got old. Even Idris Elba as a villain worked really well for me in this movie as he was truly diabolical but you understood his motives and why he thought what he was doing was good. Finally the messages of family in this film resonated with us, the audience, a lot better than the other FF movies as you could relate to it a lot more. There was a distance between Hobbs and his family and a distance between Shaw and his sister that you could feel and relate to and I thought it was a very nice balance between the action and the feel-good moments.

Cons: Of course with these movies there is always a mindset you have to get into before entering the theater. The mindset that requires you to suspend your belief and requires you to leave all logic at home. Most of the movie contains scenes which are literally impossible to pull off in real life. This movie would have been a lot closer to perfection if it was more realistic.

Star Rating: 8/10

Final Thoughts: The first spin-off of the Fast and Furious franchise was a success. With witty dialogue, great chemistry, and excellent action sequences, the future of the Fast and Furious looks a little bit brighter.