FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: DAVID LEITCH / SCREENPLAY: DREW PEARCE, CHRIS MORGAN / STARRING: DWAYNE JOHNSON, JASON STATHAM, IDRIS ELBA, VANESSA KIRBY, HELEN MIRREN / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 22ND (VOD), DECEMBER 2ND (DVD/BLU-RAY)
With the momentous success of the Fast & Furious franchise established, audiences have now been treated to an enhanced look as director David Leitch alongside writers Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce strongly focus on two standout players, Hobbs (Johnson) and Shaw (Statham). For its entirety, you are exposed to experimental action, dazzling car chases, and cheesy one-liners, as our duo brainstorm their heated backgrounds while clashing against the hi-tech villain, Brixton (Elba), who is hell-bent on unleashing an apocalyptic virus on the human race. Quickly rising actor Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible – Fallout) takes on Hattie and brilliantly acts as a crucial bridge between Hobbs, Shaw, and Brixton.
With each Fast & Furious number, what we see continuously grows more outrageous and unrealistic. We went from a crime-thriller about an undercover cop in 2001 (where’s the time gone?), to a heist session in 2011, to cars launching out the back of a plane in 2017 (it wasn’t CGI either!). They’ve got away with this progression by having a ‘family comes first’ moral at the centre, repeated and praised by main showrunner Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), it’s clearly a thread that audiences enjoy being a part of. When it comes to the action in Hobbs & Shaw, the more recent representation of Fast & Furious has deliciously been translated across as we view violent car racing shoot outs on the streets of London, all the way to the scenic cliffs of Somoa. This is backed by a script that has our two main leads dare to overcome their differences, which tend to circle around the previously addressed F&F theme: the importance of family.
One of my biggest concerns, and it might be a strange one to some, is that the majority of the soundtrack sounds like it’s taken from a late ‘90s/early ‘00s buddy spy film (I Spy is a prime example), and although there’s nothing wrong with their material, it just made what you see again and again feel like it wasn’t entirely sure what genre it should be. So, as Hobbs & Shaw struggles to find its own feel until well over the halfway mark, it might become a little bit too confused for some viewers. However, it’s a highly robust drive that eventually cements a dynamic relationship, and it could go on to add more longevity to Fast & Furious if it just gets the chance to flourish.
Do you still want more? Well, then we’d advise that you head over to the special features, which has over 80 minutes worth of goodies. Highlights include how director David Leitch (who has a stunt portfolio) put together his stylish choreography, a look at the dynamic between Hobbs and Shaw (on and off-screen) a different opening, and much more!
