Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Helen Mirren, Eiza González, Cliff Curtis, Joe Anoa'i

Director: David Leitch

This movie stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason “The Transporter” Statham. In Japan, its release title translates to "Wild Speed: Super Combo." That is all you need to know. If you have a big doofy smile on your face right now, stop reading, get up, leave your job/doctors appointment, and go see this movie.

For the rest of you, let’s go over the “plot.” Someone has built a programmable virus named “The Mcguffin.” I’m kidding, its called “Snowflake” (no social commentary attached). The film opens with MI-6 agent Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby), the sister of the titular Deckard Shaw (Statham), trying to capture the virus for the government. Unfortunately, things don’t go so smoothly when cybernetically enhanced super soldier Brixton (Idris Elba) shows up at the same time. With no options left and the virus in a pretty big case, Hattie injects herself with it and narrowly escapes.

Because Brixton works for a big secret organization, they make it look as if Hattie stole the virus and so Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and Deckard Shaw are pulled in to track her down and get the virus back. What follows is a buddy comedy that is light on logic and big on that glorious brand of ludicrous action that this franchise peddles so well. There are moments so wild I almost picked a fight with everyone in the theater.

I loved it so much, but to be fair, I love it despite its faults. Sure you can say that this movie is objectively too long and that the action sometimes gets a little bit muddled when too many bodies hit the floor (Trapt reference for the win). These are small fry concerns when compared to the biggest issue that has plagued this entire franchise: how it treats women.

Now you may say that it’s a ridiculous/nit picky thing to take issue with, but we can only hate what we love. One could also argue that it doesn’t matter because this movie is so big and dumb that the onus of fixing Hollywood doesn’t rest on its heavily muscled shoulders. That may be true, but when I think about the lunk-headed man-children who define their masculinity through these kinds of movies, it seems like they’d be doing society a solid by cleaning up their act. For a franchise that is so tied to FAMILY, the most ridiculous thing about it isn’t the action, but its lack of respect for its own siblings.

In the past, I would say that the franchise has been locked into a one step forward/one step back situation. Sure, Gal Gadot and Michelle Rodriguez are kickass awesome characters, but the way the heroes talk about them leaves a lot to be desired. Charlize Theron is an excellent bad guy and there are brutal fights featuring women, but Tyrese Gibson is still part of the series. Should we really be rooting for these casually misogynistic characters?

Luckily, Hobbs & Shaw is decidedly two steps forward/one step back, a marked improvement. I honestly think the movie is trying to push forward, but is too lazy to actually break any of the genre’s tropes. For instance, they often go to women for help (YAY!), but the only woman who isn’t related to them immediately kisses Statham (BOO!) Hobbs and Hattie immediately make a comment to point out how ridiculous that kiss is and maybe it’s a meta comment on when Kirby had to randomly kiss Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Fallout (YAY!), but they are still using a sexualized kiss to provide intrigue/backstory for a female character they will develop no further in this film (BOO!) Plus, there are also some gendered insults (like “She Hulk”) that were outdated and gross before they hit the script.

So it’s a give and take. The biggest thing this film has going for it is the force of nature named Vanessa Kirby. She is so damn fiercely good. She never cries for help, she doesn’t have some trauma that causes her awesomeness, she holds her own in a fight (and I believe would beat The Rock if his contract didn’t stipulate that he can’t lose), she comes up with a lot of the plans, she is funny, has great chemistry with the cast, and she is seemingly the only character self-aware enough to see how dumb this whole movie is. She is a scene stealing badass who doesn’t let a deadly virus keep her from destroying thugs. Plus, she mostly wears appropriate clothing (as far as action movie outfits go). Two HUGE STEPS FORWARD.

Now for the backwards step. She is constantly referred to as “the girl,” even by her own brother… while she is standing right there. She is over 20 years younger than Statham and yet according to the movie they were kids at the same time (I credit this to lazy screenwriting but it is still a Hollywood trend). Her being infected means that she has a plot device in her veins, which makes her somewhat of an object. The Rock is attracted to her and treats her with respect, but the romance is really unnecessary and doesn’t play well. Still, it’s a step in the right direction for the series and Furious 9 now has a woman on its writing team because Michelle Rodriguez wouldn’t do the film otherwise. Steps forward and back all the time.

Aside from this, Hobbs and Shaw does most things right. The action is suitably out of control as director David Leitch pulls in his action chops and stuntman background to reasonably good effect. There is a scene on the side of a skyscraper that ends with a McLaren vs erminator motorcycle chase, which is particularly exciting, as is a raid on a power plant. For anyone worried about the final fight not being good enough, let me put that to rest right now and say not only is it good enough, but it features a soon to be iconic line of such singular glory that it might bring a tear to your eye.

Leitch may get a little lost in the heavy cgi and crowd work sometimes, but he more than makes up for it with some very clever action beats. This is Leitch’s first PG-13, so I am hoping that maybe we get an unrated cut that fixes some of the awkward cuts. Also, in Leitch’s defense, he made this movie in 13 months, start to finish, with only 22 weeks in post. That is extremely impressive, as most movies this size take closer to two years or more to complete.

Then there is the cast. The real reason you came to see this movie. Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson’s chemistry is for real and makes this movie. Some of the lines are (purposefully) awful, but these two men are clearly having the time of their lives. Their fun becomes infectious and you can’t help but join in. On the antagonist side is Idris Elba, who is just consistently awesome at everything he does and extends his unstoppable coolness to Brixton in this film. Add in some really good cameos that potentially could be full characters in the next installment and we have ourselves a winner.

The film also extends the multi-cultural aspect of this series that has been one of its best features since the beginning. This has to be one of the only movies outside of Moana that features a Polynesian character in the lead and is very specific about that. The Rock has always been Samoan, but most movies don’t make a point of that. Hobbs and Shaw not only makes a point of having him be true to his culture, but sets the entire 3rd act on Samoa (well it's in Hawaii, but it's supposed to be Samoa), and features many members of The Rock’s incredible wrestling family. This includes Roman Reigns who was recovering from leukemia over the past few years and still did this movie, which is inspiring in its own right.

I am honored to be able to review Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw for you. Yet, it feels somehow hollow. Honestly, this opportunity shouldn’t be given to me at all. No, there is only one man who could possibly do this film justice and he was sitting in front of me when I saw it. He clapped the entire movie until something got him so riled up that he went into a full on Orson Welles in Citizen Kane standing ovation. Bless him and his boundless joy. All I could muster was annoying my friends due to rocking around in my seat squealing like an excited piggy. Now it's time for this little piggy to bestow a lettered rating.

B+ (its an A for me, but I’m trying to be objective)