For years the Fast and Furious franchise has been releasing movied which are packed with action scenes and beautiful fast cars, but the core of these movies has been always the meaning of family and friendship. With the first ever spin-off movie, Hobbs & Shaw, the franchise reminds us once more about this while also bringing some comedy.
Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who is no longer working anymore for the Diplomatic Security Service, now lives an average life with his daughter while taking special jobs from time to time as a freelancer. In London, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) lives an almost normal life compared to his past and is doing pretty much the same, working as a butt-kicker-for-hire.
When a highly unstable deadly virus called Snowflake is stolen, the CIA brings the two alphas together in hopes they will be able to retrieve it. At the beginning of the movie, it is shown on a split screen how similar Hobbs and Shaw are which is basically the reason why they should work together according to the CIA. While Hobbs sees it as a mission to save the world, Shaw has another reason to join. The person who the CIA thinks has stolen the virus is his sister, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), who is a MI6 agent. Of course, both refuse to work together and so they start their research separately.
While Shaw is inspecting his sister’s apartment, Hobbs finds Hattie and brings her in. At the CIA headquarters, Hattie confesses that her team were attacked and killed and she had no other way than to inject herself with the virus and run. Now she has just a couple of hours until the virus will kill her and afterwards will be set free and kill everyone near her. The reunion gets interrupted when the masked men in black jump through the windows to kidnap Hattie.
That is when the real fun begins. After the first car chasing scene, Shaw recognises the leader, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a former friend and colleague of his who he presumed dead after shooting him twice in the chest and once in the head. However, it turns out that Brixton was hired as a mercenary and works now for a company called Eteon.
After watching the trailer, I knew that Hobbs & Shaw would be a completely different movie from the ones I am used to in this franchise and I was not wrong. Hobbs & Shaw does not take itself seriously, but still puts family and trust first at the same time. One joke follows the next which is why you have a two-hour constant laughing fit.
Idris Elba as the main villain was a fantastic choice. He has the most impressive stunts and a motorcycle which can drive by itself and rebuild in seconds. Brixton calls himself “black superman” and I think that description does not do him justice! He is more a mix of Hulk and the Terminator. Considering that Eteon has fixed his spine and given his whole body a major upgrade using advanced technology which was implanted, this seems to me as a more proper description.
As a single father, Hobbs wants to be there for his daughter. When his daughter shows the family tree project she’s doing for school, we find out that Hobbs has a complicated relationship with his family. Towards the end, this is discussed and important in the finale battle against Brixton.
Even Shaw has a soft spot under his trained body and punching fists. He visits his mother, played by Helen Mirren, in prison frequently (remember F&F 7?) and loves his sister who he has not seen in years. We all thought he was a corrupted MI6 agent, which are false accusations made by Eteon, and in order to make sure his sister is safe, he had to stay away from her.
You may ask, what about Owen (played by Luke Evans), the third Shaw sibling? At the end of F&F7, Owen escaped. At the end of Hobbs & Shaw, Shaw blames Brixton for making him kill his own brother. This needs further explanation, of which I hope to get in a very possible sequel!
Hobbs & Shaw is truly a fun easy action-packed movie which will take your mind off of everything. With Vanessa Kirby, they found a woman who will not vanish behind the two men but make sure to have the same amount of spotlight as the guys. Hattie is an amazing character and everything that I have hoped for. She is tough, feisty, and a fighter.
If you look closely you will find some easter eggs such as Hobbs eating a massive tower of pancakes, which Johnson likes to eat, which can be seen on his Instagram. Then Hobbs, like Johnson, has ancestors in Samoa. As mentioned at the beginning, family is an important part of this franchise. Be prepared to be introduced to this beautiful island and its people.
The most challenging easter egg is hidden within the scene in Shaw’s garage. The trio passes a couple of cars which Hobbs sees as compensation and jokes about the last one, a Mini Cooper, which he thinks fits him perfect, because both are small. Shaw comments as the car was a part of a job he had back in the day in Italy. This is a nod to “The Italian Job” in which Statham plays alongside Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron.
The biggest surprise was to see Ryan Reynolds joining the franchise, somehow. He plays Locke, a former colleague of Hobbs and now CIA. Of course, they have been BFFs – which Locke’s necklace proves – and even have a partner tattoo (not). *Wink, wink*
Do not stand up and leave in a rush, because there are four after credit scenes waiting for you.
- Locke calls Hobbs because there is now a new virus even more deadly than Snowflake, but he needs to talk about the Game of Thrones finale because Jon Snow sleeping with his aunt and then killing her is really bothering him. Dude, what about the fact that only ONE dragon survived?!
- Then we learn that it is possible to throw a brick through a person.
- Hobbs gets his revenge for what Shaw did to him at the airport while being undercover and
- Mama Shaw gets her special birthday cake and can finally break out of prison.
But the question I need the answer to is: Who is Eteon? Who is the person behind the voice? I guess that we will get to know in the second movie, which most likely will happen.
Personally, I enjoyed this movie a lo, but please do not let us forget that Shaw has killed Han! That is what bothers me the most no matter how good the movie was. Han deserves justice!
