Dumb fun delivered in real Furious style
The first Fast & Furious spin-off leaves Vin Diesel standing on the sidewalk and instead motors ahead with the titular musclebound duo.
Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) and Jason Statham (Shaw) shared impressive chemistry and banter in the eighth Furious flick – but is it enough to carry an entire movie?
Well, if all you want to see is the pair bickering and trying to outdo each other while defying the laws of gravity – and common sense – then yes, it is.
If you’re looking for thoughtprovoking, gripping storytelling then you are better off pocketing your hard-earned cash than booking tickets for this one.
But that’s in keeping with the Furious franchise so there are no surprises; and, as guilty pleasures go, I remain a fan of the series.
Hobbs and Shaw butt heads with Idris Elba’s Brixton; a cybergenetically enhanced menace who while stretching believability levels – even for a Furious outing – is more memorable than any baddie in the main franchise.
You can tell Johnson and Statham are having a whale of a time and both were born to play roles like this.
Vanessa Kirby (Hattie) holds her own without amounting to much more than a tougher-thanusual damsel-in-distress and, as a WWE fan, I got a kick out of seeing Roman Reigns (Mateo) make his movie debut as part of an insanebut-iconic showdown in Samoa.
Speaking of insane, director David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2) knows his audience as each set-piece is more preposterous than the last.
He brings the bone-cracking choreography and neon lighting of John Wick, Jason Bournelike use anything to hand as a weapon combat techniques and the vehicular carnage associated with the Furious franchise.
Hobbs & Shaw doesn’t match the best of the main series’ finest entries but this is one duo worthy of another chance to flex their muscles.
5
The bonkers but occasionally brilliant Batman prequel comes to a close with a suitably crazy final season.
The bad guys steal the show, although it’s nice to see David Mazouz finally don the cowl.