Hobbs & Shaw are unleashed from the Fast & Furious family to push the speedometer to fun & flipped out action! Luke Hobbs was introduced in Furious Five (2011) with Dwayne Johnson playing the Diplomatic Security Service agent. He lifted the franchise from international car racers and daring bank robbers to James Bond-level agents. Jason Statham camoed at the end of Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and exploded as Deckard Shaw in Furious 7 (2015). He was a dangerous rogue agent, but the duo teamed up in The Fate of the Furious (2017).
The film is directed by David Leitch who co-directed John Wick (2014) and also Deadpool 2 (2018). Note that the cameos are from the films connected with the filmmakers. The screenplay is by Chris Morgan who has been with the Fast & Furious franchise since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Drew Pearce who also worked on Hotel Artemis (2018). It opens in London, MI-6 agents are securing the transport of some important cargo in a garage. The agent in charge is Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby). The actress is known for playing Princess Margaret in the series The Crown was was the White Widow in Mission: Impossible: Fallout (2018). She has revealed an important serum in a van.
The film is directed by David Leitch who co-directed John Wick (2014) and also Deadpool 2 (2018). Note that the cameos are from the films connected with the filmmakers. The screenplay is by Chris Morgan who has been with the Fast & Furious franchise since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Drew Pearce who also worked on Hotel Artemis (2018). It opens in London, MI-6 agents are securing the transport of some important cargo in a garage. The agent in charge is Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby). The actress is known for playing Princess Margaret in the series The Crown was was the White Widow in Mission: Impossible: Fallout (2018). She has revealed an important serum in a van.
Outside is a mysterious motorcycle rider in black who is tracking the agents. This is of course Brixton played by Idris Elba. He is playing the long running DCI John Luther in the BBC crime series Luther and was Heimdall in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He has been transformed cybernetically and with other enhancements by the organization, Eteon. Brixton ruthlessly takes down the agents and then goes after the serum. Hattie closes the van door and then injects herself with the serum. She manages to escape which means that Brixton doesn’t have any heat detection in his tracking. Then, we get the dual shots of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw waking up and going about their day. Hobbs is a lawman, an agent, but has a regular, working man sensibility. Johnson is Spencer Strasmore in the Ballers series and is also in the upcoming Jumanji: The Next Level which comes out on December 13th. Shaw is the criminal, brutal, but acts like a refined gentleman. Statham of course was in The Meg (2018) and also the comedy action movie Spy (2015). They both end up taking out henchmen to question their bosses. Hobbs at a tattoo parlor and Shaw at a wealthy dinner party.
Luke Hobbs goes to a diner to meet with his daughter Sam (Eliana Sua), the character was introduced in Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious, but recast here. She of course humanizes her father with her calls and frankness, but any communication can be tracked. Plus, we still don’t know who is Sam’s mother, except that she is no longer around, but I guess that will be saved for a sequel. We also hear that Hobbs had some problem with his family in Samoa and hasn’t returned. During his massive breakfast, they get a visit from a CIA agent, Locke, don’t want to spoil the actor, but it seems like this is a set up for a Hobbs spin-off.
Shaw’s meeting is at prison where he meets with his mother, Queenie, played by Helen Mirren. She of course is an Academy Award winning actress from The Queen, but also has some action movies like this year’s Anna. I wonder if her character’s name is based on the Academy Award film. Queenie is in prison for an unknown crime, but seems comfortable there. She mentions that Deckard should make up with his sister, though there is no mention of his brother, Owen played by Luke Evans. Shaw went on a rampage in Furious 7 to check up on Owen’s condition after he was injured in Fast & Furious 6. Again, it looks like the supporting characters may be there to set up the Shaw family in their own movies.
Shaw’s meeting is at prison where he meets with his mother, Queenie, played by Helen Mirren. She of course is an Academy Award winning actress from The Queen, but also has some action movies like this year’s Anna. I wonder if her character’s name is based on the Academy Award film. Queenie is in prison for an unknown crime, but seems comfortable there. She mentions that Deckard should make up with his sister, though there is no mention of his brother, Owen played by Luke Evans. Shaw went on a rampage in Furious 7 to check up on Owen’s condition after he was injured in Fast & Furious 6. Again, it looks like the supporting characters may be there to set up the Shaw family in their own movies.
The duo are of course dislike each other and go their own ways. There is some fun rapport and jokes with them. Hobbs is able to track Hattie and they get into a fight. She has rigged her apartment with a grenade, but Shaw has gotten around it to check the secret compartments around it before battling MI-6 agents. They suspect she has gone rogue and killed the agents. At the CIA headquarters in London, Hattie explains that she injected herself with the Snowflake serum that can dissolve a body. Eteon is searching for it to spread world wide and eliminate the weak part of humanity. Hattie needs to find a way to remove the serum without killing her. Brixton breaches the headquarters and takes away Hattie.
Hobbs and Shaw pursue him. The chase goes on with Shaw’s McLaren sports car, the maker is clear since there is a Fast and Furious close-up of the logo, and Brixton’s motor bike that can also dissemble like a Transformer. It ends up with a fight between Brixton and the leads. Brixton can track the possible movements of both men, but it is on the level of Leigh Whanell’s Upgrade (2018) than Terminator (1984). It is strange that Brixton doesn’t have the lethality of Upgrade’s Grey Trace. The counter for a cybernetic killer (or robots like in the Star Wars prequels) is of course an electro-magnetic pulse or a device with similar effects. I also don’t see why Brixton bothers shooting a full clip when every shot is computer guided.
Hobbs and Shaw pursue him. The chase goes on with Shaw’s McLaren sports car, the maker is clear since there is a Fast and Furious close-up of the logo, and Brixton’s motor bike that can also dissemble like a Transformer. It ends up with a fight between Brixton and the leads. Brixton can track the possible movements of both men, but it is on the level of Leigh Whanell’s Upgrade (2018) than Terminator (1984). It is strange that Brixton doesn’t have the lethality of Upgrade’s Grey Trace. The counter for a cybernetic killer (or robots like in the Star Wars prequels) is of course an electro-magnetic pulse or a device with similar effects. I also don’t see why Brixton bothers shooting a full clip when every shot is computer guided.
We find out that Shaw put a bullet in Brixton’s head until he was revived and reconstructed. This is similar to the James Bond villain, Renard, in The World Is Not Enough (1999). Next, they have to find Professor Andreiko played by Eddie Marsan. He was the Headmaster in Deadpool 2 (2018) and also was in Leitch’s Atomic Blonde (2017). I really expected a cameo from that last film since there is an actor who has also appeared in the Fast and Furious movies. The professor is the inventor of the Snowflake and of course is meek, but I like the later action by his character. He mentions that a device to extract the Snowflake from Hattie is in Russia.
At a mansion, there is Madame M (Eiza Gonzalez) and her mercenary team of women. Gonzalez was in Baby Driver (2017) and also known for From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series. Still, this is a brief cameo which might show up in the Shaw sequels. She seems to have a connection with Shaw and finds a way to get them to the Eteon base. There is some more action that ultimately leads to Samoa. We get some interesting cameos there and the Fast and Furious theme of family is strong here, especially with family that is tested and reconciled. The pacing of the movie is good, but the run time is a little too long. It would have bumped up the rating for me more if it was somewhat shorter. Still, Hobbs and Shaw are the perfect summer event fighting duo!
At a mansion, there is Madame M (Eiza Gonzalez) and her mercenary team of women. Gonzalez was in Baby Driver (2017) and also known for From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series. Still, this is a brief cameo which might show up in the Shaw sequels. She seems to have a connection with Shaw and finds a way to get them to the Eteon base. There is some more action that ultimately leads to Samoa. We get some interesting cameos there and the Fast and Furious theme of family is strong here, especially with family that is tested and reconciled. The pacing of the movie is good, but the run time is a little too long. It would have bumped up the rating for me more if it was somewhat shorter. Still, Hobbs and Shaw are the perfect summer event fighting duo!
Three Snowflakes out of Five!
#HobbsandShaw, #DwayneJohnson, #JasonStatham, #VanessaKirby, #IdrisElba
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