Synopsis
Ever since hulking lawman Hobbs (Johnson), a loyal agent of America’s Diplomatic Security Service, and lawless outcast Shaw (Statham), a former British military elite operative, first faced off in 2015’s Furious 7, the duo have swapped smack talk and body blows as they’ve tried to take each other down. But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton (Idris Elba) gains control of an insidious bio-threat that could alter humanity forever — and bests a brilliant and fearless rogue MI6 agent (The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby), who just happens to be Shaw’s sister — these two sworn enemies will have to partner up to bring down the only guy who might be worse than themselves.
Review
The Fast and Furious movies may have started off as a movie about illegal street racing, but has evolved into something much more. The franchise seems to be always changing and that may be part of the reason for its unbridled success. The other is its uncanny ability to ensemble the perfect cast. However, one thing that has changed is its core theme, which is family. Hobbs and Shaw take two of the franchises best qualities, family and evolution, and mash it into one gigantic popcorn crunching movie. It does add one more element that the billion-dollar franchise hasn’t utilized before. The buddy cop formula. This is the classic formula from the eighties. It takes two unlikely partners and pairs them up for a common cause.
The two in this film are obviously Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, who have worked with each other before but despise each other. Their partnership is cleverly orchestrated by two CIA operatives. And one of these suited mercenaries really has a mouth on them.
Each of the two protagonists has a very different approach to the situation at hand. Hobbs has the brute force approach while Shaw is all about finesse. The movie is very entertaining, especially the chemistry between the two leads. They manage to produce excellent banter which oddly helps to ground the movie. And boy does this movies needs grounding. I don’t mean that in a negative way, I love the over the top action that has become a defining trait of the Fast and Furious world. The action set pieces are as spectacular as ever. Then there is Elba who just commands the screen every time he is present.
The movie seems to have really amped up the stakes. It slowly introduces new characters into the fold while slowly setting up a new key villain. Essentially this is a superspy movie set in the Fast and Furious world.
Verdict
The movie is a fun ride at the theatres. However, it lacks the charm of the first flick and the heart of Fast 5. If John Wick was the thinking man’s action film of the year, then this is the adrenaline action movie of the year. It will get your heart racing. It will make you laugh. And it will make you go “Damn, how the hell did he do that?” And isn’t that what a Fast movie is all about?
