Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw: Movie Review

The team that delivered 2001's The Fast and the Furious likely never ever imagined they were creating a movie franchise that would be on its 9th movie in 18 years, but with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, that's where audiences find themselves. And in an age of reduced entries into the blockbuster popcorn flicks, Hobbs and Shaw is the shot in the arm that the 2019 summer action movie genre needs.

Moviegoers were first introduced to Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Shaw (Jason Statham) in 2015's Furious 7 when the two were adversaries, but in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, the pair is forced to team up against a cyber-genetically enhanced villain named Brixton (Idris Elba) who poses a serious bio-terrorism threat to humanity. Making things even more interesting, Shaw's sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) is thrown into the mix as a British government operative essentially turning the action hero duo into a triad of beauty, brains and brawn.

This 135 minute thrill ride contains all of elements you would expect: car chases, shootouts, and fist fights, all usually featuring healthy doses of well-timed explosions. The cyborg nature of Brixton adds an element of Terminator-style invincibility to the bad guy which leaves the audience concerned about how our heroes can prevail, but with strong positive themes of forgiveness, unity and teamwork, hope is never lost.

The onscreen chemistry of not only Hobbs and Shaw, but also Hattie is excellently portrayed by Johnson, Statham and Kirby. Elba's interpretation of Brixton achieves the challenging goal of being both intriguing, yet repugnant. The experience is ultimately Mission Impossible meets Avengers with a splash of James Bond and somehow Hobbs and Shaw manages to pull that off impeccably.

Please note that Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw has a MPAA rating of PG-13. There is no shortage of offensive language and moderate to strong violence.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw is not one for family night at the movies. If you choose to see it, proceed with caution.