Jean-Paul’s rating: 3/5 stars
Bottom Line: Stupid. Fun. Stupid fun.
I have only seen one or two of the actual “Fast & Furious” movies and this is very clearly not one of them. “Hobbs & Shaw” is just a vehicle for getting Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Shaw (Jason Statham) together in a movie so they can riff off of each other for two hours while all sorts of unlikely action is happening around them. Throw in bad guy Brixton (Idris Elba) and cameos by the likes of Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds and you have all the makings of a stupid fun movie.
The plot is virus…something something…supervillain…something something…work together…something something…hate each other…something something…family…something something…happy ending. Yep, this is one of those movies where the plot doesn’t matter. It’s all about the improvisational riffing of Johnson and Statham on each other while things explode and gadgets are gadgeted. I am just guessing on the improvisational aspect of the movie, but many times it certainly feels improvised and Johnson is a much better improvisor than Statham. Or maybe he’s just a much better actor. Or maybe both. The important thing is it works. So don’t worry about the plot and just enjoy the ride in all the highly improbable vehicles.
The final act of the movie was kind of meh for me. It throws in a weird and pointless Hobbs family plot line and often felt more like a infomercial for Samoa than a coherent piece of film making. It wasn’t until after watching the movie that I discovered they didn’t even shoot in Samoa, but on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. So go there if you want to experience the beauty around the bullets of “Hobbs & Shaw”. Obviously, a movie like this relies highly on improbability and suspension of disbelief, but the whole Samoa part kind of crosses that line into non-enjoyment, which is too bad because up to that point it’s lots of fun.
Despite the disappointing third act, I would likely see another “Hobbs & Shaw” adventure. It’s entertaining and fun and silly and stupid and as long as you don’t care about things like plot and character development and all that other boring stuff. Obviously, steer away from this movie if you care at all about all those things that make a compelling and unforgettable movie, but if you’re up for stupid fun, “Hobbs & Shaw” delivers.