HOBBS & SHAW (2019) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

hobbs & shaw (2019) movie

Genre              |   Action Adventure

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   136 minutes

Released         |   1 August 2019

cast

Dwayne Johnson ... Luke Hobbs
Jason Statham ... Deckard Shaw
Vanessa Kirby ... Hattie Shaw
​Idris Elba ... Brixton
​Eiza González ... Madame M

director

David Leitch

writer

​Chris Morgan ... (written by)
Gary Scott Thompson ... (based on characters created by)

cinematographer

Jonathan Sela ​

music

Tyler Bates

film editor

​Christopher Rouse

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box office result

Worldwide               $​759,056,935

Australia                 $​12,815,981

North America        $​173,956,935

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movie minutiae

The idea of a "Fast & Furious" spin-off featuring Hobbs and Shaw first emerged during filming of THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (2017), after producers and studios executives took note of the comedic chemistry between the two throughout their scenes together. Plans to actually develop the spin-off were informally green-lit towards the end of filming, and they were later revealed to be the reason behind the much-discussed animosity that emerged between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in the final week of production, which resulted in Diesel reportedly canceling some of Johnson's scenes (which was within his purview as one of the movie's producers), and not showing up for filming at all on at least one day of production, leaving hundreds of cast and crew sitting idle. After news of the spin-off became public, co-stars Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz) and Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce) publicly criticized it for damaging the Fast & Furious "family", as well as pushing back the release of the series' ninth installment by at least a year. As of February 2019, Johnson has stated he will "probably not" return for Fast & Furious 9 (2020), but would consider it for the tenth in the franchise.

With Ryan Reynolds appearing and not having his name in the main credits, he brought two fellow actors along from one of his last action movies. Rob Delaney (Peter) from DEADPOOL 2 (2018) was Agent Loeb in this movie. Also, Eddie Marsan, who was Dr. Andreiko in this movie, was the sadistic Headmaster in DEADPOOL 2 (2018).

Jason Statham and Cliff Curtis appeared together in another movie, THE MEG (2018). In that movie, Jason's character's name was Jonah. In this movie it was Cliff's character who was named Jonah.

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HOBBS & SHAW (2019) MOVIE IMAGES

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HOBBS & SHAW (2019) STORY 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 badder than themselves.
 
Hobbs & Shaw blasts open a new door in the Fast universe as it hurtles action across the globe, from Los Angeles to London and from the toxic wasteland of Chernobyl to the lush beauty of Samoa.   

HOBBS & SHAW (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 1 August 2019

Pop ​Movee Rating

In an attempt to maintain the longevity of the main FAST & FURIOUS franchise, Universal Pictures needed to do something about the rift that emerged between series stalwart Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, whose international Box Office appeal has helped propel the last couple of movies past $1 billion in ticket sales. It became clear after 2017’s THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, Johnson didn’t have much time for Diesel, referring to “candy ass” behaviour. Johnson subsequently dialled-down his rhetoric and Diesel acted as if all was well referring to John as “Uncle Dwayne”, but it’s pretty clear the relationship is still - very much -strained.

The answer to Universal’s problem between the two stars is actually pretty nifty…

Maintain the “FAST & FURIOUS” as part of the new film’s title (to ensure in-built audience appeal) but spin-off some of the newer characters from the legacy franchise, such as Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, into their own sub-franchise that makes it feel like there’s less of a gap between the main entries featuring the original cast members such as Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibsonand Ludacris!

The first film in the new sub-franchise is HOBBS & SHAW, with arch-enemies Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw thrust together in an adventure that requires them to “save the world” (for the fourth time)…

There’s nothing especially original or inventive about HOBBS & SHAW, but it’s got great energy and in the hands of DEADPOOL 2 (2018) Director David Leitch, there’s a definite tongue-in-cheek approach to the material written by long-time FAST & FURIOUS Writer/Producer Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce, writer of IRON MAN 3 (2013) and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (2015).

For those not familiar with the Director’s work, Leitch is a former Stunt Coordinator whose first real directing duties went uncredited on JOHN WICK (2014). Leitch and the film’s credited Director, Chad Stahelski, had both worked on THE MATRIX films with Keanu Reeves and got the WICK gig on the strength of their relationship with him.

David Leitch’s first screen credit was the massively entertaining but highly under-rated 2017 film ATOMIC BLONDE with Charlize Theron. 

Both JOHN WICK and ATOMIC BLONDE featured high intensity, close quarters fight scenes with - quite literally - hundreds of shots and edits to create the most authentic bone-crunching action possible. HOBBS & SHOW isn’t quite as intense as either of those previous films, but it doesn’t hurt to have someone with Leitch’s experience overseeing the action.

While audiences might expect Dwayne Johnson to dominate proceedings, Jason Statham is no slouch when it comes to the Action genre. Statham has his own style and he’s not for-a-moment intimidated by the presence of Johnson. 

Statham and Johnson compliment each other and the addition of Vanessa Kirby for this film parallels the approach Tom Cruise has taken with the latter MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies with Rebecca Ferguson providing a strong counter to Cruise, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames. (Coincidentally, Kirby starred alongside Cruise and Ferguson in 2018’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT as one of the film’s multiple antagonists, White Widow.)

Much like the primary FAST & FURIOUS movies, with the appearance of stars like Kurt Russell in supporting roles, HOBBS & SHAW also provides high-profile guest turns from some very well known names. 

Part of the fun of HOBBS & SHAW is having those performers pop up when least expected...

It’s a clever way to weave famous faces into the franchise without needing for them to be integral to the particular story being told. It’s similar to how the JAMES BOND series has used Moneypenny, Q and M over the years. They’ve never been a part of Bond’s mission, but they’re vital to his success.

The MacGuffin of HOBBS & SHAW is a highly contagious virus that, if let loose, will literally melt humans from the inside out.

Of course, there’s always someone who wants to replace the current version of humanity with a newer, upgraded version. In this case, it’s the sinister Eteon organisation.

Idris Elba plays Brixton, Eteon’s go-to enforcer who has been cybernetically enhanced to be faster, stronger and fight smarter than any opponent he encounters. Of course, as the film’s contrived plot would have it, Brixton and Shaw are former associates with a long, twisted history.

In spite of continuing the trajectory into outright Science Fiction (as established with Pierce Brosnan era Bond-like antics in THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS), HOBBS & SHAW also attempts to maintain some resemblance to the Vin Diesel/Paul Walker movies with a focus on the importance of family connection.

Both Hobbs and Shaw have some very personal reasons to stop Brixton and the Eteon company from succeeding with their nefarious plot…

Hobbs is lamenting that, besides him, his daughter has no idea who her family are because of the decision he took to leave his native Samoa when he was a young man and never return. 

Shaw, who has already lost a brother in the course of the FAST & FURIOUS series, has no one but his jailbird Mother, reprised in this film by Helen Mirren. Shaw has lost all contact with his younger sister because of the choice she made to reject the family’s criminal lifestyle. Of course, Writers Morgan and Pearce turn this into a significant plot point that is meant to be something of a twist. Perceptive viewers will work out the Shaw family connection pretty quickly…

If there’s a genuine criticism to be made about HOBBS & SHAW it’s that the film runs about 20 minutes too long.

It’s understandable that Studios want the biggest bang for their buck and, at $200 million+, the level of audience satisfaction needs to be commensurate with the film’s production budget. 

With a film such as HOBBS & SHAW, “more” equates to “bigger”. 

That said, the film’s finale feels tacked on to the end of a different film. There’s a certain amount of story logic in where the climax takes place, but there’s also a sense that there’s as much (if not more) star service being given to Dwayne Johnson’s ancestral heritage given the location…

HOBBS & SHAW could have been around 115 minutes long and it would have still been as entertaining and satisfying as the 136 minutes that is clock in at.

If there’s any doubt that Universal Pictures is hoping HOBBS & SHAW develops into a new Spy-Fi sub-franchise, viewers only have to hang around for the multiple mid-credit and post-credit sequences to understand there’s an element of mythology-building going on that will appeal to a very broad, international audience for some time to come.

The connection to the FAST & FURIOUS name has more to do with commercial appeal than any creative connection, besides the inclusion of Johnson and Statham’s characters from the previous films.

On its own terms, HOBBS & SHAW is great fun. 

In many ways, HOBBS & SHAW is reminiscent of TRUE LIES, the James Cameron/Arnold Schwarzenegger 1994 Spy-Fi collaboration that mixed Action and Comedy with a trio of main characters (Schwarzenegger/Jamie Lee Curtis/Tom Arnold) with a host of “name” supporting players such as Charlton Heston and Bill Paxton. Johnson, Statham & Kirby pack a lot more punch, but both films share a spirit of action, fun and ridiculous that put a smile on the face of moviegoers.

HOBBS & SHAW MOVIE (2019) USEFUL LINKS

Hobbs & Shaw - Wikipedia
​Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) - IMDb
​Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) - Rotten Tomatoes

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