By Robert Bouffard
I don’t like 2 Fast 2 Furiousbecause it’s missing most of the Fast and Furiousfamily. I like Tokyo Drifteven less because it doesn’t have any of the family. Theoretically, this should mean that I don’t like Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw… But this movie is way too much darn fun for me to follow that trend.
From the very beginning, this movie is in overdrive. It fortunately announces itself very early on as a very obvious spinoff, and not something that is a part of the strict series of Fastmovies. So throw any expectations for what one of these movies is supposed to be out the window of a moving car, because you’re in for a completely different kind of ride. There won’t be any street races and there are only a couple of instances of sports cars looking awesome. Instead, this movie is filled with cool hand-to-hand combat and witty banter between The Rock and Jason Statham.
The way that the two leads play off each other is easily what drives this movie. It’s a kind of shtick that could become tired quickly, but these two don’t let it get to that. Their characters and natural charm carry these moments and keep them fresh. And this time around, the franchise adds yet another strong female in Vanessa Kirby. This one focuses more on how awesome she is – both in how she speaks and how she kicks butt – than it does on large groups of women in bathing suits, and I give it huge props for that. Kirby has now been a part of the two biggest action franchises (Mission: Impossiblebeing the other) and I cannot wait to see where she goes from here.
These three bring amazing action sequences to the forefront. But what is most impressive about it is how the action scenes are a direct result of the characters and themes. On top of the endlessly fun action and comedy, this movie has a warm heart driving it all. The film goes much further than simply saying, to succeed, you need to work together, even if you don’t get along. It deals with home, reconciliation, the power of people with a similar goal, and of course, family.
This movie isn’t perfect by any means. It runs a little bit long and has an unfortunately forgettable villain. But in the end, it doesn’t have any business saying as much as it does. Somehow, it is able to mix in deep and personal themes that anyone can relate to with eye-popping action. With a few very pleasant surprises added on along the way, this is a worthy, and frankly top-tier Fast and Furious movie.
Grade: A-