Review of the blockbuster "Fast and the Furious: Hobbs and Shaw"

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

As the slogan of the tape, the phrase "dementia and courage" is suitable. And this is its main advantage.

A spin-off of the famous Fast and Furious franchise has been released on Russian screens. This is the ninth part of the MCU and the first film in ten years, which is not dedicated to Dominic Toretto - the hero of Vin Diesel.

But one should immediately make a reservation: the plot of the new film will be understandable even to those who are not at all familiar with the background. It may be good to know before the hike that this world has a cool special agent Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne Scala Johnson, and an equally cool operative Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. And these two do not love each other.

Someone could even hear that on the set of the next numbered "Fast and the Furious" Scala quarreled with Diesel and decided that he would shoot his own, even cooler and more brutal movie with blackjack and Stateham.

More information is not required. Everything you need will be quickly told in the first frames of the picture, and at the same time new characters will be presented. But even if you are late for the session and miss something from the introduction, it won't get any worse. This film does not spoil at all by some lack of input.

After all, "Hobbs and Shaw" hints in advance with all its trailers: you won't have to think here.

Just stock up on popcorn, find some funnier company, and enjoy a senseless and merciless action movie for more than two hours.

James Bond for the cool and bald

So, some kind of omnipotent villainous organization is hunting for a virus that can destroy the entire planet. There is no doubt that they are up to something bad. After all, the main antagonist Brixton (Idris Elba), when he first appears, just says: "I am a villain." This is so that no one suddenly has doubts.

The virus itself ends up in the hands of Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby). And in order to save her from the villains, and at the same time not to let the whole Earth die, two coolest agents Hobbs and Shaw have to unite, hating each other since the time of the seventh "Fast and the Furious".

Of course, even the plots of the last parts of the franchise no longer resembled the first films about racers, but still their authors tried to somehow adhere to the framework of stories about blood feud and robbery.

Here you can immediately feel the swing to the plot in the spirit of James Bond.

Moreover, the authors completely forgot about realism. The hero of Elba seemed to be borrowed from the list of villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: a genetically improved person who cannot be taken by bullets. And his self-propelled disassembled motorcycle seems to have been borrowed from Transformers.

But it is precisely such a compilation and an outright farce that prevents the new tape from being scolded. The theme and presentation here are reminiscent of the action films of the nineties, coupled with superheroics (they will joke about the evil Superman here more than once). And the communication of the main characters came either from the classic police TV series, or even from comedies.

Even the types were picked up in contrast: Statem seems small against the background of the huge Johnson and most of the humor is built on their mutual dislike.

At the same time, the new actors, in terms of the disclosure of the characters, easily beat the main characters, who basically just keep their silly-serious faces. Vanessa Kirby is both charming and cool here, and Idris Elba perfectly got used to the image of a beaten villain.

But still, it’s not the acting game, and not even the plot twists: anyone who has seen at least a few Bond films or read a couple of books - no matter what, can predict all the twists.

It is clear that the heroes will make every effort to save their friend and the world, and a superior army of villains will step on their heels. It is clear that good will prevail. Of at least some important thoughts here only the importance of family ties. With this even slightly tightened. But, apparently, Johnson really wanted to acquaint all viewers with his Samoan roots.

For the rest, you just need to watch the special effects, fights and chases. This was the whole "Fast and the Furious". The same pleases "Hobbs and Shaw".

Gunfights, chases and fights by Stateham

They put maximum effort into the dynamics and drive in the picture. No wonder the director's chair was taken by David Leitch (not to be confused with David Lynch, otherwise you can get scared). Behind this author are such action films as the first "John Wick", the second "Deadpool" and "Explosive Blonde". Needless to say, he knows how to put up fights.

Moreover, he got suitable actors. Johnson and Statham look great in action scenes, both in pairs and one at a time. Moreover, several times the authors even show parallel similar scenes with each of the characters.

True, there is also a certain drawback in this. The problem with parallel editing (when several events occurring at the same time are shown at once) arose in the sixth "Fast and the Furious". Due to the many simultaneous actions, there was a feeling that the plane was traveling along the runway for almost 20 minutes.

In Hobbs and Shaw, the authors, albeit on a smaller scale, again step on the same rake. Two fights shown in parallel make one think that each of them lasts twice as long.

And there is another problem with editing: sometimes it is too sharp and ragged. Since the days of "Batman v Superman" this is already trying to give up. But in the new film, shots change each other again so quickly that in the front rows of a large cinema, one can feel dizzy. It is unlikely that the authors planned to immerse the viewer so deeply into the plot.

But otherwise everything is fine. And the action is very diverse here. Do not forget about the "afterburner" chases on steep cars and motorcycles with passage under the trucks, shootout with drones and pulling the cable with a chain of cars on one side and a helicopter on the other.

Fights sometimes take place right during chases, and skirmishes - at the time of fights. Moreover, the bullets of the mercenaries cannot even get into the Rock, the flamethrower burns only the bad guys, and all the means at hand are used in hand-to-hand combat: bolt cutters, motorcycle helmets, the motorcycles themselves, and even Jason Stateham - it turns out that they can be thrown well.

Locations and flights by plane and without

On top of that, the action doesn't just take place in a confined space. Heroes dash around the world and delight the viewer with beautiful landscapes. The skyscrapers of the USA are replaced by views of London, from Moscow the action is transferred somewhere to the Chernobyl region, and everything ends in Samoa.

The characters get somewhere on a simple plane, then they fly on a jet, jokingly throwing each other out, and they decided not to show the move to the island at all, but only to mention it. To explain this flight, a special comedy character was introduced, played by Kevin Hart.

And in the movements themselves, there is almost no sense, the plot could just as well be looped on one city.

But the authors wanted beauty - the audience saw it.

There is no need to talk about Russia here: it is shown too little, and the heroine of Eiza Gonzalez turns out to be a typical Russian criminal. But the scenes with the nature of Samoa look just incredible and can make you want to immediately rush to look for cheap tours.

So in those moments when text jokes or too protracted action get bored, you can get distracted and admire the scenery. Hobbs & Shaw was generous in its plans.

The last parts of the Fast and the Furious franchise are more and more surprising. Critics can say as much as they like that the idea of the series has degenerated long ago and then the authors will throw the heroes into space. But there are few which film in the district cinema on Thursday morning so many spectators will gather.

And we must give the authors their due. Self-irony saves Hobbs and Shaw in the first place. Since the audience is going to the grotesque attraction, why not twist the action and madness to the maximum and disregard the laws of physics and logic. Just to allow the audience to laugh for two hours, to forget about any serious topics and not for a second doubt that everything will end well.