Hobbs & Shaw Review

Not without its moments, Hobbs & Shaw is serviceable, but falls short of anything spectacular.

The Upside:

First off, Vanessa Kirby is slowly showing that she can be a bonafide action star. Her hand to hand combat scenes are awesome, and her character in Hobbs & Shaw has the best arc and most depth. There are also some surprising appearances by A-List actors in significant roles that will be sure to please. Some action scenes are well done, and there are a fair share of laughs to be had. Idris Elba and Vanessa Kirby definitely stand out, and the Rock/Statham deliver mostly what you’d expect from them.

The Downside:

In typical Fast and the Furious fashion, they really beat a dead horse with the “Family is everything” theme. Every action in the film has to relate to some aspect of a character’s family and it gets tiresome. Statham, The Rock, And Idris Elba are all fine in their roles, but having the three of them on screen together warranted higher expectations than what is delivered. The movie is also very bloated. The excess of characters and excessively long banter between The Rock and Jason Statham make H&S clock in at well over 2 hours and it feels it. That banter also feels forced and the humor doesn’t always hit. It feels as though the writers and actors are just trying too hard to get a laugh. Also, although a lot of the action scenes are fine, none of them (aside from Vanessa Kirby’s) stand out as anything more than just okay, especially the scenes that rely on CG, as the CG is not very polished and just doesn’t look all that great.

Side note: I didn’t even comment on the ridiculousness of the plot, but that can be taken in either direction depending on how you feel about the direction the F&F franchise has been heading.

The Verdict:

Hobbs & Shaw ends up being a very okay action movie and fans of the Rock and Jason Statham will most likely be pleased. Some serviceable action and great overall performance from Vanessa Kirby keep it moving forward, while A long runtime, bad CG, and lack of consistently high quality action hold it back.

5/10

The High Point: The action early in the movie.

The Low Point: Benching Vanessa Kirby in the 3rd act