MOVIE REVIEW: Hobbes And Shaw
(Mesos - Jonathan Geer)
If you'r even remotely tempted to watch this movie in the theater, avoid stories of it online at all costs. Seriously, there are some spoilers for this film running around out there that will ruin one of the movie's greatest reveals for you. Stop looking at articles and reviews. Except this one, because I won't spoil it.
The recipe for the Fast And Furious movies has been a simple one for a long time. Take a bunch of good-looking, moderately talented actors, place them in very fast and expensive cars, and then place them in some ludicrous situations. Audiences saw that this was good. As more and more backstory stated to get added into those movies, they started telling more and more complex stories. Audiences saw that this was good as well. Then they brought Vin Diesel, the man arguably responsible for getting the franchise off the ground in the first place, back for the fourth movie and any momentum that the previous two films had lost was instantly regained. This was when they ran into their next problem, however:
How do you top that?
The answer, as it frequently is in Hollywood, is to go bigger and bolder. So, they went and hired Dwayne Johnson for the fifth movie.
When the character of Luke Hobbes was introduced back in Fast Five, it added a little USP to the series, taking it places that none of the previous co-stars could ever get on their own, all on the wide shoulders of The Rock.
Then, in another two movies, they ran into the same issue again: How do you top that? It doesn't get much bigger than Dwayne Johnson in terms of size. The thought was that they could counter raw force with menace and finesse.
So they hired Jason Statham for the seventh film. And audiences saw this was good. It was so good that they brought him back for the eighth movie as well. Which is when a NEW problem reared its head: Everyone wanted more of Hobbes and Statham's Deckard Shaw on screen, bickering with each other, which would mean cutting screen time down for the other actors.
What do you do when there's too much going on in a movie? By the time The Fate Of The Furious had wrapped, the series' 8th film was so clogged with stars that it was starting to feel like a Sam Raimi Spider-Man sequel. Clearly, something had to be done before Vin Diesel started dancing down the street in a black turtleneck.
The answer: cut everyone else NOT Hobbes and Shaw out of the film and let them do their thing. Audiences were equal parts stunned and hopeful when the first trailers for Hobbes And Shaw came out. Now, the film is here, and only one question really remains:
Was the solution a good one?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Yep.
THE LONG VERSION:
So, fair play, that's already a long introduction, so let's get the important stuff out of the way up front. Yes, this is a good movie. It's a better movie than I expected it would be. It's funny, exciting, well-paced, and it requires absolutely no mental or emotional commitment from the audience to enjoy it. It's a perfect summer movie.
You can stop reading now if you want. I'm going to get some other thoughts out, but everything you really need to know is up above.
Now, about those thoughts:
- The stunts in the FF movies have always been over the top and well over the edge of what's actually possible in the real world. That's okay though, because that's where most people like them. For the most part, that holds true in this film as well, with one very glaring exception: The motorcycles. Some stuff is done with motorcycles in this movie that are outside of the fridge for even these films. You'll know when you see them.
- There are two cameos in this movie. The first is Kevin Hart, who spoils literally everything that he touches, and who, unfortunately, has a habit of popping up in Dwayne Johnson movies. He's just as annoying here. The second cameo completely makes up for it. No, I won't tell you who it is. Yes, you'll squeal with delight.
- I'm not sure how I feel about the healthy two scoops of Samoan pride that Dwayne Johnson lumped into this movie. It's really cool, and lines up with Hobbes' background but it just feels...forced. Which is a shame, because it's really cool. But it also feels -really- forced. Like, Star Trek Discovery levels of 'inclusive' forced. But it's also really cool. I'm so conflicted.
- It should tell you something that these movies stopped using cars as one of the main draws for the films and started relying on the actors more. It should also tell you something when you see how successful the film still is in the face of that decision. It should tell you a lot of somethings, actually.
Hobbes and Shaw isn't a perfect movie, and there's some legitimate, Michael Bay-level shenanigans that happen in it a few times. It succeeds in being laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining in spite of that. The other movies in this franchise could learn a LOT from this movie.
If you'r even remotely tempted to watch this movie in the theater, avoid stories of it online at all costs. Seriously, there are some spoilers for this film running around out there that will ruin one of the movie's greatest reveals for you. Stop looking at articles and reviews. Except this one, because I won't spoil it.
The recipe for the Fast And Furious movies has been a simple one for a long time. Take a bunch of good-looking, moderately talented actors, place them in very fast and expensive cars, and then place them in some ludicrous situations. Audiences saw that this was good. As more and more backstory stated to get added into those movies, they started telling more and more complex stories. Audiences saw that this was good as well. Then they brought Vin Diesel, the man arguably responsible for getting the franchise off the ground in the first place, back for the fourth movie and any momentum that the previous two films had lost was instantly regained. This was when they ran into their next problem, however:
How do you top that?
The answer, as it frequently is in Hollywood, is to go bigger and bolder. So, they went and hired Dwayne Johnson for the fifth movie.
When the character of Luke Hobbes was introduced back in Fast Five, it added a little USP to the series, taking it places that none of the previous co-stars could ever get on their own, all on the wide shoulders of The Rock.
Then, in another two movies, they ran into the same issue again: How do you top that? It doesn't get much bigger than Dwayne Johnson in terms of size. The thought was that they could counter raw force with menace and finesse.
So they hired Jason Statham for the seventh film. And audiences saw this was good. It was so good that they brought him back for the eighth movie as well. Which is when a NEW problem reared its head: Everyone wanted more of Hobbes and Statham's Deckard Shaw on screen, bickering with each other, which would mean cutting screen time down for the other actors.
What do you do when there's too much going on in a movie? By the time The Fate Of The Furious had wrapped, the series' 8th film was so clogged with stars that it was starting to feel like a Sam Raimi Spider-Man sequel. Clearly, something had to be done before Vin Diesel started dancing down the street in a black turtleneck.
The answer: cut everyone else NOT Hobbes and Shaw out of the film and let them do their thing. Audiences were equal parts stunned and hopeful when the first trailers for Hobbes And Shaw came out. Now, the film is here, and only one question really remains:
Was the solution a good one?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Yep.
THE LONG VERSION:
So, fair play, that's already a long introduction, so let's get the important stuff out of the way up front. Yes, this is a good movie. It's a better movie than I expected it would be. It's funny, exciting, well-paced, and it requires absolutely no mental or emotional commitment from the audience to enjoy it. It's a perfect summer movie.
You can stop reading now if you want. I'm going to get some other thoughts out, but everything you really need to know is up above.
Now, about those thoughts:
- The stunts in the FF movies have always been over the top and well over the edge of what's actually possible in the real world. That's okay though, because that's where most people like them. For the most part, that holds true in this film as well, with one very glaring exception: The motorcycles. Some stuff is done with motorcycles in this movie that are outside of the fridge for even these films. You'll know when you see them.
- There are two cameos in this movie. The first is Kevin Hart, who spoils literally everything that he touches, and who, unfortunately, has a habit of popping up in Dwayne Johnson movies. He's just as annoying here. The second cameo completely makes up for it. No, I won't tell you who it is. Yes, you'll squeal with delight.
- I'm not sure how I feel about the healthy two scoops of Samoan pride that Dwayne Johnson lumped into this movie. It's really cool, and lines up with Hobbes' background but it just feels...forced. Which is a shame, because it's really cool. But it also feels -really- forced. Like, Star Trek Discovery levels of 'inclusive' forced. But it's also really cool. I'm so conflicted.
- It should tell you something that these movies stopped using cars as one of the main draws for the films and started relying on the actors more. It should also tell you something when you see how successful the film still is in the face of that decision. It should tell you a lot of somethings, actually.
Hobbes and Shaw isn't a perfect movie, and there's some legitimate, Michael Bay-level shenanigans that happen in it a few times. It succeeds in being laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining in spite of that. The other movies in this franchise could learn a LOT from this movie.
Comments
Post a Comment