*Mild Spoilers for the entire Fast and Furious franchise

As my readers certainly know we talk about cinematic universes a lot here on the blog. The Fast and The Furious is one that no one ever saw coming. I mean lets be serious how can we go from this…

To…

The magic of modern day world building am I right?

The latest installment, number nine in the franchise, is the first spin off about Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. Hobbs and Shaw have been at odds since we met them and they just so happen to be played by The Rock and Jason Statham. On paper this was a no brainer and a guaranteed hit in the theater.

Hobbs and Shaw is directed by David Leitch, a veteran of John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Deadpool. Judging by those credits the man really knows his way around a fight scene. And boy does this movie have a lot of fight scenes. Explosions, hand to hand combat, quippy one liners are all present in this non stop, over the top thrill ride. You can tell as well that Leitch wanted to bring some of the Deadpool humor into the buddy cop nature of this, and he does that and more with a brilliant cameo from Mr. Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds (but more on that later.)

Besides the two of the yelling back and forth at each other in every scene, this movie is really about Hobbs and Shaw going to save Deckard’s sister after she injects herself with a deadly virus. Also on the hunt is Idris Elba’s villain Brixton “aka Black Superman” who is trying to change the world by evolving humans into super humans. I know that sounds wild but it’s a Fast and Furious movie, what the hell do you expect. The real aspects of the movie that I loved is the chemistry between Statham and The Rock, and just how over the top Leitch wanted to go.

Some of the issues would stem from just the overall length of the movie, it felt like it dragged a bit. The Samoa scenes were great, I just wish we could have gotten there a little quicker. The script was also very cheesy and had one corny line for every really funny line.

Stock Watch

Stock Neutral – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is probably the most famous movie star on the planet so his stock cannot get any higher. I will so though he had some genuinely great acting moments in this and he is showing he is more than just an action star.

Stock Neutral – Jason Statham is kind of in a similar situation with Dwayne. He just does what he does and he is really good at it. I do not think he is a very good actor, or at least he has not shown it, but damn if he is not one of the greatest action stars in the world. He is also very funny.

Stock Up – Vanessa Kirby is on the superstar rocket ship right now. She stole all her scenes in last years MI6 Fallout, and now she turned in a star making performance in this. She has all the charisma in the world, and that trait that I always talk about, which is you just cannot take your eyes off her. I am very excited about her career.

*A couple other tidbits

• Kevin Hart’s scene was so out of place but he absolutely nailed it. So much fun and gives this franchise a different tone than F&F.
• Ryan Reynolds was just Deadpool but again gave the franchise a new tone and made everyone in the theater laugh.
• They should have died 1000 times in this movie.

At the end of the day this is a Fast and Furious movie and gives the fans what they want. Over the top action, hulking men, and yes some fast car chase scenes. There is some schlock littered throughout, but it is still just a summer action movie, so enjoy it for what it is.

Juice Rating:

 

*All of my Movie Ratings can be found here.

*My Fast and Furious Rankings are below