The Fast & Furious franchise has had such a strange progression since its inception. When comparing the first movie to this most recent entry, it almost seems like an entirely different franchise. What started out as a simple series about street racing soon turned into one of the most popular over-the-top action franchises of the modern era. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is the first spin-off of the franchise, and for what it’s worth it was a pretty good choice to do a spin-off of. Both Hobbs and Shaw are fan-favorite characters in the series, and their interactions in the last two Fast & Furious movies were some of the best parts. So, naturally this on-screen chemistry seemed like a great fit for a “buddy cop” style spin-off.

Even if you’ve never seen a Fast & Furious movie, Hobbs & Shaw is an easy movie to jump into. You have a lawman, Hobbs, teaming up with an outlaw, Shaw, to save the world. The plot is essentially that a cyber-genetically enhanced superhuman (yeah, no joke, the series is going there now) is trying to steal a virus that can threaten the world. Shaw’s sister, Hattie, winds up getting involved, and takes the virus. So, it’s up to Hobbs and Shaw to help Hattie take down Brixton.

This is a movie that falls perfectly into the definition of “popcorn action flick.” It’s not a very intelligent movie at all, but it’s fun the whole way through. I’ve always thought that the Fast & Furious movies excel at escapist over-the-top action, and Hobbs & Shaw is no exception. All of the right elements are here. The action is as fun as always, the characters are entertaining, and the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham is very fun.

Despite this, there was just something about the movie that didn’t work for me. Like I said, I recognize that the Fast & Furious has changed as a franchise over time, but for some reason Hobbs & Shaw just didn’t feel like a genuine Fast & Furious movie to me. I honestly think a lot of it stems from the character of Brixton. We’ve seen a lot of ridiculous and impossible things in this franchise, but it was still always grounded in a somewhat exaggerated version of reality. The whole cyborg angle made it all feel a lot more sci-fi, and that threw things off for me. It just didn’t feel like it belonged in this universe. Even outside of this, there were just a lot of times where I wasn’t feeling that same special feeling I do when I watch a Fast & Furious movie.

So, in the end I feel a little conflicted on Hobbs & Shaw. Like I said, I did enjoy myself the entire way through. But I also just didn’t feel as drawn to it as I was hoping to. It’s the kind of movie where during it I’m thinking “this is fun,” but after it’s over I found that none of it really stuck with me. Usually a movie like Fast & Furious will get my adrenaline going and make me feel pumped up after I see it, but Hobbs & Shaw just left me feeling mildly entertained. It’s a movie where all of the individual parts work really well, but they just don’t blend quite right to make a great whole. This is a good popcorn flick, but it’s one of the weaker Fast & Furious movies in recent years.

3.5/5