[Review XN] Film 25: HOBBS & SHAW

"If the three of us don't work together, the billions of people will die."

When the Fast and the Furious franchise, which was increasingly blaring on its journey, decided to recruit the charismatic actor Dwayne Johnson as one of its core characters, Luke Hobbs, the audience could already guess where it was going. Whether sooner or later, he will get a very significant role exceeding Vin Diesel as the main character. Sure enough, after Jason Statham took on the role of Furious 7 (2015) as a villain named Deckard Shaw - but later allied with the hero - where the character is often depicted intersecting with Luke Hobbs, the idea of creating a splinter film for two action stars was sticking out. What's more, Hobbs and Shaw have stolen the hearts of many big fans thanks to the great charisma of the two actors and the rivalry between these characters gives the franchise its freshness. So why not give both of them a special platform so they can fight each other and taunt each other intensely without having to be distracted by Dominic Toretto and the team? Doesn't it sound like a good idea to let the audience get to know Farther and Shaw, who actually have more interesting characteristics (well, at least for me) than this Toretto?

While preparing for the 9th volume, Universal Pictures also presented Hobbs & Shaw, the first spin-off in the series The Fast and the Furious. As stated clearly in the title, the film directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2) places Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw as the central characters. The two characters who originally hated each other were forced to work together after Deckard's sister, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), was exposed to a dangerous virus called Snowflake that could destroy mankind. The work to save Hattie as well as securing Snowflake is certainly not an easy matter because: 1) all three are narrated as "fugitives" by the media under the incitement of a terrorist organization called Eteon, 2) they must race against time to find an antidote for Hattie or consequently the virus will be released when the host dies, and 3) they must face Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a former MI6 agent, who is now transformed into an evil cyborg that allows him to have power beyond normal humans. For the sake of saving the world - and also Hattie - these three friends also had to put aside their egos, unite their forces, and then depart from England to Russia to Samoa.

Filled with a never-ending boom throughout its duration, Hobbs & Shaw will have no trouble satisfying the passion of the fans of the Fast and the Furious franchise, especially if you have set expectations correctly. In a sense, no longer longing for this series will dwell on wild kebutaan, want complex narratives, and understand very well that the main selling point of this title is the hate-love interaction between the two main characters. Yes, as long as you come to the cinema to watch Hobbs & Shaw with expectations in the form of: 1) getting an escapism spectacle, 2) the contents of the endless adrenaline race, and 3) inserting funny moments to defuse tension, then it is likely to make fun smile when stepping outside the cinema. Hobbs & Shaw themselves apply a composition composed of fights-fights-fights to roll the story. When the audience does not see Hobbs or Shaw busy beating the criminals, the audience will see the two taunting each other like two children who hate each other. Supported by the slick play of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, the taunting taunts that take place repeatedly at some point have never been tiring and instead provide their own pleasure.

I chuckled when they argued, I cheered when they beat the enemy to a pulp. Hobbs & Shaw really defines a classic popcorn dish to fill a summer vacation where the audience is only invited to show the most basic reactions such as laughing, shouting, cheering, to shed tears. In their efforts to meet this definition, Hobbs & Shaw can be said to be successful. Leitch is able to provide consolation through a series of games that are blaring, a series of laughter invitations which this time has a more concentrated charge than the series The Fast and the Furious in general, and a little touch of warmth as the film floats a topic that has merged with the franchise: family. The acting contributions of Vanessa Kirby that were designed to be more than just damsel in distress (she's badass!), Intimidative Idris Elba as a hard-to-beat villain, and some surprising cameos, helped give a beat to films that were already lifelike only relying on the performance of the duo Johnson- Statham. Thanks to the good performance of these players, the audience can survive through the duration of 136 minutes which tends to be too long for the size of the film that is not equipped with deep storytelling material to the extent that a protracted impression is inevitable. Plus the existence of one ammunition in the climax like the "connect the car" on the edge of the cliff which was presented exciting, at least the long wait of the audience to get compensation that was considered appropriate.

Note: Hobbs & Shaw has three bonus scenes whose positions are located at: 1) right after the start of end credit, 2) sidelines of end credit, and 3) ending end credit.

Exceeds Expectations (3.5 / 5)