Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

(In Theatres, August 2019) The origin story of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw sounds like a case study for an ambitious Hollywood studio executive: what if the two biggest stars of your biggest moneymaking franchise start squabbling badly enough that it makes headlines? The obvious answer is to spin off another series to specifically showcase one of the squabbling stars and hope that the box-office keeps churning in. So it is that there’s nary a Vin Diesel to be found in Hobbs & Shaw, as the film feels free to jettison much of the increasingly burdensome “Family” of the main series in favour of focusing on the antagonistic relationship between Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and reformed terrorist Shaw (Jason Statham). This spinoff clearly takes bold leap into science fiction as the antagonist is a cyber-enhanced “Black Superman” as played by the always-incredible Idris Elba. But that’s not the least credible aspect of a film that has its protagonists escape a falling smokestack, pull a flying helicopter by their arm muscles or run down the side of a skyscraper. No, believability and physics aren’t the strong suit of Hobbs & Shaw—in keeping with the original series, this is more about quick quips, demented action sequences, celebrity cameos (including a very funny Ryan Reynolds and an amused Helen Mirren) alongside an exaggerated sense of fun. It generally works—while elements of the third act feel like a step back from the calculated insanity of the previous action sequences, the film as a whole can depend on great lead action icons and a rather cute Vanessa Kirby building on the good reviews she received in Mission Impossible: Fallout. It’s not as good or as involving as much of the mainline series, but Hobbs & Shaw does the trick in between other instalments.

(Second viewing, Streaming, December 2025) A second look at Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw doesn’t surprisemuch. It’s still expendable in the context of the series, still more comic than thrilling, still a fine showcase for Johnson, Statham and Kirby, still a decently entertaining watch. But it leaves even less of an impression the second time around. No every bit works together (I’m still more puzzled than convinced by the Ryan Reynolds two-scenes cameo) and there’s a sense that there’s too much comedy and too much wild techno-thrills — not to mention CGI action that’s far less grounded than the practical-effects-heavy mainline series. It works, but in keeping with the post-Furious 7 era, there’s a sense that it’s never going to be as good as the series’ finest films.