10 Fast & Furious Reasons To Watch Hobbs & Shaw

Entering the theatre to watch a Fast & Furious flick? Just keep refreshments and a refreshing mindset with you because that’s all you will need to enjoy the film. The less you expect to learn, the better because that’s the Hobbs & Shaw way of doing things. They use their fists to get the job done and use their tongue whenever they can’t use hands. In Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, both Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Jason Statham team up to help a family member, and entertain the audience just like they did when they were part of Fast & Furious. Here are ten very ‘Fast & Furious’ reasons why you should go and watch the film in a cinema before it’s too late.

1. It reminds you of The Fast and The Furious Franchise

Some 18 years back when The Fast and the Furious brought Vin Diesel and Paul Walker together, not even the makers would have thought that one day they will be going for a spin-off, featuring neither Diesel nor Walker. In fact, the move to give Hobbs and Shaw a franchise of their own is a good one as they were becoming too big for Fast & Furious franchise. They may not be robbing someone here but they are saving one of their own, just like the Vin Diesel-led franchise where most of the time, one of them is in trouble and the ‘family’ saves the day!

2. It takes you back in the early days of The Rock

Before he was Dwayne Johnson the film star, he was a world-famous wrestler The Rock; ever since he has become a film actor, his choice of films has become weird. He does films with a dose of comedy, where he makes you laugh as well as take note of how he out-punches others in the sequence. The wrestler in his still exists even though now he has become one of the most successful actors of all times. In Hobbs & Shaw, he makes use of his chiseled physique to carry the narrative forward, even if it meant breaking a few bones, reminding his fans of his days in the ring.

3. ‘The Transporter’ reference is too hard to ignore

Jason Statham loves to drive a race car and be part of a heist; he did that in The Italian Job and also in The Transporter which is exactly what he is trying to do, here. In Hobbs & Shaw, he gets to team up with the one guy he hates the most (they both hate each other) and together take on a villain who is bigger, stronger and better than both of them combined. They manage to counter him one way or the other but the car chase on London’s roads and taking the villain head one are scenes made memorable by Jason Statham.

4. It’s a Mission Impossible flick without Tom Cruise

Take it as a positive thing or a negative one, but the film’s plot looks more like a Mission Impossible flick than a Fast & Furious one. A dangerous villain is all set to steal a deadly virus which is now in the hands of an MI6 agent. Needless to say, the agent with the virus has a brother – Deckard Shaw – who would do anything to save his family member. Add Luke Hobbs to the fray and you have a team that can give anyone, a run for their money. That is, anyone normal! Sounds a lot like something Ethan Hunt would do with his band of brothers and sisters, no?

5. The Black Superman is hard to resist

In a normal universe, Idris Elba is touted as the potential black James Bond whereas here, he is half-man, half-genetically enhanced back-from-the-dead anarchist Brixton Lorr. He can fight five guys at once without breaking a sweat; he is bulletproof and has an automatic motorbike that travels with him. He introduces himself in the film as the bad guy and carries that on until and unless he meets his match. During the beginning and the climax, he makes you fall in love with his powers, his dedication and his ability to anticipate his enemy’s move, making even Superman proud.

6. Deckard Shaw has a sister… enough said!

The terrific Vanessa Kirby plays Deckard Shaw’s sister and had I not seen her before in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and The Crown, I would have thought she was Jason Statham’s sister, such was the uncanny resemblance. She can fight as ruthlessly as her onscreen brother and even gives The Rock a tough time when they meet for the first time. She is so powerful and athletic that even the villain respects her, but his reasons are different. She looks the part of an MI6 agent and keeps the audience engrossed because she is the third member of the team, no more no less!

7. There are a couple of cameo appearances that you can’t miss

As many as four uncredited high-profile cameos make the film all the more interesting; the only actress in the world who qualifies to play the mother to the Shaws plays that character; Hobbs’ ‘best’ friend is played by an actor who loves to communicate with the public during his films while an African American comedian makes his presence felt in his limited appearance. Finally, there is another wrestler who manages to make his acting debut opposite The Rock and impresses all with his moves. Watch the film for more!

8. The stunts make you want to drive in the same mode

And then there are the amazing stunts that will make the audience go crazy; the car chase on the busy London streets where Idris Elba’s Lorr is on a motorbike, does a Dhoom 3 stunt, follows a sports car, driven by Brother Shaw and fails because the latter used his mind than his robotics. The grand finale features a battle involving a jumbo helicopter chained to hefty trucks along the coast of Samoa with both Hobbs & Shaw giving it all, so that Sister Shaw can come down safely.

9. More the action, the merrier!

Name an action franchise that doesn’t feature Jason Statham or The Rock, and is doing well. Jason Statham has been part of The Transporter and The Expendables before being the first cast the antagonist and later as part of the Fast & Furious team. He knows how it is done and uses all his experience to do subtle action where necessary. The Rock, on the other hand, does things his way, be it pulling down a helicopter or downing the tall villain with a single blow. Combine the two in Hobbs & Shaw and you get a brand new franchise where the more the action, the merrier.

10. Everybody is a potential franchisee

Usually, when a franchise gets old, the audience starts losing interest in it, until it decides to expand as per their vision. Hobbs & Shaw follows that formula just right as it introduces not one or two but four potential franchises – Hobbs, Shaw, his sister Hattie and antagonist Brixton Lore. While Hobbs and Shaw appear here in their own movie, they are good enough to lead their own versions of Fast & Furious. Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby) could also put her good looks and perfect fighting technique to good use in a movie of her own. Yes, Brixton Lorr (Idris Elba) may have lost the battle with the two leading men here, but the way he gave them a tough time, the way he managed to defy two muscle men makes him a good choice to start a franchise of his own. On the lines of Venom maybe, after all, he is the Black Superman!