It almost feels like opinions would be divided on this matter since Hobbs and Shaw are, within the Fast and Furious franchise, both heavy-hitting characters, but also individuals that are seen better as part of a team or are just as effective on their own. Pairing them up almost makes it seem as though the big bad would have to be insanely strong, tough, and crafty to outsmart the two of them. Well, enter Idris Elba, who plays the part of a genetically-modified super soldier that seems capable of taking them both on and dishing out some real pain. That might seem like it’s over the top in many regards and it kind of is to be honest, but at the same time it’s still great enough to qualify as a summer movie since the type of entertainment it provides is the kind that is simply made for summer; there’s a lot of action and not much need to really think about the plot. The bad guy wants something that’s highly destructive, the world needs a couple of guys that are just as destructive but lean more towards doing good than simply creating anarchy. Enter Hobbs and Shaw, who have both caused enough damage and taken out enough people to qualify as lethal weapons unto themselves. It almost feels as though Idris Elba is going to be overshadowed by the two of them, but thankfully his personality and strength of character might keep him in the game a bit more than it would appear.
Notice I didn’t say it was going to be a blockbuster or an award-winning performance. There’s a reason for that and it’s largely because this is an action movie and not meant to be something that will blow people away with anything other than the over the top action. It does kind of seem like we’ve been given the best action scenes in the trailer thus far just to get us interested, but there does also seem to be enough behind the trailer that we’re not seeing that could keep it interesting. The fact that Roman Reigns from the WWE shows up as part of Hobbs’ family is a very cool development, and the fact that Dwayne is embracing the Samoan side of his heritage is even better since he did the same thing in The Fate of the Furious right before the girls’ soccer game began. As Gwynne Watkins from Yahoo! Entertainment explains it, that scene was actually approved and blessed by Maori elders and meant a great deal to Dwayne as he takes his Samoan heritage very seriously. Taking a look back at his family tree and where he’s descended from you can see that this is a matter of pride with Dwayne and so far it comes off as something that might be a lot of fun to see in the movie.
On top of that is the fact that this movie is bound to be one of the more popular of the summer simply because of the over the top action and the, hopefully, lack of any in-depth story lines that will need to be fleshed out. No doubt there will need to be some background here and there to make the story work and give it a sense of natural progression, but otherwise one can only hope that we’re going to move from one action sequence to another with a few scenes that bridge the gaps and offer up the kind of comedic and hard-hitting performances we’ve come to expect from these two characters. Also, it’s worthwhile to note that while we’ve met Shaw’s brother Owen, we’re now meeting his sister, and it might be interesting to wonder just how many siblings he really has, or if there’s a chance we’ll ever meet his old man and figure out just how he came to be the way he is now. After all it’s apparent we’re going to meet Hobbs’ family, so meeting Deckard’s might only be fair if the movie goes off that well. But one thing that seems fair to wonder about as well is the fact that we don’t know a whole lot about the antagonist other than that he’s kind of like a ‘black Superman’ and that he’s extremely driven as any character played by Idris Elba usually is. Apart from that it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of information on him yet and it’s going to be interesting to find out just how he came to be and why he’s such a dangerous person.
So yes, this movie isn’t going to be likely to win a lot of awards or even get that kind of mention, but it does seem as though it’s going to leave people pumped up when they leave the theater and feeling slightly invincible if only for a few fleeting moments since let’s face it, that’s usually how it works. But it will also provide a good bit of entertainment and will be one of the more interesting and fun-filled movies of the summer.
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