Hobbs & Shaw is gloriously ridiculous and incredibly
stupid. And when I say “stupid”, I mean “stupid fresh”.
First up, be sure to leave your Suspension of Disbelief
Barometer with the coat check girl in the lobby. Then you can just sit back and
soak up the insanity.
While not quite at the level of XxX: The Return of Xander
Cage (H&S doesn’t have Donnie Yen), this film is still teeming with so much
over-the-top badassness that it’s inescapably enjoyable.
A large part and parcel of the joy of this film resides in
the acting and chemistry of the four leads--Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham,
Vanessa Kirby, and Idris Elba. Each of them seems to be having a blast and
while they appear to be taking the material somewhat seriously, there’s also a
bit of a gleam in their eyes as if to say “yeah, we know this shit is
ridiculous, but it’s still cool.” In short, they know that the entire
production is a giant, multi-million dollar piss take on the action genre, but
they are wholeheartedly invested. And since they are obviously with the
program, you, the viewer get easily swept up on the madness. Plus, The Rock is
charismatic as fuck. So is Statham. Kirby is easy on the eyes. And Elba, well,
he’s Black Superman. Helen Mirren is wonderful in her brief moments on screen,
too, for those looking for thespian royalty co-signers.
While the fight scenes are bone crunching and the stunts are
filled with serious WTF?!?! moments, it doesn’t hurt any that the dialogue is
snappy and there’s enough dick and fart jokes bandied about to keep even Jay
& Silent Bob enthralled. Additionally, the “sly” meta-moments--nods to The
Italian Job, The Life Aquatic, Die Hard, and others--are actually funny and
don’t fall flat or feel forced.
If there are any faults the standouts come in the form of a
couple of high profile cameos. The first is annoying, mostly because the actor
in question, imho, has played himself out on social media and become a
caricature of himself. The other main cameo, while it feels like a blatant plug
for an upcoming blockbuster starring Johnson and the actor in question (cough,
Jumanji, cough), I have to admit that I laughed for much of it. Sadly, it ended
up being a bit drawn out and ultimately lost its charm. Honestly, cameos from
either Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel or Ludacris would have been
way cooler. Heck, I woulda lost my shit if Lucas Black had shown up. Now that
would have been mega meta.
After all is said and done, this is a quintessential summer
popcorn movie. It’s like an ‘80s James Bond flick on meth. And Thank God that
there’s no giant explosion filled alien invasions.
Oh yeah, stay in your seats after the last frame you
wankers: there’s 3 post-credit scenes.
Rating: 4/5
Rating: 4/5
RIYL: XxX: The Return of Xander Cage; Kingsman; Fast & Furious
6; Furious 7; The Fate of the Furious
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