1st Spinoff From The Fast & Furious Franchise & a Thrill Ride It is!

Kaleidoscope's latest is on Universal's production of "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw".  Directed by David Leitch, the movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Helen Mirren, & Cliff Curtis.  Rated 'PG-13', it has a running time of 2 hr., 17 min.

The exposition depicts a group of MI-6 agents who are attempting to retrieve a new virulent strain of virus called Snowflake which has been engineered by the terrorist organization Eteon to kill millions of people upon its release to the public.  As the agents are about to leave with the virus, an armed team from Eteon, led by the cybernetically enhanced Brixton Lore (Elba) intercepts & kills all of them, save the agents' leader Hattie (Kirby).  Right before escaping, Hattie injects the 3 tubes of Snowflake into her arm hoping that she can get them removed & destroyed before she becomes a weapon of mass destruction.  When he realizes what she has done, Lore frames Hattie for intentionally stealing the virus to use against humanity; this sets her on the run.  Drafted by their respective organizations to track down Hattie, Luke Hobbs (Johnson) & Deckard Shaw (Statham), Hattie's brother--reluctantly--join forces to find Hattie before Lore does.  After several scuffles, finding Hattie, & an obligatory chase, Hobbs & Shaw bring her to a CIA office.  Lore tracks them there, attacks the office, & abducts Hattie.  During this incident, Shaw recognizes Lore as an old colleague that he shot years ago.  Act 1 segues into act 2 as mayhem & laughs ensue.

This is the 9th chapter in the "Fast & Furious" canon & the 1st spinoff.  Former stuntman & "Deadpool 2" director Leitch presents a film that furthers the franchise's direction of creating more & more unbelievable action set pieces laced with plenty of laughs.  The set pieces are well staged; the action is clearly presented (as one would expect of a professional stuntman); the hyperbolic fight scenes are on a par with the best in the "John Wick" series, and Johnson & Statham are presented as the capable inheritors of the Schwarzeneggar/Stallone comic-strongmen of the '80s/'90s.  Chris Morgan's & Drew Pearce's screenplay provides the requisite banal dialogue interspersed with truly humorous ones--even though many of the lines are shoe-horned into the rudimentary plot.  The acting, as is usually the case, is 1st rate.  When you have 3 of the most charismatic actors around doing what they do best, how can one go wrong.  Johnson & Statham make for a great buddy foil/friend team.  They are superbly athletic, can trade insults with the best, & can capably deliver truly humorous lines (especially Johnson) with aplomb.  As all 3 have previously demonstrated, they can alternate between hero & heavy with ease.  Kirby blends in very well with the aforementioned actors.  She can also handle action & intimate scenes extremely well.  She fulfills the promise demonstrated in last year's "Mission Impossible: Fallout".  Mirren & Curtis ("Fear the Walking Dead") stand out in their few brief scenes.  Veteran cinematographer Jonathan Sela provides crystal sharp photography that never leaves the viewer in doubt as to what is occurring on screen.  The art, sound, special, & visual effects departments are to be commended for presenting astounding, if, most of the time, unbelievable stunts & set-pieces; they are breathtaking.

I give "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" 8 out of 10 nuggets.  If you are a fan of the franchise, action pictures, & buddy flicks, you will truly enjoy this film as I did.  If you are not...make your own decision.  For those who do go to the theater, look for 2 great & funny uncredited extended-cameos.  Additionally, stay for the 3 humorous mid-end credits.