Although it has the Fast & Furious name in there, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a film that doesn’t feel like a typical Fast & Furious film. First of all, Hobbs & Shaw is incredibly funny. It’s probably the funniest film in the entire franchise. Then again, that’s not saying much since the eight Fast & Furious films before it were more action dramas than action comedies. But the comedic chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are what makes the film so damn entertaining.
But the core concepts of the Fast universe are all there. The idea of family is there but this time around, it’s about reconnecting families. This is where most of the emotion comes from—especially when Hobbs reconnects with his family. Eventually, it leads to some sweet moments in between the laughs and the thrills.
Speaking of thrills, the action scenes are much more grounded this time around. Of course, there are still some crazy and unbelievable action sequences but for the most part, the action is more grounded. Director David Leitch uses his stunt expertise to showcase the physical attributes of his four stars. In other words, it’s more about grounded action and less about the cars.
For better or worse, there is a science fiction element to the storyline that also differentiates itself from the Fast universe. Unfortunately, the virus and supervillain element is a bit too hokey—even for the Fast franchise. Be that as it may, the supervillain aspect gives us a true formidable opponent for Hobbs and Shaw. Idris Elba is intimidating so seeing him go toe-to-toe with Johnson and Statham is so much fun.
Overall, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is entertaining as hell. It’s hilarious, action-packed, and heartfelt. However, the sci-fi element is hokey and is a bit odd to see it set in a grounded universe. Regardless, if you’re not a fan of the Fast franchise, Hobbs & Shaw is different enough for you to give it a chance. You won’t be disappointed.
Movie Rating: 4/5 atoms
Video
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw hits Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG-AVC with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. As a whole, the picture has high contrast. As a result, the brightness is relatively high which leads to some bloom in the bright areas. On the other hand, the black levels are quite nice. There is a nice grayscale to the shadows. It ranges from a dark gray to a deep black which means there is not much crush in the shadows. The wide color spectrum ranges from oversaturated to rich and vibrant colors. The details are incredibly clear as well. You can really see it in the sweat/baby oil on The Rock’s face. Overall, the picture looks great despite the issues.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
Audio
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw hits Ultra HD Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos and a core 7.1 Dolby TrueHD Master Audio track. This review will reflect Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw‘s Dolby Atmos track. Since this a Fast & Furious film, there is a lot of fun dynamic sound movement in the audio mix. In other words, the sound effects quickly travel all over the soundstage. Not to mention, the mix is also completely immersing you in this world as well. The accurate placement of sound effects during the action sequences will bring your soundstage to life.
There are a few moments where the overhead speakers come to life, but it’s there when a scene calls for it. The atmospheric effects are subtle but they are distinct too. You can clearly hear it when you’re closely paying attention. Unfortunately, all of the loud action sequences do drown out some of the dialogue. Overall, this is a booming audio mix.
Audio Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
Special Features
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw has the following special features on the Blu-ray disc:
- Alternate Opening
- Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes
- Brixton Opens Case and Grenade Explodes
- Extended Hobbs and Sam in the Pancake House
- Pancake House with Locke
- Extended Hobbs and Shaw Face Off
- Extended Shaw Tracks Hattie
- Hobbs Gets Handsy with Hattie
- Extended Hobbs and Hattie Tango
- Extended Chase Dialogue
- Passport Check – Alternate
- Extended Dinkley on the Plane
- Maximum Weight These Parachutes Hold
- Dinkley in His Office – Alternate
- Samoa Truck with Radio
- Extended Hobbs and Hattie Talk Family
- Jonah – Let Me Be Clear
- My Land, My Plan
- Extended Hobbs and Hattie at Sunset
- Hobbs and Jonah Talk Extended
- Extended Shaw and Hattie Talk
- Extended Battle
- Cliffside Walk
- Hobbs and Locke Phone Call
- Johnson & Statham: Hobbs & Shaw
- Progress of a Fight Scene with Director David Leitch
- Practical Action
- The Bad Guy
- The Sister
- Hobbs Family Tree
- The Matriarch
- New Friends
- Elevator Action
- Stunt Show and Tell
- Keeping It in the Family
- Blind Fury
- Dwayne and Hobbs: Love at First Bite
- Feature Commentary with Director David Leitch
The alternate opening basically is scenes that are already in the movie. There’s nothing new but it is an interesting edit of the original theatrical cut and this version. This one is much more story-driven while the theatrical cut introduces Hattie right away.
As you can tell from the list above there is a LOT of alternate scenes cut from the film. Yet the scenes are basically alternate versions of the scenes in the film. Leitch shot a lot of improv footage to give him options in the editing room, so seeing the alternate versions are quite fun.
“Johnson and Statham” talk a tiny bit about the backstory in bringing these two characters together. It’s something you already can see when you watch the last Fast film, but you mostly watch this featurette to see the banter between the two characters.
“Progress of a Fight Scene” shows you how to develop a fight scene for the film. “Practical Action” is a great complementary featurette to “Progress”. You get to learn more of the pre-production aspect of fight choreography in this one.
“The Bad Guy,” as you can expect, is about Brixton. Unfortunately, you don’t get to learn a lot about the character. Also, the entire featurette is a love fest for Idris Elba… Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “The Sister” is essentially cut from the same cloth as “Bad Guy” but you get to see more of Vanessa Kirby’s stuntwork training.
“Hobbs’ Family Tree” showcases all of the actors who play Hobbs’ family members and not much else is shown in this one. “The Matriarch” is a love fest for the one-and-only Helen Mirren. “New Friends” has Dwayne Johnson talking about all of the famous cameos in the film. It’s not a surprise if you see the film but you do get to see all of the outtakes between the two cameos.
Unfortunately, “Elevator Action” doesn’t exactly break down this action sequence. Instead, they just slightly describe the scene and the genesis of it. Luckily, “Stunt Show and Tell” is a comprehensive general lesson in creating an action sequence. While Leitch breaks down his action sequences, a ton of behind-the-scenes, pre-biz, and storyboards accompany his commentary.
“Keeping It in the Family” is interesting because we see Roman Reigns and The Rick talk about their family history together. They also talk about the importance of showing the Samoan culture to the world. “Blind Fury” has Dwayne Johnson talk about the tiny homage to his grandfather in the film. “Dwayne and Hobbs” focuses on Johnson’s pet Frenchie. That’s it. That’s all you need to know.
The audio commentary is good overall. Leitch provides a ton of insight into all of the various stunts in the film. He even calls out all of the stuntmen in the film by name and gives them so much praise.
Special Features Rating: 4/5 atoms
Overall, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a massively entertaining spinoff film set in the Fast universe. Those of you who haven’t seen a Fast film, this film is perfect for you to jump off on. The picture quality and audio mix are both great and the special features are comprehensive and bountiful.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
This Blu-ray was reviewed using a retail/advance copy/unit provided by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
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