Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

 

**This post contains spoilers** 

The Story- Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) reluctantly team up to protect Shaw’s sister and  MI6 agent, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby). Carrying a deadly virus, Hattie is pursued by Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a former MI6 agent and Eteon’s number one cybernetically enhanced operative. Eteon, a terrorist organization powered by advanced technology and weapons, plans to unleash the virus to fulfill their vision for an evolved future. 

Hobbs, Shaw, and Hattie will have to work together to defeat Eteon and Brixton. But the trio runs into a big problem, when their plans unravel during a botched mission at Eteon’s base in Ukraine. 

My Thoughts- The playful one-upsmanship and the banter between Johnson and Statham is truly the driving force behind Hobbs & Shaw. Johnson and Statham have undeniable chemistry together, and the split screen for Hobbs and Shaw’s morning routines was a nice touch. You’ll see some noticeable similarities between the two. But the differences are still clear, with Shaw being more sophisticated and polished, while Hobbs is more of a rugged, down to earth guy, who likes to flex his muscles. 

Brixton Lore leans too much on the cool bad guy (“I’m Black Superman!”) side of things at times, but Idris Elba is still a fantastic villain here. Yeah, all the fancy gadgetry and high tech accessories and weapons strengthens Brixton’s character, as this seemingly unstoppable and intimidating threat, but Elba has a strong presence. Elba’s impressive charisma and his confident performance as Brixton is one of the bigger highlights in the movie, truly a great choice for the main adversary to match the superstar duo of Hobbs and Shaw. 

Hattie Shaw is resourceful and fierce. Vanessa Kirby delivers a solid performance as Hattie, and Hattie’s sharp sarcasm is good for a few laughs. Ryan Reynolds brings his usual brand of snappy humor. I can’t think of too many actors, who could simultaneously explain the seriousness of a deadly virus being unleashed on the world with gory details, while also adding in comedic bits to the explanation, without undermining the severity of the situation. But Reynolds nailed the scene at the diner, when he tells Hobbs about the virus.

Kevin Hart makes the most of his brief screen time, with a few appearances as a spirited goofball. Eiza Gonzalez has a short role, but her character plays an important part in the story. Similar to Kevin Hart, Gonzalez doesn’t have a lot of screen time, but she still manages to make an impact as Madam M. And it’s always nice to see Helen Mirren reprise her role as Queenie. Eddie Marsan only has a handful of appearances as Professor Andreiko, but Marsan still delivers an impactful performance for an important character. 

The Rock makes an effort to bring some pro wrestling moments and references to Hobbs & Shaw. Hobbs’ People’s Eyebrow during a Face Time call with his daughter, Sam (Eliana Su’a), and Mateo (Joe Anoa’i/Roman Reigns) hits a Samoan Drop on an Eteon soldier, followed by a spear, complete with Reigns’ signature roar afterwards. 

Speaking of Reigns, I’m still wondering if he’ll make that big transition to Hollywood one day. Dave Bautista and Rock are the two big success stories for transitioning from pro wrestling to acting. Maybe Reigns will get a bigger role one day, and a chance to really show off what he can do.

The big final battle delivers a good amount of thrills, while proudly showcasing Johnson’s roots and his Samoan heritage. The irony of the supposedly superior and more technologically advanced Eteon suffering a decisive loss at the hands Hobbs, Shaw, Hattie, and the Samoans really works for a satisfying conclusion. In the end, Brixton and Eteon’s fancy technology couldn’t overcome teamwork, friendship, pure heart, and grit, easily dismantling Eteon’s beliefs about the weak and ineffective human race needing to confirm to their crazy ideas for a technological evolution.

Brixton has a sad ending. Before The Eteon Director decommissions Brixton, you can tell at one point in his life, Brixton was probably a good guy. He lost his way and was sucked into Eteon’s radical agenda, and Elba did a good job of selling Brixton’s confusion and disbelief. A loyal and dedicated solider for Eteon, who risked his life, but he was disposed of like yesterday’s trash, when he failed. Throughout the movie, Brixton is a seemingly unstoppable force, so he genuinely couldn’t believe in the possibility of losing to Hobbs and Shaw.

Hobbs & Shaw is predictable. You know at some point, Hobbs and Shaw will have to truly trust each other. They’ll have to put aside their differences, squash their big egos, and cohesive teamwork was the simple secret to defeating Brixton. Executing Hattie to stop the spread of the virus? I never believed it was a possibility, because there was no point in teasing so many close calls, unless they ultimately planned on Hattie surviving.

Still, Hobbs & Shaw is an enjoyable film, featuring hard hitting and slick action sequences. It’s a pure adrenaline rush, moving at fast pace, with the right amount of cheesiness. The runtime is close enough to three hours, but Hobbs & Shaw never drags. The casting is superb. Everyone in the main cast feels like the right fit for their personas, and Hobbs is a character that perfectly plays to The Rock’s strengths as an actor. 

Hobbs & Shaw is a fun and big over the top action blockbuster, complete with explosions and slow motion fight scenes, and happy endings. Hobbs buries the hatchet with his brother, Jonah (Cliff Curtis), he reconnects with his family, and Sam finally gets to meet her grandmother, Sefina (Lori Pelenise Tuisano). Hattie and Deckard visit Queenie in prison, fulfilling Queenie’s wish of seeing her children together as brother and sister again. Oh, and of course there’s a cliffhanger with Hattie and Deckard working together to help Queenie break out of prison. 

There’s a lot of material to work with for a sequel. We still don’t know the true identity for The Director Of Eteon. It’s only a distorted voice to keep the secret, and The Voice is quick to let Hobbs and Shaw know they’re not in the clear yet after Brixton’s death. 

Will Hattie and Hobbs become a couple? A romance between the two is constantly teased. Hobbs being romantically involved with Shaw’s sister is worth pursuing to see how Shaw will react. I do wonder if Vanessa Kirby would return for a sequel. A lot of potential with Hobbs, Shaw, and Hattie working together, with Hattie being the voice of reason or the peacemaker, when Hobbs and Shaw inevitably butt heads. 

Rating- 7/10

RED 2 (2013)

**This review contains spoilers**

After the events of RED, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is trying to be normal with his girlfriend, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), leaving his wild days of espionage and military combat behind him. But everything changes, when Frank and Sarah run into Frank’s old buddy and teammate, Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) at a Costco one day. Marvin tries to warn Frank of an inevitable attack, but Frank refuses to listen, because he wants to enjoy his new life without any problems.

Soon enough, Frank is taken into custody to answer some questions about project “Nightshade,” Sarah goes off to a safe house for protection, and Marvin fakes his death after an assassination attempt. During the interrogation, Frank is at the mercy of a cold and vicious US government agent named Jack Horton (Neal McDonough), who takes charge of the questioning after killing everyone guarding Frank. Frank escapes with Marvin‘s help, and Frank eventually joins forces with Marvin and Victoria Winslow (Helen Mirren) to fight off another frame/assassination attempt.

As Frank, Marvin, Victoria, and Sarah travel across the world, they learn more about a devastating weapon of mass destruction, and the man, who built it. Dr. Edward Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) has spent years in a London insane asylum for his protection, but after Victoria does some more digging, she learns about Dr. Bailey’s true intentions, and his original plans for the weapon of mass destruction he built.  Frank tries to balance the responsibilities of completing the mission, controlling Sarah’s persistent urges to join the team, and Frank must use his judgement to figure out where Victoria's loyalties lie, after Victoria accepts a contract from MI6 to kill Frank.

Plus, some old feelings for Katya (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a Russian spy, could jeopardize the mission and Frank’s relationship with Sarah. And Frank will have to fight off the attacks from Han (Lee Byung-hun), an old nemesis and a lethal contract killer, who will do anything to collect the bounty on Frank, and recover his private jet plane.

Bruce Willis is still entertaining as the old, grizzled veteran, who reluctantly shows his soft side every now and then. Malkovich is still hilarious as the eccentric loose cannon, and Helen Mirren isn’t bad at all here, but her screen time is cut down to accommodate more focus on Mary-Louise Parker this time around. Parker is still the same accident-prone and nervous goofball, and Sarah has a more involved role with the team. Although, they added this hopeless romantic layer to Parker’s character, and it kind of annoyed me at times. And Brian Cox has a few appearances towards the end, but his screen time is limited to cameo status.

No real complaints about most of the new cast members. In contrast to Helen Mirren’s Victoria, Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Katya is a seductive and lethal femme fatale. I usually can’t stand Neal McDonough, but he’s not bad as this quirky and delighted psychopath. Lee Byung-hun’s Han is limited to sporadic appearances, until he decides to join the good guys at the end, but he’s a nice fit for the lethal killing machine. As far as Anthony Hopkins goes, I’m sorry, but he just annoyed me too much. His kooky old man act is painful to watch. I mean, things get a little better, when Hopkins reveals himself as a bad guy, but still, the heel turn couldn’t save this character.

I’m torn, when it comes to RED2’s erratic plot twists and constant character changes. One one hand, the twists and turns DID hook me into the story, because I can honestly say I had no idea what would happen next most of the time. But on the other hand, it’s kind of hard to ignore the sub-plots, plot twists and character changes convoluting into one big mess.

First of all, the plot starts out with Frank and Marvin trying to figure, who’s setting them up this time, but that eventually evolves into Frank, Victoria (against her orders from MI6), Sarah, Marvin, and Han banding together to stop another lame plot involving a mad man’s mission to set off a bomb and kill millions. And throughout the movie, Han forgets about his contract, and instead, he becomes hell bent on killing Frank for stealing his jet plane. And on top of that, he joins the same guy he’s trying to kill throughout the whole movie to save the day at the end? Han is a contract killer. Why should he care about doing the right thing?

The struggles and bickering in Sarah and Frank’s rocky relationship constantly dilutes every sub-plot, and the main story arc. And if Jack Horton is one of the good guys, then why did he have to kill a high ranking Army General in the beginning? I won’t go on a rant about Hopkins revealing himself as one of the bad guys, because well, they gave that twist away in the trailers and TV spots. Unbelievable. More often than not, it felt like RED 2 was trying to be too clever for its own good. And I believe the efforts to shock and surprise the audience with a lot of unpredictability hurt the film.

So I can understand the complaints about the story and character changes, but the over the top action sequences? Eh, no. For anyone complaining about the action sequences in RED 2, I would just ask one question: do you remember RED (2010)? Do you remember Bruce Willis effortlessly and casually stepping out of a speeding and spinning car, opening the car door (while the car is still spinning), and stepping out to take out the bad guys with a machine gun? How about John Malkovich using a handgun, and ONE bullet to stop a rocket, AND literally blow up the person, who fired the rocket? And let’s not forget about Bruce Willis’ wild and over the top escape from a bunch of armed soldiers during the early stages of the movie. RED 2 promoted high octane and over the top action, and for the most part, they delivered it.

As usual, a part two doesn’t live up to the original, but I still had a good time with RED 2. I know some with take this as blasphemy, but Mary Louise-Parker was a more than suitable replacement for Morgan Freeman. Yeah, it’s hard to ignore some of the problems, and the final showdown between Frank and Dr. Bailey is so disappointing. But RED 2 still provides plenty of mindless fun entertainment and good laughs. I know RED 2 is considered to be a box office flop, but I say bring on RED 3. I remember reading something about plans for RED 3, and I hope those plans aren’t scrapped.

Rating: 6/10

Hitchcock (2012)

Facing intense pressure from his superiors, Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) prepares to make another film. Hitchcock tries to balance a rocky relationship with his neglected wife, Alma (Helen Mirren), while pursuing a risky project. Hitchcock decides to adapt the suspense novel Psycho, but Paramount is scared off by the controversy, so they refuse to provide funding for the film. Hitchcock is determined to bring Psycho to the big screen, so he makes a deal with Paramount: Hitchcock will personally finance Psycho, and Paramount will distribute the film.

Paramount agrees, but Hitchcock runs into a series of problems during filming. In the cast, some uncomfortable feelings with Vera Miles (Jessica Biel) resurface, and Hitchcock pushes Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson) to her limits. Hitchcock will have to fight censorship, health problems, work through problems in his failing marriage, and uphold his reputation as The Master Of Suspense.

Anthony Hopkins provides the perfect Alfred Hitchcock impersonation, and as expected, Helen Mirren delivers a strong performance. Besides having the “spitting image look” for Vera Miles and Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson really didn’t bring anything special to their characters on the acting side of things. Well, I guess Johansson deserves some credit for mimicking Leigh’s hysterical screaming during the famous shower scene.

Hitchcock isn’t a biopic. This film just focuses on the ups and downs during the making of Psycho. But you know what, I didn’t have a problem with this approach. He’s known for making many great films, but when you think about or mention Hitchcock, 99.9% of the time, Psycho is the first film that comes to mind. Think about it, unless you’re a real die hard fan, would you watch a James Cameron docudrama, that revolved around True Lies? A Spielberg docudrama about the War Of The Worlds remake? Psycho is often credited as the one film that created and validated modern horror, so it only makes sense for Psycho to be the one Hitchcock film, that receives so much attention.

I enjoyed Hitchcock, but the tonal shifts between horror and drama are kind of annoying. Throughout the film, Hitchcock has nightmares about Norman Bates committing and planing murders. The nightmare sequences about Bates feel spooky and eerie, but when the story returns to the struggles in Alfred’s marriage, and his troubles with Psycho, Hitchcock shifts back into drama mode.

Director Sacha Gervasi style isn’t something to brag about, but he deserves some praise for paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock by imitating the intro and outro for Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Helen Mirren might receive on Oscar nomination, because…..well, she’s Helen Mirren. Although, I would be surprised to see an Oscar nomination for Hopkins. He’s spot on as Hitchcock, but Hitch’s comical side in this film might hurt Hopkins’ chances for a nomination.

Final Rating: 7/10