Lawman Luke Hobbs and outcast Deckard Shaw form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.

The seemingly never ending ‘Fast & Furious’ series is back once again, this time with a spin off focusing on two supporting characters turned core team members in Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw. I must confess that these films have been a guilty pleasure of mine since ‘Fast Five’ (which I’d argue is a genuinely great action film), but they were showing signs of tiredness last time around so a detour from the core story was a good idea, and I mostly enjoyed this movie.

The premise centres on frenemies Hobbs and Shaw being forced to team up to take down a super soldier called Brixton (Idris Elba), who is on the hunt for a virus that could wipe out much of the world’s population. The nature of this threat is very much of secondary importance, with the film focused on two things, ridiculously over the top action sequences, and the banter and charisma of the films two leads – in those aspects I felt I got my money’s worth. Joining the group is Vanessa Kirby as Shaw’s equally mental sister who finds herself caught up in the narrative, as well as a couple of choice cameos, one which works and one which doesn’t, but this is the Johnson and Statham show and I really enjoyed watching them bounce off one another. The film is too long and sometimes it falls into the trap of the other entries in the series of trying to switch from an over the top action comedy to something more serious, but there was enough to hold my attention and keep me entertained throughout. Whilst the series might be delivering increasingly diminishing returns, there’s just enough still there to keep me coming back for more.

‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is pretty much what I expected it to be – a big, dumb action movie that thrives on Johnson and Statham milking the material for all its worth. It’s not going to win any awards, but sometimes leaving your brain at the door and embracing the nonsense is all that’s required and for me, ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ fit the bill.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: David Leitch

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Eiza Gonzalez, Eddie Marsan, Helen Mirren, Cliff Curtis, Roman Reigns, Rob Delaney, Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6806448/