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FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS AND SHAW
****
Dir: David Leitch (12A, 120 mins)
The Fast And Furious franchise gets an action-packed, ludicrous spinoff filled with bonkers setpieces, tongues firmly in bloodied cheeks and two bald men hitting lots of people. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham created such chemistry together on the last Fast And Furious film – the former a lawman, the latter a criminal – that their headbutting banter has been upscaled, with bludgeoning espionage introduced. Silly espionage, obviously, as Statham and Johnson battle against terrorist and ‘Black Superman’ Brixton – played by Idris Elba, a cyber-genetically enhanced villain trying to get hold of a horrific virus. Statham’s sister, Hattie (played with ass-kicking commitment by The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby), is MI6 and on Elba’s trail. She needs Staham’s and Johnson’s help. Also aiding and abetting is Helen Mirren as their mum and a Q-esque Eiza Gonzalez as Madam M who can obtain anything weapon-y. Mostly set in London but with a climax in Samoa where Johnson can draw on his heritage, this has as much if not more insane CGI-enhanced stuntwork under the eye of former stuntman and action director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde). Carnage, explosions, dumb dialogue and two stars who are able to make fun of the film and themselves, this is a guilty pleasure of a blockbuster.
Opens Aug 1
words Keiron Self