The Fast and Furious franchise found its groove when it let itself get a little nuts. It's now commonplace for the films to not let reality stand in the way of a moment that's going to look awesome on screen. I think Hobbs & Shaw, the franchise's first spinoff, is going for a "hold my beer" sort of moment, because the new trailer for the Dwayne Johnson/Jason Statham buddy pic might have one of the most insane, and yet completely awesome, moments yet. Check out the new trailer below, and make sure you don't miss the end.
The trailer opens up with the sort of entertaining, almost silly, action that made Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham so much fun in The Fate of the Furious. It was that chemistry that led to Hobbs & Shaw becoming a film in the first place. However, it's when the trailer comes to an end, and we see cars racing down the road and Dwayne Johnson attempt to pull down a helicopter on the end of a chain that things feel the most like a modern Fast & Furious movie.
Interestingly, we also learn that the full title of the movie is apparently Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Nobody wants to forget that this is still part of the Fast & Furious franchise. Those films, especially the most recent entries, have been huge money makers around the world and clearly the hope is that Hobbs & Shaw will follow the main franchise to big box office returns. By including the Fast & Furious name in the title, that will help attract an audience all over the world.
While this may not be a standard Fast and Furious movie, it clearly is still going to feel like one, because "family" is going to be a major part of the story. We get to meet more of Deckard Shaw's family, in the form of Vanessa Kirby. However, we also see the movie go to Hobbs' home, and get to meet his entire extended family, who are apparently going to fight the bad guys with traditional Polynesian weapons. Because of course they are.
We also get to meet Idris Elba's new character who will be the big bad of the movie. He's apparently been genetically engineered, so he's basically an evil Captain America, though he refers to himself as "Black Superman." I'm not quite sure why the villain had to be given superpowers in this movie, beyond of course, the fact that it just sounds cool.
Fans of the Fast and Furious franchise will clearly find plenty to get excited about in Hobbs & Shaw. Will this be the first of many spinoffs, or a new Fast & Furious franchise all its own? The box office will likely determine that. We'll find out when Hobbs & Shaw hits theaters August 2.
