Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

More times than not this film trips over its superhero tropes.

Maybe the family isn't all there. But it turns out the extended relatives throw a pretty good party, too.

Mostly, the movie just putters along on two jokes: The Rock is very, very big, and Jason Statham compared to him (and not anybody else) is small.

The action scenes are spectacular, as we have come to expect. The main car chase, also involving a helicopter, is one of the best so far.

If you're expecting Hobbs & Shaw to be anything other than a ridiculous, over-the-top action extravaganza that defies all logic and gravity, then shame on you. You should know better by now.

Whether grimly injecting herself with the virus, bantering with Hobbs or hanging onto a truck like a thrilled kid on a roundabout, Hattie is dynamite. I took a 10-year-old boy to the screening and she was his favourite character.

The comedy wasn't as good as I expected, the action isn't that captivating, and Brixton is such a horribly written, unexplored character, that I kept feeling frustrated every time an action sequence ended.

It’s not the most ridiculous film in the franchise from an action standpoint, but nearly the entire runtime is taken up by two grown men...

Hobbs & Shaw is exactly as advertised. It’s a fun action flick, with gratuitous violence, crazy stunts, and lots of entertaining bickering between Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson.

Even without Dominic and the rest of the Family, Hobbs and Shaw provide an outlet for spin-offs that works while still paying homage to the messages that got us to this point.