Hello again. Back to review 2 movies that I saw this weekend - Angel Has Fallen and Fast and Furious - Hobbs and Shaw. Both are true to the franchise that it represents so if you enjoyed the previous films then you are sure to enjoy the newest installment.
Personally I enjoyed Hobbs and Shaw much more than Angel but that is probably unfair. Although there is a fair amount of humor around Nick Nolte's character the Fallen franchise is not known for being funny. So I was glad to see the father emerge as a character who can bring a little levity into the movie. But I would love to take scissors to his moustache.
Gerard Butler carries his part as if he was playing at being a secret service agent to an extent that it was almost Austin Powers-ish. Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors, really just phoned in his part. The wife is forgettable, the daughter cute as a button and the talent of Jada Pinkett Smith, unfortunately, wasted. The best part of the movie was at the very end, the immersion sequence during the credits. Blowing up all the bad guys in the woods was also pretty amusing although the extent of the violence in this movie was unsettling. Seemed over the top and unnecessary.
Hobbs and Shaw, on the other hand, brought the humor, the car chases, the impossible-to-escape scenarios, relationship issues, and a world crises and rolled them into a movie that I enjoyed spending my afternoon watching. It does not hurt that Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Helen Mirren and Idris Alba are in the movie. I am now a fan of Vanessa Kirby. She can certainly hold her own with Statham and Johnson.
The cast is a great starting point but of course the action, the script and the acting has to carry it off. This movie was a perfect mix of all three. The helicopter and tow truck scene is remarkable and I loved it every time that Alba, Statham and Johnson interacted. Is Alba really dead? Can he be reactivated?
A comparison between the movies shows that both are violent, a continuing story line, and filled with A list actors. Neither film is within the borders of the believable although I am not a secret service agent or spy so what do I know. For me Hobbs and Shaw wins hands down. I left this movie smiling and not begrudging the money and time I spent on it. This is what makes it a winner.
