Current Film Reviews- Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw

     So, I've never seen a Fast and Furious film. I may have seen part of the second one years ago, but I've never seen any full film from the franchise, despite its increasing acclaim as an internationally, intersectionally minded blockbuster franchise. I just don't really know where to start, given that the continuity of the films is famously bizarre, and its shift from street racing to international spy thrillers equally such. So, given this, I decided to do this review with that mindset. Having not seen any of the Fast and Furious films, does this spin-off stand up as its own film to a non-fan such as myself, who isn't immersed in this particular franchise.

     A group of MI6 agents try to capture a device containing a virus that could wipe out most of mankind (sadly, it is not called "Thanoslite"), from the terrorist organization Eteon. However, an Eteon operative named Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), with superhuman abilities, comes out to retrieve their device. He kills all the agents, except Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby) who injects the virus capsules into herself before fleeing. Brixton promptly frames her for the attack. The CIA then recruits Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Hattie's brother Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to find Hattie and bring her to justice. Of course, Brixton is on the trail, and complications arise.

    First, the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Stathem basically is the entire film. I've heard that they get on pretty well in real life, and it does show. I could just see them trash talking each other for a feature-length film. It helps especially during some of the sequences where they are forced to work together. Most of the other actors do fine in their roles (Idris Elba seems to be having fun in this). The actions sequences are spectacular, with elaborate set pieces and a lot of activity going on, making all of them exciting and fun . This could be attributed to director David Letch, who did similar large scale action scenes with John Wick, Atomic Blonde, and Deadpool 2 (Funnily enough, Ryan Reynolds plays a small role in the film). Best of all, there is no reliance on continuity, aside from some nods or subtle references (I don't know how much the two interacted before in the franchise, but they clearly have some history), and the big theme of family that has been through the franchise. It works as a standalone action film, with a lot of heart and sentimentality. 

     This was way too long. An hour and a half long story extended to nearly 2 hours and 15 minutes. It really starts to grind down in the second act, as the action sequences seem to go on too long. I know people don't really care about the story, and I don't really either in this case, but there are a number of continuity errors and plot holes that were a little distracting, even in a movie like this.

    So, I can't speak to whether fans of the franchise will enjoy this, but just as a fun action movie, I enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun, and there was a large amount of heart to this. I might actually check out the others in this series if they're all this fun and jovial. Even if you've never seen another one of these, I think one could watch this, and follow it with ease.  

Current Film Review- Searching

     I recently reread my Unfriended review in potential preparation for watching the sequel (which I ended up not watching), and I found that I was harsh on the film. Not to say I've grown to like Unfriended over the years, but I feel that my criticisms weren't great,often devolved into mindless ranting about unrelated topics, instead of a full analysis. I'm particularly ashamed of implying that the filmmakers had done the computer screen conceit in an attempt for nebulous concept of "artistic pretentiousness" (as if that were a bad thing), and comparing It Follows, instead of just talking about the film on its own merits.  I've grown since then, and if I were to do a reevaluation of the film, I might be inclined to be fairer towards it, especially since it was fairly unique and I should've acknowledged that better instead of dismissing it. Especially since I've now seen this film, which shows that this is definitely something that isn't just a gimmick.

     David Kim (John Cho) has had a distant relationship with his daughter Margot (Michelle La) since the death of his wife Pamela (Sara Sohn). He has a brief interaction with her one night during a study group, which ends with her abruptly disconnecting. While he is asleep, she tries to call him three times. She then doesn't come home the next evening. He then learns that she hasn't been taking her piano lessons in the past few months, and she had skipped school. Eventually, he is forced to file a missing person's report with the police, where he meets Detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing). As David unravels the events that occurred the night his daughter went missing, he learns that he didn't know his daughter the way he thought he did.

     First and foremost, this film is exhilarating. I had to catch my breath a couple times during the film. This has some massive twists that you won't see coming, and will keep you on your feet (so to speak). I can't say any more than that without spoilers, and I do not want to spoil this for you. This film is very effective and engrossing in its presentation, and you will be shocked watching this. John Cho delivers a great performance, able to display the emotions of a man grappling with missing a loved ones, and dealing with the revelations. The one thing this film has over Unfriended is that it actually feels more like using a computer screen. In that, it zooms into the various parts of the screen during the actions on it, and it moves across various screens while Cho is trying glean information. We not only see the Apple screen in the trailer, but even the old Windows screen from the early 2000's (the one I used to use back then). All of which serves the plot, and creates an innovative way to tell a long-told story.

    I understand that it was necessary for the plot, and it would've been distracting if they hadn't put it in there, but the product placement seemed off to me. Google and Apple factor heavily into the computers, but other sites like Tumblr and Youtube play a role (thought the former is the source of a funny joke). Not to say it felt like a commercial, but it did get occasionally distracting. To be fair, there is never a moment where they overly praise the item, just use it as a tool to push the plot and there are competing companies in here (the aforementioned Google, Apple, and Microsoft). I also felt that the internet connection could've gone out on occasion, just to increase the realism.

    This is one of the best films of the year. I left the theater stunned and excited at what I just viewed. This was breathtaking in its scope, and how it utilizes its use of computer screen to its fullest potential. Now, I want to see more of these, just to see if they could take it any further. This gets my unequivocal endorsement, in that I recommend it to anyone who has the time.