FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW (2019) – My rating: 7.5/10

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (also known as Hobbs & Shaw) is an action film and a spin-off of The Fast and the Furious franchise. The plot follows the unlikely marriage of the Hobbs & Shaw characters introduced in the main series, as they are forced to team up with Shaw’s sister when a genetically-enhanced terrorist and his organization threaten the world with a deadly virus. The film is directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce, from a story by Morgan.  For me, this was a must-see but soon became more of the same despite one of my favorite actors at the helm.

A crew of MI6 agents from the terrorist organization, Eteon, attempts to retrieve a virus labeled Snowflake, which can be programmed to decimate millions of people. Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), an Eteon operative with advanced cybernetic implants that allow him to perform superhuman feats, arrives and kills all agents except for their leader, Hattie Shaw, (Vanessa Kirby) who injects Snowflake into herself as a dormant carrier and escapes. Brixton frames Hattie as a traitor who killed her team and stole Snowflake, forcing her to go on the run.
Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), Hattie’s brother, are both informed of the missing virus by the CIA and are assigned to work together, against their better judgment, to track it down. Shaw leaves and goes to Hattie’s house, while Hobbs manages to find Hattie; after a brief scuffle, he brings her to the CIA office. Just as Shaw then returns, the office is attacked and Hattie is taken by Brixton, who Shaw recognizes as an old colleague he previously shot and killed before he was resurrected by Eteon. Hobbs and Shaw pursue and rescue Hattie during an ensuing car chase. They manage to escape from Brixton, who falls off his motorcycle and crashes through the second level of a double-decker bus, creating an opportunity for Brixton to frame the three agents. Hobbs, Shaw and Hattie manage to locate Professor Andreiko (Eddie Marsan) Snowflake’s creator, who informs them that to prevent Snowflake from eradicating humanity, Hattie has to either be killed or use an extraction device, which is located within the Eteon factory in Ukraine, an almost impossible mission.

Okay, I’ll admit Edis Elba’s character was a little different but the rest of the film was pretty much the same old stuff.  The special effects and acting were brilliant as was the flow of the story.  But how long can Hollywood keep making these types of movies and keep them fresh and interesting?  While they continue to be entertaining, the clock is ticking, something new has got to give.  Series star and producer Vin Diesel first said in 2015 that possible spin-offs were in early development. Hobbs & Shaw was officially announced in October 2017. Hobbs & Shaw has grossed $437 million worldwide and received praise for “the charisma of Johnson, Statham, and Kirby”, as well as its “visual style and action choreography finesse”, though some critics “had trouble getting past just how much the film was attempting to fit into its two-hour-and-15-minute runtime”. Personally,  if you are still thrilled by the Fast and Furious franchise, you will not be disappointed by Hobbs & Shaw.  The very least I can say is that it’s similar to other movies of this type.  I still recommend it — Check It Out!

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT (2018) – My rating 8.5/10

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is an action spy film written, produced and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It is the sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series, and the second film to be directed by McQuarrie, after Rogue Nation (2015), making him the first person to direct more than one film in the franchise.  Since there have been 5 Mission: Impossible films, I couldn’t wait to see if the 6th sequel could possibly be any good.  Surprise, surprise, many critics hailed it as the best installment in the series, with some considering it one of the greatest action films of all time.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout starts two years after the capture of Solomon Lane, an anarchist mastermind who was the leader of “The Syndicate” during Rogue Nation.  The remains of Lane’s organization “The Syndicate” have reformed into a terrorist group known as “The Apostles”.  While in Belfast, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is given a mission to intercept three stolen plutonium cores before the Apostles can sell them to a fundamentalist named John Lark. He joins Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) for the mission, but they fail when Ethan chooses to save Luther’s life and the plutonium is taken by the Apostles in Berlin. The team capture and interrogate nuclear weapons expert Nils Debruuk (Kristoffer Joner) and learn that he built three portable nuclear weapons for the Apostles.

CIA Director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett) instructs Special Activities Division operative August Walker (Henry Cavill) to shadow/monitor Ethan and his team as they attempt to retrieve the plutonium, after their failed mission in Berlin. Together, Ethan and Walker infiltrate a fundraiser party in Paris where Lark is believed to be buying the cores from an arms dealer known as The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby). They track a man whom they suspect to be Lark but he is killed when Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) intervenes. Ethan impersonates Lark and meets the White Widow. He warns her that agents of the Apostles have been sent to kill her and the two evade their pursuers. .

This basically describes the introduction into “The Fallout”.  The plot thickens and gets much more intense from this point.  The action is exciting and some of the stunts are unbelievable.  This movie is brilliantly acted and executed.  From Ethan to the White Widow to Alan Hunley’s surprise involvement, you will enjoy every minute of this mission, which seems to really be impossible.  There is so much more to see and so much more to enjoy.  Tom Cruise is proving, age is just a number, for some!  Check it out, you won’t be sorry.

 

THE CROWN (2015 – 2018) – My rating: 8/10

The Crown is a biographical drama streaming on Netflix, created and principally written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix. The Crown evolved out of Morgan’s 2006 film The Queen and 2013’s stage play, The Audience. The Crown tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II, who reigns in the United Kingdom.

The first season covers the period from Elizabeth’s (Claire Foy) marriage to Philip (Matt Smith) in 1947 to the disintegration of her sister Margaret’s (Vanessa Kirby) engagement in 1955.  Also covered in season 1 is the depiction of Winston Churchill (John Lithgow) resigning as Prime Minister and the monarchy’s denial to Princess Margaret’s request to marry Peter Townsend (Ben Miles), a divorcé.  I tried to watch The Crown but didn’t care for the story or the acting.  After hearing many mentions of The Crown and how good it was, I tried again, almost 2 years later, and binged watched seasons 1 and 2.  I liked it very much, especially when I realized it was about the current reigning Queen of England.  I had just watched the royal wedding between Prince William and Meghan Markle a few weeks earlier and could now relate to all the royal subjects.

The second season covers the period from the Suez Crisis in 1956 through the retirement of the Queen’s third Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan (Anton Lesser) in 1963 to the birth of Prince Edward in 1964. Also covered in season 2, is The Profumo affair, a political scandal,

Beginning with season 3, Olivia Colman will portray the Queen. Season 3 will also cover Harold Wilson’s time as Prime Minister, and will also include Princess Margaret’s five-year affair with baronet and gardening expert Roddy Llewellyn that leads to the Princess’s divorce from Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1978. It will also introduce Camilla Parker Bowles and Lady Diana Spencer, who will be a focus of the fourth season (set during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership). The third season will continue from 1964, covering Harold Wilson’s two terms as the Prime Minister until 1976, while the fourth will see Margaret Thatcher’s premiership and a focus on Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Crown is intended to last 60 episodes over six seasons, with 10 one-hour episodes per season, covering Elizabeth’s life from her younger years to her reign, and with new actors being cast every 2 seasons. For the third and fourth seasons, Olivia Colman will take over as the Queen, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret. Filming for the series takes place at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, with location shooting throughout the United Kingdom and internationally.

At times, some episodes of the Crown is a little slow but interesting enough to stick with the series.  I’ve changed by opinion about the acting as it got better and better as the series progressed.  I’m looking forward to season 3 through 6.  I feel as though I have had an intermate history course in the Monarchy as well as how England operates politically.  So far, I’m enjoying The Crown and recommend it to those who are into a historic look at the real Monarchy.  The Crown is currently streaming on Netflix — check it out!