It's time for 'The Fast and Furious' franchise to end and a new 'Hobbs and Shaw' era to begin
So far, the world has seen eight epic installments of 'The Fast and the Furious'. The franchise, to sum up, has simply been Universal's version of 'The Avengers'. The evolution has been downright ridiculous and fantastical at the same time. From stopping street-racers involved in black-market VHS sales, to thwarting a cyber-terrorist bent on world domination, the eight movies have shown us all. We have seen Vin Diesel's Dominic Torretto do literally anything he wants to do. String a parachute to it and airdrop a car over the Caucasus and using it to stop a submarine are just two wild, insanities we can think of right now.
But again, that was exactly why the franchise was and is still loved by millions across the world. As they made more movies, the team expanded. Big names like Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Gal Gadot were all part of the movies and currently, the ninth movie in the franchise is under production. And since we're talking about big names, let's add John Cena to that list.
'The Fast and the Furious' franchise has all the elements necessary for a perfect, slick action film. It stuck to its template of hot racers, drool-worthy cars, stunningly hot women, badass villains, and some healthy doses of humor to go along. And if the nine films weren't enough, it introduced a spin-off, 'Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw' based on Johnson and Statham's characters. The spin-off is still running successfully in theaters and has been a commercial success. It has grossed $741.8 million worldwide, becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of 2019.
Which is why maybe it's time for the franchise to give a fitting end to 'The Fast and the Furious' and focus on the spin-off. 'Hobbs and Shaw' may have been an experiment of sorts, but it did prove that the franchise can be just as successful with the mother-ship. The flick goes through an adrenaline-pumping vehicular maelstrom, features two heavyweights who can blast through anything or anyone in their path, a beautiful yet dangerous MI6 agent, a genetically enhanced supervillain and finally...Ryan Reynolds, who brings in some epic laughs in his cameo appearances.
At this stage, we can look at 'Hobbs and Shaw' as the way forward. The eight movies have essentially given almost each of its characters a significant background story and the 'Fast and Furious 9' can see them all retire. After all. they sort of did, in 'Fast Five'.
'Hobbs and Shaw' was novel. Right from the action to its cars. Topping it off was an epic baddie in Idris Elba who terms himself a "Black Superman". The best part about the film was the loose ends it left instilling some hope that a sequel is a possibility.
In Johnson and Statham we have two actors who could literally carry the film for another two or three installments and in Vanessa Kirby there's an actor who lends a lot of style and substance to the movie. The studios made the perfect choice in casting Elba and bringing Reynolds into the mix. And not to forget the modified hot-wheels-type cars that were a treat to watch. Besides, a sequel leaves more room for character development and that is exactly what we need rather than create another 'Expendables'.
For now, the wait is on for 'Fast and Furious 9' which hopefully is the last of the franchise. It's about time we see more movies like 'Hobbs and Shaw', and use it as a platform to build a new team, new stories and of course, some electric action.