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“Hobbs and Shaw” Begs the Question: “Will Anyone Ever Teach Jason Statham to Enunciate?”
Jason Statham apparently is one of the world’s biggest action stars. Who am I to argue? I saw him in his very first feature, the highly entertaining Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), and I’ve apparently missed every other film he’s ever made, but not intentionally. I either had something in the oven or my BVDs were drying in the laundry room. I don’t feel bad, though; I doubt he’s ever read any of my reviews. We’re sort of even.
Happily, in his latest offering, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, Mr. Statham is not bad at all as long as he keeps his mouth shut. He’s a first-rate glarer. However, whenever he opens his yapper, you can only comprehend half the dialogue he’s spouting, but you quickly realize you’re not missing much because co-screenwriters Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious (2009)) and Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3 (2013)) have come up with lines that you often wish you hadn’t heard. For example, Statham’s co-star Dwayne Johnson has to voice with deep sadness: “Brother, you believe in machines. We believe in people.”
