To roll out the DVD and Blu-ray release of the latest entry in the FAST AND FURIOUS series – HOBBS & SHAW – Universal Pictures invited JoBlo out to merry ol’ England for a hands-on experience fit for a globe-trotting member of the FAST family. What that meant was they pulled out all the stops in trying to turn yours truly into an adrenaline-seeking, world-traveling badass who races expensive cars and starts fights in smoky, neon-lit rooms just because he knows he’ll win. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that was how I lived my life naturally, so I did my best to surrender to the experience so that I could show everyone what it’s like to live the life of a FAST AND FURIOUS character.
As part of the adventure in badassdom, I got to do something so few of us commoners will ever get a chance to: Get up close and personal with the incredibly sleek, incredibly expensive supercar featured in the movie – the McLaren 720S. Driven by none other than Jason Statham (Shaw) during a wild chase during the flick, I not only got to see and smell the cars (fun fact: the “new car smell” never goes away in these things), but I also got to get behind the wheel.
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Getting to put the pedal to the metal and worry for my life in the process, I was taken on the track at the Silverstone Circuit to see just how this machine moved. In the video, you can see me feeling equal parts amazing and nauseous while I was speeding along the track, only to be put in the passenger seat to see just how these cars drove in the hands of professionals – once during a simulated “chase scene”. In between the violent, G-force-induced nausea I got to speak with Vehicle Line Manager Tom Derbyshire about taking the car, tricking it out even more, and bringing it to screen in all its epic glory.
The adventures didn’t stop there, and in traveling to McLaren Headquarters and see where the meat was ground (very top secret), I got to sit down with the movie’s director, David Leitch, to talk about whatever we could in the allotted six-minute time. That included love, loss, our favorite battle during the Revolutionary War (he’s a real Bunker Hill man) – but mostly about what it was like bringing the crazy action flick to the screen. Leitch has been making a bigger and bigger name for himself as a director after co-directing the first JOHN WICK movie in 2014, putting his stamp on the genre with movies ATOMIC BLONDE and DEADPOOL 2. As his budget grows so does his imagination for crazy action – making HOBBS & SHAW the wildest movie he’s done yet. Even though there is a long line of FAST movies behind this one, he did his damndest to leave his own mark on the series. During the talk, we discussed what it was like for him to handle the balancing act of Hobbs and Shaw, what he has planned for the future (the movie adaptation of the video game The Division), and when he decided this movie could be the most bonkers entry of them all.
To cap things off, the next day I got to talk with Stunt Coordinator Chris O'Hara about all the physical brawling in the movie. For the cherry on top, we were brought to the training grounds to learn from the stunt team behind HOBBS & SHAW how to perform a fight scene from the movie. The first fight scene in the film for Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs), we got to show off our moves on a multi-colored set akin to the tattoo shop in the movie, getting to throw down with some seasoned vets. Faces were bashed, arms were broken, family jewels were shattered, but bonds were forged in the process. On that note, none of them have responded to my friend requests.
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Almost two weeks after my adventures the adrenaline still hasn’t quite worn off, and if you’ve made it through the video you can probably understand why. Getting to crank up the speed and throw a few punches really gets the blood pumping, and if the mission was to make me feel like one of the ass-kicking FAST family, then mission accomplished. The only thing missing? I didn’t get to wake up in a villa along a tropical coast, the thin curtains blowing in the wind, with dramatic music playing as I made my way to the veranda with a shaved head and a muscle shirt on. But hey, you can only cram so much badassness into a person at once.
FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS HOBBS & SHAW is on Digital, DVD and Blu-ray now!