When you go to a Fast & Furious movie, you expect three things: Fun, physics-defying action, and family dynamics. I'm happy to say that the franchise spin-off Hobbs & Shaw absolutely delivers on all three counts. David Leitch's entry into the high-octane film series fires on all cylinders thanks to great on-screen chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham's title characters, as well as meaningful additions from the other leads, Vanessa Kirby and Idris Elba. And it's the willingness of the film to embrace some truly out-there sci-fi concepts that elevate Hobbs & Shaw to the next level.

Universal Pictures opted for a mouthful of a title with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, but they just as easily could have called this movie Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw & Hattie & Brixton a.k.a. Black Superman & Family & Friends. There are so many moving pieces to this jigsaw puzzle being put together at 100mph that it's a miracle that it all works as seamlessly as it does. And that's without folding in the dozen or so other characters from the main Fast & Furious timeline. Sorry, folks; don't get your hopes up too high for spotting the rest of the F&F Fambly in this movie--though there are some fantastic cameos that pop up who are worth the surprise, so I won't be spoiling them here. This one's all about Hobbs and Shaw, and that's more than enough.

If you're just tuning into this franchise, first of all, where have you been since 2001 when The Fast and the Furious started it all? Secondly, you should know that the movies have gone from relatively simple plots involving illegal street racing, high-speed heists, and the gray area between crooks and cops to high-stakes stories with world-ending consequences and mighty McGuffins that ratchet up the tension, action, and insanity to stratospheric levels. And yet the genius of the Fast & Furious movies is that, no matter how bonkers the action beats get, the heart of the film always comes back to grounded relationships between compelling characters.

Takes Hobbs and Shaw, for example. Hobbs is a former federal law enforcement officer for the DSS, while Shaw is a former British army officer turned world-class mercenary and high-class thief. The two spent an entire movie at odds with each other, followed by another film spent begrudgingly working side by side, but in case you weren't aware of their personal baggage coming into this film, Hobbs & Shaw gift-wraps a fantastic back-and-forth scene between the two to remind you that they really don't like each other. But the crux of the story here is that these two opposing forces will have to learn to work together in order to save the day ... and the world.

Joining the franchise is Kirby as Hattie Shaw, an MI6 agent who just so happens to be Deckard's sister. When an operation to retrieve a deadly virus goes south, thanks to the arrival of Elba's suped-up Brixton, Hattie does the unthinkable with the pathogen in order to keep it out of the mercenary's hands. In fact, she actually becomes the McGuffin throughout the rest of the story. It's a clever twist on a common trope, and it's one that makes Hattie a valuable asset, a source of emotional friction, and a deadly threat to the entire world, all at the same time.

Very early on in Hobbs & Shaw, all the pieces are lined up: The title team is brought in to find Hattie, who's gone off the grid after being set up by Brixton's organization Eteon and its shadowy boss, while keeping the cybernetic mercenary at arm's length. There's plenty of action sequences involving all four of them--including shape-changing motorcycles on auto-pilot, armored dune buggies, hero shots of the latest model of McLaren, etc.--because, c'mon, it's a Fast & Furious movie, but the emotional subtext makes all that smoke and fire and noise mean something. Shaw has to come to grips with the precarious situation his rather capable sister finds herself in while Hobbs finds himself, surprisingly, drawn to Hattie. I leave it to you to see how this all shakes out, but the setup adds fantastic tension to what's already an emotionally rich relationship trio.

But it's not just the Shaw family we get to spend some time with (including a few check-ins with Helen Mirren's delightful Shaw family matriarch, Queenie); we also get to travel to Samoa for what's, at first, a not-so-heartfelt reunion with Hobbs' own extended family. There are some great performances here from Cliff Curtis and the gathered uso of the Hobbs clan, including Joe 'Roman Reigns' Anoai, but the scene-stealer is Lori Pelenise Tuisano (and her mighty slipper). These scenes really hit home and deliver the heart of Hobbs & Shaw, and they're a blast to watch because of it.

Delivering the powered-up punches, however, is Brixton, one of the best villains of the franchise thanks to Elba's performance as a world-weary mechanized mercenary. Rather than be the king of the heap angling for world domination, Brixton is just following orders from his shadowy benefactor. The leader of the techno-cult Eteon, which outfits mercenaries with cybernetic implants, heads-up displays built into their very eyes, and biometric weapons, has some mysterious ambitions, not just to wipe out most of humanity with a killer virus, but to recruit Hobbs and Shaw to their team. We don't quite know why just yet, but we do know that the mystery figure has connections to Hobbs' past. We also know that previous Fast & Furious movies have elevated Hobbs and Shaw to such a superheroic status that Brixton really needed to be a sort of "Black Superman" in order to overpower the title team. And remember what I said about Hobbs & Shaw needing to work together if they hoped to save the world? That conceit pays off in a fantastic way to close out the movie.

While I love that Hobbs & Shaw is, unexpectedly, embracing transhuman ideas and cutting-edge sci-fi concepts (even if it's in a villainous vein and a narrative necessity), there are a few places the film falls short. One is in its breezy explanation of why Deckard Shaw did all the horrible things he's done over the years; don't expect #JusticeForHan in this flick. Another is in the hit-or-miss banter and one-liners that are just as likely to make you laugh out loud as they are to make you groan and grimace. But those are minor quibbles. What's worked for Fast & Furious all along is what works again in Hobbs & Shaw. It may have started as a spin-off, but it's clearly got the legs to stand on its own as a full-fledged franchise. And make no mistake, Hobbs & Shaw & Friends & Fambly will return.

Rating: If we're talking about a straight-up, objective review based on filmmaking tenets alone, Hobbs & Shaw is a B-. But for the adrenaline-fueled fun, fights, and family dynamics that the surprisingly successful Fast & Furious franchise has become known for, it's an A all the way, baby.