I am perfectly happy to admit that I've never seen a Mad Max movie before in my life. The momentum and popularity of these movies, while their influence remains strong, has wained since the last release in 1985 and as a result they have all but vanished in the public eye outside of hardcore fans. Thinking about that, Warner Bros Pictures and Village Road Studios took a surprising gamble on George Miller's newest and fourth addition to the franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road. Putting a $150m budget behind a film continuing (not rebooting) a franchise that has not seen light in 30 years is a great risk for any company but from the trailer I thought I would give this a go. With that in mind, does Fury Road deliver on its promise of high octane stunts and super intense action or does it merely screech to a halt?
Mad Max: Fury Road begins with a brief backstory on 'Mad' Max Rockatansky (played by Tom Hardy) and his post-apocalyptic world before immediately putting him in peril, having him chased down and captured by the 'War Boys', a cult tribe led by a tyrannical warlord known as Immortan Joe (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne). Max is hooked up as a 'Blood Bag' for a suffering War Boy called Nux (played by Nicholas Hoult). Elsewhere, Joe's top driver Imperator Furiosa (Charleze Theron) is sent out on a mission to collect gasoline for the tribe. Unfortunately for Joe, Furiosa has already set an alternative plan in motion which sparks a huge chase across the desert and unfortunately for Max, he finds himself the hood ornament in this chase… literally.
So as always, let's start with the utmost positive. George Miller's use of practical effects for action sequences in this movie is completely unreal. THIS is how films should look! The CGI is used for the impossible stunts or environmental effects but apart from that virtually every insane stunt; from being strapped to the hood of speeding car, to fighting on top of moving trucks, to men riding 20 foot poles that springboard them across huge distances… also on to speeding trucks, Miller has his stunt team earning their money in this insane movie. The entire movie is essentially one long car chase sequence and Miller had the whole film storyboarded before the script was ever finished. You can tell as well because every sequence has a place in the film; no stunt or fight scene is lost in the mix and everything is paced beautifully. I found myself flinching at multiple points in ways that you can't get with CGI. It felt so real and so organic that I can not praise this films stylistic approach enough. This also allows the film's budget to be better used. The environments and the sets are lavish and stunning to look at. The costumes are so original to look at but grounded in realism. The vehicles are insane looking, including one of my favourite random characters playing a guitar on a car for the entire film. It's bonkers but you never feels like the movie is parody or comedy. It's just visually witty and super entertaining to watch.
Fury Road knows exactly what it is too; Miller never sugarcoats anything with exposition or intense backstory or character observations. This is an action movie with one goal: to leave your jaw hanging with the visual insanity. The result is a bare bones story with little to no real depth, but here's what's interesting… this is exactly why it's so freaking good! Miller's approach lets the action tell the story and visually MMFR gives you everything you need. It's a chase where Furiosa has stolen something Joe wants, Max gets caught up in it, and that's all you need to know! No time wasted, no traipsing through sloppy love stories, no monologuing. It's just a straight dose of adrenaline from start to finish with the occasional breather.
The characters all have a surprising amount of depth, given my previous paragraph; Tom Hardy is excellent as Max, giving him an emotional and human performance. Max on paper is a bog standard action hero, but Miller's writing and clear affection for the character makes him a man simply trying to survive in this wasteland. He doesn't want glory or fame (which is shown beautifully at the final moments), he doesn't have a family to go home too (I understand the first MM movie show us his family, albeit briefly) so now he is just trying to make his way in the world, but can't help but assist someone in dire straits that crosses paths with him. This makes him a very relatable human, and a 'good person' and Hardy is the perfect guy for the job in relaying that to us. Even Nux is given good solid motivations and reasoning for why he does what he does, including some surprisingly touching scenes that give us a real insight into his psyche, however nuts he really is.
The undisputed highlight character however, both in terms of storyline and delivery, is Charleze Theron's Imperator Furiosa. WHAT. A. WOMAN! She is the epitome of female empowerment in modern storylines. She's sexy, she's tough, she doesn't need a man to give her a hand (those who know enough about her will enjoy that pun) and most importantly she is a natural leader, even with Max. Her primary goal for the whole film is the plan that she put in place at the start, she doesn't allow Max to distract her, she often uses him to suit her needs and doesn't give him much of a choice in doing so. She understands survival and doesn't let her male counterparts cloud her judgement, however she never asserts 'female superiority' either. It's a true standup and realistic post apocalyptic character. Furiosa is actually treated as the film's main protagonist rather than Max, which is a neat spin on the formula. I will say her backstory could have been a little better delivered, rather than a 5 minute sequence where she explains her past and then suddenly spurts out a bunch of stuff we don't know about when it apparently matters. Not an intense backstory, just maybe a better explanation to the audience of her early life. With that said however, the relationship between Furiosa and Max is a prime example of how a leading man and woman should both be portrayed on screen, intense, never romantic (though it could be in future) and based on mutual respect. Not bad for a 'popcorn flick' action movie.
Overall Mad Max: Fury Road is as insane as the name suggests. The action is completely mind boggling, the stunts are unreal and the cast is solid! While the story is wafer thin, with plot holes coming from every direction, it is beautifully balanced with the action and the characters are superb. The use of practical effects is fantastic, bringing back fond memories of the great practical flicks of the 80's! The feminist approach to Furiosa is outstanding and sets a new standard for how the 'strong female character' should be done. This is not a film for those who expect a psychological drama or a 'Best Picture' nominee, and Miller did not make this movie with any of that in mind. This is a movie made for those who love to grab a drink, sit alongside some friends and be entertained by ridiculous plots and super charged action for a couple of hours. While I do love psychological movies, I also love a good action flick and people, this is a STUNNING action flick. Don't miss!
Mad Max: Fury Road begins with a brief backstory on 'Mad' Max Rockatansky (played by Tom Hardy) and his post-apocalyptic world before immediately putting him in peril, having him chased down and captured by the 'War Boys', a cult tribe led by a tyrannical warlord known as Immortan Joe (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne). Max is hooked up as a 'Blood Bag' for a suffering War Boy called Nux (played by Nicholas Hoult). Elsewhere, Joe's top driver Imperator Furiosa (Charleze Theron) is sent out on a mission to collect gasoline for the tribe. Unfortunately for Joe, Furiosa has already set an alternative plan in motion which sparks a huge chase across the desert and unfortunately for Max, he finds himself the hood ornament in this chase… literally.
So as always, let's start with the utmost positive. George Miller's use of practical effects for action sequences in this movie is completely unreal. THIS is how films should look! The CGI is used for the impossible stunts or environmental effects but apart from that virtually every insane stunt; from being strapped to the hood of speeding car, to fighting on top of moving trucks, to men riding 20 foot poles that springboard them across huge distances… also on to speeding trucks, Miller has his stunt team earning their money in this insane movie. The entire movie is essentially one long car chase sequence and Miller had the whole film storyboarded before the script was ever finished. You can tell as well because every sequence has a place in the film; no stunt or fight scene is lost in the mix and everything is paced beautifully. I found myself flinching at multiple points in ways that you can't get with CGI. It felt so real and so organic that I can not praise this films stylistic approach enough. This also allows the film's budget to be better used. The environments and the sets are lavish and stunning to look at. The costumes are so original to look at but grounded in realism. The vehicles are insane looking, including one of my favourite random characters playing a guitar on a car for the entire film. It's bonkers but you never feels like the movie is parody or comedy. It's just visually witty and super entertaining to watch.
Fury Road knows exactly what it is too; Miller never sugarcoats anything with exposition or intense backstory or character observations. This is an action movie with one goal: to leave your jaw hanging with the visual insanity. The result is a bare bones story with little to no real depth, but here's what's interesting… this is exactly why it's so freaking good! Miller's approach lets the action tell the story and visually MMFR gives you everything you need. It's a chase where Furiosa has stolen something Joe wants, Max gets caught up in it, and that's all you need to know! No time wasted, no traipsing through sloppy love stories, no monologuing. It's just a straight dose of adrenaline from start to finish with the occasional breather.
The characters all have a surprising amount of depth, given my previous paragraph; Tom Hardy is excellent as Max, giving him an emotional and human performance. Max on paper is a bog standard action hero, but Miller's writing and clear affection for the character makes him a man simply trying to survive in this wasteland. He doesn't want glory or fame (which is shown beautifully at the final moments), he doesn't have a family to go home too (I understand the first MM movie show us his family, albeit briefly) so now he is just trying to make his way in the world, but can't help but assist someone in dire straits that crosses paths with him. This makes him a very relatable human, and a 'good person' and Hardy is the perfect guy for the job in relaying that to us. Even Nux is given good solid motivations and reasoning for why he does what he does, including some surprisingly touching scenes that give us a real insight into his psyche, however nuts he really is.
The undisputed highlight character however, both in terms of storyline and delivery, is Charleze Theron's Imperator Furiosa. WHAT. A. WOMAN! She is the epitome of female empowerment in modern storylines. She's sexy, she's tough, she doesn't need a man to give her a hand (those who know enough about her will enjoy that pun) and most importantly she is a natural leader, even with Max. Her primary goal for the whole film is the plan that she put in place at the start, she doesn't allow Max to distract her, she often uses him to suit her needs and doesn't give him much of a choice in doing so. She understands survival and doesn't let her male counterparts cloud her judgement, however she never asserts 'female superiority' either. It's a true standup and realistic post apocalyptic character. Furiosa is actually treated as the film's main protagonist rather than Max, which is a neat spin on the formula. I will say her backstory could have been a little better delivered, rather than a 5 minute sequence where she explains her past and then suddenly spurts out a bunch of stuff we don't know about when it apparently matters. Not an intense backstory, just maybe a better explanation to the audience of her early life. With that said however, the relationship between Furiosa and Max is a prime example of how a leading man and woman should both be portrayed on screen, intense, never romantic (though it could be in future) and based on mutual respect. Not bad for a 'popcorn flick' action movie.
Overall Mad Max: Fury Road is as insane as the name suggests. The action is completely mind boggling, the stunts are unreal and the cast is solid! While the story is wafer thin, with plot holes coming from every direction, it is beautifully balanced with the action and the characters are superb. The use of practical effects is fantastic, bringing back fond memories of the great practical flicks of the 80's! The feminist approach to Furiosa is outstanding and sets a new standard for how the 'strong female character' should be done. This is not a film for those who expect a psychological drama or a 'Best Picture' nominee, and Miller did not make this movie with any of that in mind. This is a movie made for those who love to grab a drink, sit alongside some friends and be entertained by ridiculous plots and super charged action for a couple of hours. While I do love psychological movies, I also love a good action flick and people, this is a STUNNING action flick. Don't miss!