I’ve always wondered why George Miller‘s Mad Max trilogy — especially the second film, 1981’s Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior — never received the widespread mainstream acclaim that they deserved. Released 30 years after the last Mad Max film, Mad Max: Fury Road finally answers that question: George Miller was just so far ahead of everyone that it has taken three decades for mainstream cinema to catch up to the insane post-apocalyptic visions that dance in Miller’s head. This is one of the few summer blockbusters that live up to every inch of its hype. Mad Max: Fury Road is a binge of violence, destruction, and brilliant blockbuster storytelling that filmmakers like Michael Bay dream about directing.
Is this a reboot, remake, or a sequel? Like The Man With No Name trilogy and most Westerns that begin with a mysterious stranger, it actually doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that Max (Tom Hardy) is a drifter in the post-apocalyptic wasteland who is haunted by the deaths of his family who he was unable to save. He is captured by the devoted War Boys of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), an iron-fisted warlord who rules over his desperate minions with his control over the local water. Max is held as a slave when Immortan Joe sends out a convoy led by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) to collect gasoline and bullets from other outposts. However, Furiosa actually makes off with Immortan Joe’s most prized possessions instead. Immortan Joe pursues Furiosa’s rig with his army — including Max in an unfortunate position — and what follows is a high-octane, furious chase that hardly lets you stop to take a breath.
Of course, Mad Max: Fury Road features Tom Hardy taking over the title role from Mel Gibson. It’s a cliche, but Hardy was born to play this role. Many of his roles are the strong, silent type, which makes Max a perfect character for him. Gibson only had sixteen lines of dialogue in Mad Max 2, and Hardy doesn’t have much more than that in this film. Few of today’s actors can express so much with a simple grunt, and I can’t think of a better choice than Hardy to step into Gibson’s shoes. Theron and Keays-Byrne also make excellent inhabitants of the wasteland, as does former WWE wrestler Nathan Jones as the gigantic Rictus Erectus, son of Immortan Joe. All three have unique looks, and I can easily see Keays-Byrne being a future favorite Comic-Con costume.
But the cast is far from the only great thing about Mad Max: Fury Road. The film has the same visual style of the previous Mad Max films, especially Mad Max 2, but amped up considerably because of the film’s much bigger budget. The landscape and characters are filthy, festering, harsh, but absolutely wonderful. There is a reason why so many other works have been informed by the production design and art direction of the Mad Max films, and Fury Road will be no exception, particularly because it almost totally shuns CG for practical effects. The supporting cast is made up of ugly, misshapen figures (I have neglected to mention an especially ugly Nicholas Hoult as a particularly persistent War Boy) In the same way that the original Star Wars trilogy created a “used universe” look, Mad Max envisions a rusted wasteland with clever, inventive touches that are pure Miller. Another wonderful element is the excellent score by Junkie XL (probably best known for his remix of Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation”), which is one of the most memorable action movie scores in years. In particular, the pulsating drums and riffs of the chase sequences make the best movie driving music since, well, Drive.
But the cast, visual style, special effects, and score would be nothing without the engaging story of Fury Road. What’s so clever about the film’s structure is that it is a series of obstacles and puzzles. Miller isn’t content in just throwing action sequence after action sequence at the audience. Max and his companions face a series of increasingly difficult challenges, but their goal is to survive. Max will stop at nothing to ensure he will live another day. Naturally the chase sequences are exhilarating, all beautifully shot due to the amazing work of cinematographer John Seale.
Look, I honestly can’t say enough good things about Mad Max: Fury Road. It will be hard to top this film as movie of the summer, and it will find fans in audiences old and young, male and female (in fact, Fury Road features some of the most kick-ass women in action movie history). You will wonder why all summer blockbusters can’t be as satisfying as this popcorn flick. Go see it, and have a lovely day.
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