Mad Max: Fury Road
2015-05-16 10:16:31
Released May 15, 2015 / Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi / R
- Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Helman,
- Nathan Jones, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton
- Written by: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
- Directed by: George Miller
- From director George Miller, originator of the post-apocalyptic genre and mastermind behind the legendary “Mad Max” franchise, comes “Mad Max: Fury Road,” a return to the world of the Road Warrior, Max Rockatansky.
- Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa. They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.
- Thirty years after the last chapter in the Mad Max saga comes the fourth installment in the continuing adventures of the tortured Road Warrior. This film has literally been years in the making. George Miller originally wanted to shoot it in 2001 with Mel Gibson in the titular role. But for various reasons, the film got pushed back by many years. By the time Miller was ready to restart the movie, he had decided to recast the role of Max (with Tom Hardy winning the part).
- So is the movie any good? Quite frankly, it’s one of the best action films ever produced. This movie really does put every other action film to shame, from its stunts to its overall look. It’s like a graphic novel come to life.
- Although the film is essentially one long chase movie, don’t despair. There is a coherent story, along with the likes of many outlandish and insane looking characters. But the real hook of the movie is the action sequences, which rarely slow down. We do get some opportunities to catch our breath, but not for long. The action gears right back up again.
- As for the two main stars of the film, Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa has just about as much screen time as Tom Hardy’s Mad Max. And she manages to stand toe to toe with him and kick about just as much ass. These two made a good team. It was interesting to see the (non-romantic) relationship develop between these tortured souls. She’s trying to return to a past that was ripped from her as a child and he’s trying to escape from a past that still haunts him (the death of his daughter).
- I’d like to add that Nicholas Hoult does a great job of humanizing the character of Nux. At first, Nux comes across as just one of the many crazies that appear in this film. But we slowly begin to see a real human being under that bizarre exterior, one that is only trying to find acceptance and his place in this world gone insane.
- As an interesting side note, Hugh Keays-Byrne who stars as villain Immortan Joe also had a role in the original film “Mad Max” (1979) as a gang leader known as Toecutter.
- So if you’re looking for great drama or romance, this isn’t the movie for you. If you’re looking for some of the greatest high-octane kick ass action sequences put to film, you found that movie. And most impressively, George Miller didn’t rely too heavily on CGI. Most of the action and stunts were performed live on-set. That’s something you rarely see in movies today. But I think it added so much to this film. So I’d say the real stars of the movie are the stunt players.
- “Mad Max: Fury Road” just raised the bar for every action movie that follows.
Know It All Joe https://www.knowitalljoe.com/
A new trailer for the soon to be released “Mad Max” video game has driven its way online. Let’s hope the game play footage is as good as the graphics in this trailer. Any case, after “Fury Road” I’m still in the mood for some more “Mad Max” so I’m sure I’ll pick this one up. And I might almost be done with “Batman: Arkham Knight” by the time this hits shelves.