Once again director
George Miller
tosses us into the chaotic post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max, it’s been
30 years since are last visit to the Wastelands and things have only
gotten crazier. So fasten your seatbelts and strap on some spare ammo as
the summer is about to explode.
The title of this movie is
Mad Max: Fury Road,
and though Tom Hardy gives an excellent portrayal of a man driven over
the edge of insanity by his past and isolated life in the wasteland it
is Charlize Theron’s character Imperator Furiosa who is the real star of
this picture. Simply put she is the heart and soul of this balls to the
walls actioner and she takes no prisoners. Calling this film an “action
movie” is almost an understatement for once all the characters are in
place the action barely stops to let you catch your breath.
And when it does pause Charlize Theron steals away what breath you have left.
The Wastelands were never a fun place to drive through but as the world fell apart; as shown in
Mad Max,
The Road Warrior
and…um…I’m sure there was a third one but for the life of me I can’t
remember it what it was called, anyway in those films we were shown that
it was the worse elements of humanity that seemed to thrive the best in
amongst the chaos. In the case of
Mad Max: Fury Road we are introduced to Immortan Joe (
Hugh Keays-Byrne)
a monstrous cult leader that controls the population from atop a
fortress in the desert called The Citadel. It’s his control over the
only source of water in the area as well as his army of War Boys that
keep the masses in check.
That and his charismatic personality.
Max Rockatansky (
Tom Hardy) is picked up by one of Immortan Joe’s raiding parties and turned into a living blood bag for Nux (
Nicholas Hoult) a tumor riddled War Boy who really wants to earn a place in Valhalla. It’s when Imperator Furiosa (
Charlize Theron),
who has the prestigious job of tanker driver for The Citadel, goes
rogue and makes off with Immortan Joe’s five breeder wives that the
story goes into overdrive, and it’s during this first of many epic chase
sequences as Immortan Joe and his war parties give pursuit that Max and
Furiosa are thrown together. Now this Max isn’t the upholder of the law
we saw in the first
Mad Max movie, nor is he the jaded world weary Max from
The Road Warrior,
no this Max is in a much darker place and you are kept on edge of your
seat wondering in what direction this very unbalanced man will go.
"What, I told you I was mad didn't I?"
Most
of this movie’s two hour running time is action and George Miller holds
nothing back, with but few pauses for character moments that I bet are
there mainly so as not to kill the audience. Visually it is a feast of
the bizarre from the menacingly masked Immortan Joe to his war party
that look like they could have escaped from the pages of Judge Dredd.
And who could not love a car chase that brings it's own drum section and
a flame throwing guitarist?
Beware his axe of death.
I’m
guessing the budget for this one is either equal or greater than that
of the previous three films combined, and the stunt work in this movie
is beyond belief and will surely set the bar for future road movies to
come. It certainly puts to shame most of the CGI compositing action
we’ve become accustomed to seeing in such films as
Furious 7.
It’s not even the insane stunts that make this film so awesome it’s the
creativity behind them; War Boys on long poles that pendulum up and
down to attack with explosive tipped javelins is mind-blowingly cool.
Whatever these guys were paid it wasn’t enough.
Mad Max: Fury Road
is easily the best action film of the summer so far, sure Asgardian
gods hammering on psychotic robots is fun but George Miller give us an
adrenalin fuelled thrill ride that leaves you with your jaw permanently
dropped in amazement. From it’s incredible character designs to its
impeccable casting this is one fantastic film, and I certainly hope
Miller decides to return to the Wasteland at least a couple of more
times.
"Lock and load, baby!"
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