Mad Max Fury Road Movie Review

Original article on CultNoise: http://www.cultnoise.com/film-review-mad-max-fury-road/

Serving as a huge inspiration for countless post-apocalyptic tales, the Mad Max series was the original progenitor of the merciless wasteland setting in the eighties. Since then it seemed that Mel Gibson, Warner Bros and director George Miller had left the series for good. After three decades of absence, Mad Max makes his thunderous return to the silver screen and the result is one incredibly enjoyable action flick.

Mad Max Fury Road pursues a simplistic yet engaging plotline, which feels very distant from the previous films in the series; the world is little more than an endless wasteland with numerous bandit clans warring over the precious oil and water needed to sustain life. While being held captive by the War Boys, Max (Tom Hardy) seizes his chance to escape when War Rig driver Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) defies the clan’s leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) to get a group of wives (who were specifically selected by Joe for breeding) to safety and possibly find a new home. From here, the tight-lipped Max forms a shaky alliance with Furiosa and it’s full speed ahead across the wastes with Joe and other factions in hot pursuit. If you were expecting some action that the series is known for then Fury Road delivers in spades and then some; the film barrels along at top speed, only pausing to deliver a few moments of drama as the characters attempt to find a new home. It’s complete madness, yet ironically this kind of plot is a perfect fit for both the ravaged setting and the characters that inhabit it. Despite not learning too much about how the wasteland came to be, it is still bursting with character and the psychotic clans go a long way towards selling the film’s patented style which has been missing from the silver screen for so long.

The characters of Mad Max Fury may feel a little lacking at first; they’re certainly far less outspoken than your usual action heroes. But then you realise that the casting forms a tight parallel with the overall setting. If you’re new to the series, you may be surprised that both Max and Furiosa are fairly quiet and sane when compared to the raving lunatics that populate the gangs of the wastes. When Theron and Hardy do have lines, they are delivered with the gruffness and seriousness you would expect from characters forced to survive in a world like this. Theron in particular makes her presence felt as a strong willed and determined heroine who often steals the spotlight from Max over the course of the film. The quiet protagonists contrast against the War Boys who are characterised by rambling jargon mixed with peculiar religious undertones that give hints and clues about the nature of their clan. Often times there’s a wild range of facial expressions on the actor’s faces that definitely put across far more than any dialogue can. Ultimately, Fury Road proves that a lot can be done without dialogue, which is certainly a welcome change from other films in the same genre.

With a thirty-year gap between it and its predecessors; Mad Max Fury Road seizes every possible opportunity to push the boundaries of the series and the visual result is something to behold. The film is absolutely stunning, both from a technical and artistic standpoint. Imaginative car and costume designs put across the sheer chaos of the post-apocalyptic desert and both of these elements interact beautifully with the computer generated sandstorms. Then we have the chase sequences which all utilise practical effects, real stunt-work and pyrotechnics, meaning that the film never loses its punch no matter how many cars get tossed and mangled on-screen. Fury Road truly does honour its pedigree; you simply won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen throughout the entirety of its run-time because the film succeeds very well at making its action impactful at every turn. Pulse-pounding sound effects and a rocking soundtrack also heighten the tension, whilst the cinematography is quick, clear and fluid despite the pure insanity of the action on-screen. Dare I say it, Mad Max Fury Road could be the most technically advanced movie ever to be based in an apocalyptic setting. You get the sense that the filmmakers didn’t just want to bring Max back, but also wanted to set him apart from all other action sequences on the big screen.

The post-apocalyptic setting is ripe for all kinds of stories and Mad Max Fury Road is the tip of the spear by a substantial margin. It revitalises and updates the series whilst not forgetting what made the previous three films such stand-outs. Strap yourselves in and get ready for one of the year’s best action films, Fury Road is the most explosive and rip-roaring good time you will have at the cinema this summer.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars