Film Review - Mad Max : Fury Road ( 2015 )

Stomping Adrenaline Rush keeps the heart pumping like the clappers for 2 hours straight.

Film Review :  

Mad Max : Fury Road  by George Miller ( 2015 ) 

Mad Max may not have anything profound to say, but it's the most interesting and gorgeously executed chase scene ever. Somehow Miller has taken something akin to the climax of Mad Max 2 : Road Warrior, made an entire movie of it, and kept the pace up for a full 2 hours. When you stumble out of the cinema gasping, you'll feel as though you have had a hard workout, and enjoyed it to boot.

There are but a few pauses to the action in this film, which pretty much jumps straight into the action with a Post-Apocalyptic warlord's lieutenant ( Charlize Theoron ) fleeing her master with some precious cargo. He ( Immortan Joe - interestingly played by the same actor, Hugh Keyes-Bryne,  who played Toecutter in the first Mad Max ) is soon in hot pursuit with a small army, and Max is caught up in the ensuing road battle.

 


The action, apparently done with minimum CGI, is flawlessly executed. Cirque de Soleil were hired for a lot of the stunts ; an inspired move. They make a moving brutal road battle look harsh but somehow graceful and beautiful. The spectacle is accompanied by an absolutely stomping soundtrack ( gym meat-heads have their new workout music ) that keeps the heart-rate above 90, and gorgeous but appropriately harsh desert scenery. An electrical sandstorm early on in the movie looks like the end of the world, and takes away your breath.
You never quite get it back.
The chase is high speed,and unlike other Mad Max films, there's plenty of explosives as well as the usual crossbows, sawn off shotguns and other adapted weaponry. Petrol bombs/grenades and RPG spears abound, with far more vehicles involved. As you'd expect of course, the adapted vehicles are a delight. These vehicles are less dune buggy than previous films and more chrome edged super-charged monster trucks with lots of deadly bells and whistles.

As ever with the Mad Max movies, it's the creation of the post apocalyptic world that catches the eye and lends authenticity to what at first seems such a fantastical creation. Ingeniously adapted gadgets from the Old World abound, but the most enjoyable creations are the people themselves ; their values, dress, culture and perhaps above all language. Immortan Joe's army are 'War Dogs'. No longer the mere punk gangs of previous movies, they're a brainwashed corps of religious like kamikaze warriors, driven by their own creed of honour and glory, fed and sustained by a slave like society far more developed than the pig fart driven Bartertown of Mad Max 3. Yes, I suppose they're the bad guys, but your terror of them is somewhat balanced by the nuance of one Nicholas Hoult ( more on him later). It's hard not to run around in  the parking lot after the movie doing Parkour and screaming "Witness Me ! I am Shiny ! I go to Valhalla ! "

It's not just the action that drives this film. The actors do not let the spectacular visuals overshadow them completely. Theron is excellent as a warrior to rival most men. The lady can now act with subtlety, conveying everything with a shift of her eyes. She plays the role something akin to Clint Eastwood's nameless gun slinger from A Few Dollars More, but with depth and sensitivity that lends the film real gravity. In fact this is a film with a numerous and well developed female cast, and they rather act out the boys, who seem to try and compensate by blowing up ever bigger things.
 

Thomas Hardy as Max seems to have immersed himself fully  in the role. He's less a man now and more a haunted beast. One can imagine him grunting wildly at the set staff who are gingerly trying to bring him a cup of tea during filming breaks. Arguably, the real star of the show is Nicholas Hoult ( About a Boy ). The Boy has grown up, and how. His character provides the real insight into the new post apocalyptic culture. An ailing War Dog eager to please his master, his interactions with Hardy and Theron propel the movie onwards when it's occasionally running low on nitro. Which isn't often.

 

I'm not going to say a lot about this film. Just go see it, and enjoy. It's a guilty pleasure maybe ; this is a film that does arguably glorify violence. But it does it so much better than anyone else.
Watch. Be amazed. And remember to breathe.

Key Quote :  " It's a mistake, you know. To hope...."

Images courtesy of Warner Bros.