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My Rating:
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REVIEWED: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Starring: Tom Hardy | Charlize Theron | Nicholas Hoult | Hugh Keays-Byrne | Nathan Jones Genres: Action | Adventure | Science Fiction IMDB Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max. |
Here be spoilers.
If you're looking for a movie that's wall-to-wall action without being bogged down by things like plot and character development, then I have a surprise for you. Mad Max: Fury Road may be the most action-driven, plotless, character development-deprived film to come out in the last decade. But you know what, I'm not holding any of that against it.
If you remember back to the original film from 1979, Max Rockatansky (yes, that's seriously the character's last name) had a robust backstory. He was a family man and an officer with the elite Main Force Patrol, a group of specialized police charged with keeping order in an rather orderless dystopian landscape. As was common in 1970s cinema, the movie was of the cop-turned-vigilante trope made popular by films such as Dirty Harry, Magnum Force and Serpico. Mad Max starred an unknown named Mel Gibson, and it's mind-boggling success and subsequent franchise made him an A-list movie star.
It's been 30 years since Gibson's Max last ripped across the big screen and one has to wonder if a young, modern audience even remembers him? Apparently this thought didn't bother director George Miller, as the reboot starring Tom Hardy in the title role lacks any backstory except for glimpses of a spectral girl (perhaps a daughter) who haunts the anti-hero's dreams. Since Miller created all of the films, I guess maybe he'd know best how to handle the 30-year gap. And to be fair, Fury Road is an exciting and unapologetic ride of pure violent simplicity. The action starts almost immediately and is unrelenting until the final credits roll. Still, for the first half of the film in particular, you're not sure if Max is someone you want to root for. Yes, he's captured, tortured and turned into a perpetual human blood donor by a group of insane cultists led by a mutilated despot called Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), but maybe he deserves it? Who knows?
When Immortan Joe dispatches his major domo, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), to gather more precious gasoline for the community, Max is sent along to provide transfusions for an ailing soldier called Nux (Nicholas Hoult). But enroute, Furiosa betrays her master and takes off into the desert aboard a tricked-out semitruck. Kidnapped as a child, Furiosa believes she can escape Immortan Joe forever if she can just reach the "green place" where she grew up. To add insult to injury, she's also spirited away Joe's personal harem of young women, one of whom is pregnant with his child. The bulk of the movie is a running battle as Max, Furiosa and Nux form an uneasy alliance to fend off attacks by wheeled vehicles of every description, survive a massive haboob, and keep the semi intact long enough to outrun their pursuers.
So is Mad Max: Fury Road worth it all? I definitely think so. I was never deceived into thinking the film would be anything more than a wild ride, and it certainly delivered. Enhanced by some amazing stunts and practical special effects, it's often amazing to behold. So sit back, strap in and just enjoy the experience.
Go see it.
If you're looking for a movie that's wall-to-wall action without being bogged down by things like plot and character development, then I have a surprise for you. Mad Max: Fury Road may be the most action-driven, plotless, character development-deprived film to come out in the last decade. But you know what, I'm not holding any of that against it.
If you remember back to the original film from 1979, Max Rockatansky (yes, that's seriously the character's last name) had a robust backstory. He was a family man and an officer with the elite Main Force Patrol, a group of specialized police charged with keeping order in an rather orderless dystopian landscape. As was common in 1970s cinema, the movie was of the cop-turned-vigilante trope made popular by films such as Dirty Harry, Magnum Force and Serpico. Mad Max starred an unknown named Mel Gibson, and it's mind-boggling success and subsequent franchise made him an A-list movie star.
It's been 30 years since Gibson's Max last ripped across the big screen and one has to wonder if a young, modern audience even remembers him? Apparently this thought didn't bother director George Miller, as the reboot starring Tom Hardy in the title role lacks any backstory except for glimpses of a spectral girl (perhaps a daughter) who haunts the anti-hero's dreams. Since Miller created all of the films, I guess maybe he'd know best how to handle the 30-year gap. And to be fair, Fury Road is an exciting and unapologetic ride of pure violent simplicity. The action starts almost immediately and is unrelenting until the final credits roll. Still, for the first half of the film in particular, you're not sure if Max is someone you want to root for. Yes, he's captured, tortured and turned into a perpetual human blood donor by a group of insane cultists led by a mutilated despot called Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), but maybe he deserves it? Who knows?
When Immortan Joe dispatches his major domo, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), to gather more precious gasoline for the community, Max is sent along to provide transfusions for an ailing soldier called Nux (Nicholas Hoult). But enroute, Furiosa betrays her master and takes off into the desert aboard a tricked-out semitruck. Kidnapped as a child, Furiosa believes she can escape Immortan Joe forever if she can just reach the "green place" where she grew up. To add insult to injury, she's also spirited away Joe's personal harem of young women, one of whom is pregnant with his child. The bulk of the movie is a running battle as Max, Furiosa and Nux form an uneasy alliance to fend off attacks by wheeled vehicles of every description, survive a massive haboob, and keep the semi intact long enough to outrun their pursuers.
So is Mad Max: Fury Road worth it all? I definitely think so. I was never deceived into thinking the film would be anything more than a wild ride, and it certainly delivered. Enhanced by some amazing stunts and practical special effects, it's often amazing to behold. So sit back, strap in and just enjoy the experience.
Go see it.
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