Released: May 15, 2015
Rated: R
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas
Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz,
Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton
Directed by: George Miller
Written by: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
Personal Bias Alert: didn’t like the original Mad Max,
wasn’t excited for another entry in the franchise
8.2 of 10
No
one knew what to expect from Mad
Max: Fury Road as its production and
release was the definition of mixed signals.
As the fourth entry in the Mad Max
franchise, it comes a full thirty years after the last entry, with about fifteen
of those spent in development hell due to war, financial troubles, prior commitments,
and torrential rain (the pre-production of this film would make one hell of a
documentary, am I right?). But on the
other hand, it has two accomplished leads in Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron and was
screened out-of-competition at the prestigious (and snobby) Cannes Film
Festival. This is a post-apocalyptic
action franchise with weird costumes and characters named Toecutter and Fifi, none
of which screams Cannes. But there it
was, and now the confusion has come to a theater near you. I’m here to clear the air and tell you, along
with pretty much every other movie critic, that you should definitely go see
this film.
Now
despite all the vocal adoration, understand that this is a Mad Max film, so it’s all about the action. There’s very little meaning to this piece and
that’s okay, because its goal of big, continuous action is delivered in
spades. Writer/director George Miller
believes in the power of live stunts, but more importantly he has a unique
vision on what stunts can be. In the
same way that Guillermo del Toro brings a uniquely inventive eye to his
visuals, Miller brings the same level of artistry to the construction of his
action sequences in Fury Road. Too often the action in films feels
repetitive, with the same gunfights, punches, and building smashing simply
transposed onto new set pieces (I’m looking at you MCU). Here, Miller delivers a two hour chase film
that’s almost entirely action, and none of it feels like it’s copying itself. His insane world of tricked out cars gives
the characters plenty of toys to play with, and everything (including a
flame-throwing guitar) gets used as a weapon.
This variety sustains the film’s long runtime, which you never come
anywhere to close to noticing.
The
main beneficiary of the live stunts is actually the cinematography, as it allows
for massive wide shots and dynamic camerawork that CGI-laden action can’t
deliver. Cinematographer John Seale,
whose work is littered with beautiful films like The English Patient, Children
of a Lesser God, and Cold Mountain,
frames the car chases with panoramas of the desert wasteland that the world’s
become, free to use every angle and camera move at his seasoned disposal. This, along with an equally diverse and
spot-on score, gives Fury Road it’s
breathlessly operatic tone. There’s
moments you wish the film would stop so you could take it all in, but
everything zips by so fast that you’re left with a feeling of unending splendor.
The
story is much more modest than the action, with Max (Hardy) joining up with a warrior
named Imperator Furiosa (Theron) to smuggle a group of women being kept as
breeders away from clan leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, the same actor
who played the villain leader in the original Mad Max). Furiosa, who’s
just as capable on the road as Max, has stolen a War Rig to transport the women,
and the action centers around their protection of the women and the rig. The story is basically that of a hero, a heroine,
and an ark, but instead of enduring floods the parental duo must protect their
cargo from marauding psychos. The mutual
respect that forms between Furiosa and Max makes for a surprisingly strong bond
that’s conveyed seamlessly by Hardy and Theron.
There’s minimal dialogue in the film, which is why their ability to do a
lot with very small moments is crucial.
Lesser actors in these two roles would certainly make the audience care
less. With them, the film’s a bombastic
but grounded piece.
There’s
some moments that drag in the latter half and a bit too much craziness for
craziness’s sake, but there’s always Seale’s elegant cinematography and Hardy
and Theron’s performances to see it through.
Mad Max: Road Fury may be just an action film, but
it’s one that takes its audience seriously.
It doles out breathless action that has serious consequences, a
surprisingly rare treat in modern, big-budget cinema.
Other Notes:
Ø Props
must also go out to everyone who worked on the design of this film. Miller wanted to avoid the grey-and-black
desaturated look that’s present in every post-apocalypse nowadays, and this
contributed greatly to the glorious visuals.
Ø Keep
in mind, I’m not a big action fan. This
is about as good a reaction that an action film can get from me.
Ø Lots
of people are discussing the gender politics of this film. It’s sad that featuring females that are
equal to their male counterparts is considered political.
