MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015) - Movie Review

Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Writer: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nico Lathouris
Runtime: 120 min
Rated: R for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa. They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortal Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.

Review:

Ever wonder what a two hour car chase would look like in a movie ? Well, "Mad Max: Fury Road" is here to demonstrate. George Miller's 2015 post-apocalyptic action epic is a well-oiled high octane machine optimized for maximum mayhem, but beyond that there's unexpected humanity and deeper themes that provide a strong backbone for the action and elevate this movie above every other modern day blockbuster.

You may have heard that Mad Max himself, played by Tom Hardy is nothing but a side character in his own movie. It's certainly true to some extent, but it's a little more complicated than that. In the second and third "Mad Max" films, Max is a cynical anti-hero tormented by his tragic past and concerned only with his own survival. He somehow finds himself getting dragged into other people's problems, and reluctantly helps them when the humanity he thought long lost gets the better of him. Max has never had a coherent narrative arc throughout the original trilogy, because the films lack chronologic continuity. The stories were set up as post-apolcayptic legends or myths about a mysterious Road Warrior who did what little he could to help improve a world gone mad.

That same scenario applies here, except "Fury Road" is more self-contained and is in fact a reboot. When he first meets Furiosa (Charlize Theron), Max's only objective is survival, but whatever is left inside him that is still human and uncorrupted by insanity pushes him to help Furiosa in her efforts to save a group of young women, formerly the property of tyrannical madman Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and safely reach her homeland from which she was kidnapped as a child. While Max once again finds himself reluctantly helping those in need, Miller now gives him an equal partner in Furiosa, who is essentially the same type of broken anti-hero with a tragic past as Max. It's actually interesting to see their relationship evolve from distrust to a touching brothers in arms camaraderie, and that gives the movie a very potent emotional core. Hardy and Theron are both great, but you've probably heard things between them on set were pretty tense. Regardless, I think it actually helped enhance their performances.

Miller sets an electrifying pace right from the start and never lets go until the credits roll. The movie is almost a non-stop sequence of action set pieces, but the director's greatest achievement is that it never once feels too much. The action doesn't suffocate the movie, and Miller still finds ways to develop the characters and build a surprisingly deep post-apocalyptic world.

Immortan Joe's wives, or "breeders" as they're called in the movie, are played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee and Courtney Eaton. Each one of the five wives has a distinct personality and are not just relegated to background characters. As abused women escaping their tormentor, they also drive the film's feminist theme, and represent innocence and hope that is so rare in this dark future, which is why Furiosa and Max decide to take action and do whatever it takes to free them, and through them this hopeless world, from darkness. You know that old adage: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing". This whole movie is about good men, and women, doing something, anything, to fight evil in the name of precious hope.

Nicholas Hoult is heartbreakingly good as Nux, one of Immortan Joe's warboys, who ends up joining Max and Furiosa on their full throttle adventure. The warboys are Immortan's cannon fodder, young boys, mostly suffering from radioactive poisoning and dying as a result, who are manipulated by the tyrant into submission and self-sacrifice with promises of a glorious afterlife (Valhalla). Even in the post-apocalypse, totalitarian regimes are pretty much the same as they are in our world, and the weak are prime candidates to sign up as a tyrant's fanatical supporters. Nux is a fascinating character. He starts out the same as all the other brain-washed warboys, but slowly learns there might be more to this world than blind obedience and ruthless violence. He abandons the evil for the good.

And the evil in this movie is really evil. The bad guys are such a captivating assortment of over-the-top villainy, designed for maximum sadism, with looks to match their malicious hearts. Keays-Byrne crafts a trully immortal villain in Immortan Joe, a despicable wasteland dictator, and one of cinema's most intimidating villains. His lieutenants are also fascinating, with distinct visual designs, and his son Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones) is like a coked-up mutant bodybuilder. And let us not forget the iconic Coma-Doof Warrior, or simply The Doof Warrior, a blind musician wielding an electric guitar that doubles as a flame thrower, who is the post-apocalyptic equivalent of a wartime marching band. The Oscar-winning costume and production design are fantastic and so full of amazing details that even in repeated viewing you will spot something new or interesting. Kudos to the entire production team for going well beyond the call of duty on this one.

Here I am blabbering on about characters, themes and wasteland philosophy, when you're probably here to find out if the action is any good. Well, it's not just good, it's jaw-dropping, eye-popping epic spectacle of the highest order. Around 150 vehicles were used for filming, and more than 60 of them were completely destroyed on set. Each car was specifically designed to reflect its driver and look. Miller pushed for more practical effects, which is why there isn't a lot of CGI in this movie. It's there, but mostly just background work. This makes the action more intense since pretty much everything you see on screen is a real thing occupying real space, and the destruction is all the more devastating and spectacular. The stunt team deserves heaps of praise for doing some of the most unbelievable feats of daredevil acrobatics and driving I have ever seen. The action choreography is the cherry on top, bringing to life some of the most creative and complicated set pieces ever committed to film. The award-winning cinematography and editing help amp up every frame and give the film its epic scope and breakneck pace. And it's all set to the devilish beat of Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL's adrenaline-pumping score.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is such an incredible achievement that even the Academy Awards nominated it for Best Picture. A sci-fi post-apocalyptic action film getting awards recognition was unthinkable, and yet this movie is really that good. It's the pinnacle of blockbuster entertainment and a riveting cinematic masterpiece delivered with superhuman filmmaking precision by a then 70-year-old director.

SCORE: 10/10