Mad Max: Fury Road
Directed by: George Miller
Written by: George Miller and Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, John Howard, Richard Carter, Iota, Melissa Jaffer
Action/Adventure/Thriller - 120 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 14 May 2015
Written by: George Miller and Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, John Howard, Richard Carter, Iota, Melissa Jaffer
Action/Adventure/Thriller - 120 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 14 May 2015
Mad Max: Fury Road is a post-apocalyptic film of the highest order. Resources are scarce, roving bands of drugged up gangs comprise the government, and the only thing the eye can see in all directions is desert, sand, and salt. Unlike most other dystopian futures however, the colors are bright and color saturated; there is barely any grey-toned, coal ash drizzle to be found here. The survivors are also the opposite of downtrodden, sad-eyed zombies just shuffling along. Just about everyone is borderline hyperactive insane. George Miller, the creator of the Mad Max franchise’s first three films more than 30 years ago, returns with an adrenaline-fuelled, ultra-violent reboot. Mad Max: Fury Road is an exceptional action thriller full of grotesque villains, astounding visuals, visionary cinematography and design, and just might be the most fun you will have in a theater all year.
George Miller’s first Mad Max film from 1979 was a small, indie film with an unknown actor named Mel Gibson. It was a dramatic revenge film of one man’s war against a small group of brigands. From there, the next two films expanded not only in budget support but in scope. 1981’s The Road Warrior introduced the concept of the large, comic book looking desert mob including a guy named Lord Humungus. 1985’s Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is unfortunately only known for Tina Turner and the immortal chant, “Two men enter, one man leaves!” Mad Max: Fury Road cherry picks the best from each of these films. It takes Beyond Thunderdome’s final chase scene and extends its length, carnage, and catastrophe to a full 75% of this film.
George Miller’s first Mad Max film from 1979 was a small, indie film with an unknown actor named Mel Gibson. It was a dramatic revenge film of one man’s war against a small group of brigands. From there, the next two films expanded not only in budget support but in scope. 1981’s The Road Warrior introduced the concept of the large, comic book looking desert mob including a guy named Lord Humungus. 1985’s Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is unfortunately only known for Tina Turner and the immortal chant, “Two men enter, one man leaves!” Mad Max: Fury Road cherry picks the best from each of these films. It takes Beyond Thunderdome’s final chase scene and extends its length, carnage, and catastrophe to a full 75% of this film.
Prior to diving headfirst into the world of psychotic road gangs, George Miller graduated from medical school and worked as an emergency room doctor. Perhaps this is where he learned how to make blood and gore look so real. It remains a true head scratcher though that Miller is also the director of Babe: Pig in the City and the two Happy Feet animated films. I find that difficult to reconcile, but it shows George Miller to be a man of broad interests and able to tell engaging stories through diverse prisms. Miller wanted to reboot Mad Max well over a decade ago but due to various obstacles was consistently delayed in his effort. I declare the result is absolutely worth the long wait.
Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy, 2014’s Locke) actually spoke words and sentences in the 1980s. Now, he has no use for such arcane communication methods. He grunts, nods his head, and utters a low growl sometimes which may or may not contain specific words, but their sounds usually get his point across. We have no idea where Max has been or where he is going but we do know something awful happened to his wife and daughter. He has a critical case of PTSD where flashes of his loved ones pop into his mind accusing him of neglect and their demise. This happens while Max is running away from bad guys, is involved in hand-to-hand conflict, and just about every other event. Max is most likely just as unbalanced as everyone trying to kill him, but he remains one of the very few good guys.
Max is a loner only looking out for yours truly, yet through a series of unbridled savagery in the film’s first road rage bacchanalia, Max gets involved with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron, 2014’s A Million Way to Die in the West) and her quest to escape with and set free the warlord’s harem composed of five scantily clad women all pregnant with the villain’s offspring. The warlord, a nauseating to behold old man with some sort of breathing apparatus and plastic body mold, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), is understandably angered by the loss of his lovelies and the betrayal of one of his key lieutenants. He launches the whole armada at the runaways.
The different vehicles and make-shift contraptions dispatched into the Australian nothingness to chase down the escapees puts the fun into the film. There are tiny speedsters with lancers throwing fire sticks, larger trucks with grenades and wheel spikes, pole vaulters, and even a gargantuan machine with four drummers and a guitarist shredding an epic axe in front of a wall of speakers. I suppose that is the morale truck. Most of the henchman are covered in white body paint and are ready to become suicide bombers at a moment’s notice for the chance to enter Valhalla. They worship ‘shiny’ and ‘chrome’, believe Immortan Joe will live forever, and that he controls their entrance to the afterlife. Most of these kids look to be in their late teens.
I cannot emphasize just how creative and exciting these ad hoc war machines look. They have come a long way from Max’s original pumped up Ford Falcon Coupe “V8 Interceptor”. The characters all comprise a supporting cast to the vehicular fleet. The camera work by John Seale, who won an Academy Award for his work on The English Patient, thrusts a zooming camera into close-ups of faces effectively showing the tension of the moment or the zeal of the chase. Miller chose to film in Namibia, a perfect location to show off his vision of a post-apocalyptic Wasteland. Miller took a chance reincarnating a long on the shelf character with only one action facet available, vehicular manslaughter. George Miller knocked it out of the park.
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