“Mad Max: Fury Road” is the fourth film in the Mad Max franchise. It’s been 30 years since the last film in the series, “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” was released. No one would’ve been surprised if the new Mad Max movie turned out to be a boring sequel with an unoriginal premise. Luckily, “Mad Max: Fury Road” is action packed, startlingly beautiful, and completely off it’s rocker.
This is the first movie in the series to not feature Mel Gibson as the titular Max Rockatansky. Replacing him is Tom Hardy, and he does a magnificent job. But the real star is Charlize Theron as Furiosa. Max is widely regarded as one of the toughest dudes in all of cinema, but Furiosa makes him look like a toddler playing with Tonka trucks in a sand box.
The plot of the movie is pretty simple. Max helps Furiosa and her friends cross the post-apocalyptic desert wasteland as they are pursued by some bad guys.
While the plot is basic, it’s also perfect for this particular kind of movie. Most of the film is essentially one long chase scene, which means a lot of action. And the action in this movie is superb.
Mad Max: Fury Road trailer
With “Mad Max: Fury Road,” George Miller has proven he knows how to film action better than any director working today. Miller started making the Mad Max movies in the late '70s. As a result, he comes from a background of using practical effects in his films.
In an interview with Vice, Miller talked about making "Mad Max: Fury Road."
"This is a movie that's real vehicles and real people and real desert. It had to be old school," he said. "It's not a green screen movie, so we had to shoot it for real. I think that makes the movie feel very, very authentic."
While there is some CGI to be found in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” most of the stunts are achieved with practical effects. When a car flips over ten times and explodes it’s a real car exploding.
Some of the stunts were so authentic looking that viewers may be left wondering if any actors were injured in the making of the film. Only when people think actors were in fear for their lives during filming is it clear that the action was handled properly.
Critical reception for "Mad Max: Fury Road" has been overwhelmingly positive. Jeff Baker of the Portland Oregonian said, "'Mad Max: Fury Road' sets new standards in old-school stunt work and car chases and does it in service of an idea-driven story with a beating heart and an action star for our troubled times in Charlize Theron." Ian Nathan of Empire magazine said "Max’s re-enfranchisement is a triumph of barking-mad imagination, jaw-dropping action, crackpot humour, and acting in the face of a hurricane."
The truly surprising thing about this movie is just how beautiful it gets at times. Strange, but beautiful nonetheless. A particularly memorable scene in regards to the visuals is when Furiosa drives into a sand storm in an attempt to evade her pursuers. It’s jaw-dropping.
There’s really nothing wrong with this movie. It has strong characters and performances. The plot is simple, but it compliments the rest of the film perfectly. The action is masterfully executed. The visuals are strange and eerily beautiful. This movie just works on every level. “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a mad masterpiece.
At a glance:
STARRING: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
DIRECTOR: George Miller
PRODUCTION: Kennedy Miller Productions, Village Roadshow Pictures
GENRE: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
RATED: R
OVERALL RATING: 5 Stars
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