2015 is shaping up to be a year full of iconic franchises
returning to the big screen after a considerable amount of time. And while of
course you have your ‘Star Wars’ and your ‘Jurassic Parks’, there’s another
franchise that’s making a big return this year; ‘Mad Max’. What started out in
1979 as a low-budget Australian film from director George Miller soon turned
into a film franchise with some of the most acclaimed action films of all-time.
This includes the original ‘Mad Max’, which also became one of the most
profitable films of all-time, and its sequel ‘The Road Warrior’, which was even
more well-received than its predecessor in regards to critical reception. The
third film, ‘Beyond Thunderdome’, wasn’t as well-received as the first two
films but still did solid enough with critics, though fans were a little more
critical. Now, 30 years since the release of ‘Beyond Thunderdome’, director
George Miller returns to his post-apocalyptic franchise with ‘Mad Max: Fury
Road’, though it’s the first entry in the series to not star Mel Gibson in the
title role of ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky. Instead, Tom Hardy takes over the role,
joined by Charlize Theron in an equally important role as far as this film’s
story is concerned. And like its predecessors, it’s been getting rave reviews
from critics. Hell, to be perfectly frank, it’s probably the most
critically-acclaimed summer blockbuster in a long time. But in the end, while,
let me be clear, I did like the film, ultimately I can’t say that it’s an
absolute ‘masterpiece’ compared to what, well, everyone else is saying.
In a post-apocalyptic world that is dominated by desert,
drifter Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is taken captive by ‘the War Boys’, a cult
army led by the tyrant Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, who had previously
played the villain Toecutter in the original ‘Mad Max’). Soon after this, one
of Joe’s lieutenants, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), starts to head
off-course while on a job to collect gasoline. Joe quickly discovers that she
is actually escaping with his Five Wives; Splendid, Capable, Toast, Dag, and
Cheedo (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoe Kravitz, Abbey Lee, and
Courtney Eaton, respectively), five young women who were chosen specifically for
breeding in the hopes of him being blessed with a new heir. Joe immediately
sends out his army after her, with Max being dragged along due to the fact that
he’s currently serving as a blood donor for one of the War Boys, Nux (Nicholas
Hoult). Max soon catches up with Furiosa and agrees to help her bring the Wives
to safety. So, with a whole army on their tail in this post-apocalyptic
wasteland, Max and Furiosa try to get the Wives to ‘the Green Place’, a
location that Furiosa states that she originally came from where they can be
free from Immortan Joe’s clutches.
This film is worth seeing just for its action sequences and
visuals. According to Miller, 90% of the stunts in the film were practically
done, which is a very impressive feat in this modern age of visuals effects/CGI.
Because of this, all of the stunts in this film are awesome as are the visuals.
There’s literally one guy in Joe’s army who’s on a truck that has a bunch of
drummers on the back of it playing a flame-spewing guitar. That alone should
give you an idea of how crazy the production design is for this movie. And
really, the film definitely lives up to the ‘Mad’ part of its title, showcasing
a chaotic post-apocalyptic world that is almost entirely devoid of sanity. But
while the film definitely delivers on a technical level, the same can’t really
be said for its writing. Now with that said, because this film is primarily one
big chase scene, I do recognize that the filmmakers were probably more focused
on the action/visuals than they were with the story and characters. I’m not
saying that’s a bad thing as the action and visuals are incredible. It’s just
that the film is focused so much on the chase that there are only a few scenes
where the action slows down and we get some bits of character development. I
wish that the film spent just a little more time developing its characters because
aside from like two of them, most of the characters are fairly underdeveloped.
This includes the main villain Immortan Joe, who’s more intimidating in
presence than he is in actually doing anything in this film, and, I hate to say
it, even Max himself.
The film may be called ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, but Mad Max
isn’t the main character of the film… and because of it, Tom Hardy is quite
frankly underused. He’s a fine choice for the role and does a good job based on
what he has to work with. But as far as the story is concerned, he really
doesn’t play that integral of a part in the overall story. It’s just a case
where he was dragged into a situation that he didn’t initially cause in the
first place. In reality, Furiosa is the main character of the film whereas Max,
dare I say it, is rather forgettable. But on the bright side, Furiosa is the
main character of the film. Charlize Theron absolutely owns it in the role of
what is easily the best female character in an action film since Ellen Ripley
in ‘Aliens’. Furiosa is just a total badass who’s able to hold her own in
combat alongside Max and Theron’s so good in this that I’d be perfectly fine
with her getting nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. That’s how great she
is in this. All of the Five Wives are pretty good as well, especially due to
the fact that they’re not just ‘objects’ for the heroes and villains to fight
over. They get down and dirty in the chase just as much as Max and Furiosa. Finally,
the other big standout is Nicholas Hoult as Nux. Like Theron, Hoult really owns
his role of the insane but also rather innocent War Boy, a description
perfectly summed up by the scene in which he, while driving through a raging
sandstorm that’s already taken out a few of his allies, shouts “Oh what a day!
What a Lovely Day!”
I went into this film with a completely fresh point of view
as I have not actually seen any of the previous ‘Mad Max’ movies. With that in
mind, if anyone is worried about not seeing any of the other films before this
one, you don’t need to worry about that too much because this is ‘technically’
a series reboot that doesn’t really tie back too much to the previous films.
But ultimately, I was not as big a fan of ‘Fury Road’ compared to, basically,
the rest of the internet. And let me be clear; I didn’t hate the film. The
action sequences, which of course were pre-dominantly done with practical
effects/stunt-work, are impressive and the film has some amazing visuals, primarily
thanks to the film’s eye-popping production design. Not only that, but Charlize
Theron really shines as Furiosa, one of the best female action film leads of all
time. But at the end of the day, I wish that the filmmakers had spent a little
more time developing the story and characters. I recognize that this probably
wasn’t what they were going for but it would’ve been nice to have a little more
story/character development for any character that is not named Furiosa or Nux.
And while this film may have been called ‘Mad Max’, Max is arguably the most
forgettable main character in the film. So yes, I only ‘liked’ the film; I
didn’t ‘love’ it. I recognize that I’m pretty much in the minority on that one.
But if you loved this film more than I did, then the more power to you. It’s
just that, not having seen any of the other ‘Mad Max’ films, this wasn’t really
one of my most anticipated films of the year. And while I made sure not to let
that influence my opinion on the film, ultimately I just wasn’t as blown away
by it as everyone else.
Rating: 4/5
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