Mad Max Fury Road Review

2015 in film

May 13

Written By Rendy Jones

Preview

R: For Intense Sequences of Violence Throughout, and For Disturbing Images

Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures

2 hrs and 0 Minutes

Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byne, with Zoe Kravitz, and Rosie Huntington-Whitely

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during my adolescence. Outdated language might be seen in these old posts. Since then, my thoughts and values have grown. This review is being presented as they were originally written, grammatical errors, shitty sentence structure, and typos galore. Because to do otherwise would be that same as claiming these flaws never existed.

BACKSTORY: After a shitty day, May 12th 2015 I go to a screening of Mad Max Fury Road. Sadly it wasn't in either IMAX or 3D. Not saying I'm not gonna watch this masterpiece again in 3D though.

STORYLINE: An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and almost everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order. There's Max, a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland.

REVIEW: Let's just say what this film is. We saw from TV and the trailers in theaters and we can all say, Fury Road is a reboot of George Miller's beloved franchise, but surprisingly directed by Miller. I have never seen a reboot of a film directed by the original movie's director before until now. Fury Road is literally a fast and furious movie. Not saying that its a film similar to the Fast and Furious franchise, but the film is very hyper-violent and fueled with adrenaline and also has a really fast pace. As in it feels as the editor cranked the movie's speed from 1 - 1.5 which may be off putting to people, but in a film as crazy as this it works. What's fascinating about this film is that it plays like a 70s movie. There is a lot of fade to blacks with a big orchestra in the background which is very nostalgic to the old audience. Everything in Fury Road feels like it was created with passion and nobody knows crazy like George Miller. When you think Miller hit his creative peak with Happy Feet, he proves that as you age you can still reinvent your own franchise as long as you maintain originality. Most of the things in the film make absolutely no sense but everything story wise does. The film features henchmen that are driving cars playing electric guitar and drums into battle. The film may be called Mad Max, but the hero of this film isn't Hardy as Max but is really Theron as Imperator Furiosa and the rag tag group of females she's accompanied by. The real heroes of this film are women and they all serve purpose to the story that's really thought provoking. Oh yeah this film even subtly shouts at some humanitarian messages. Personally this is the best feminist action film I've ever seen (and believe me there's not that much), Where you have ultra violent action films like Sucker Punch that features an abundant amount of female actress that are written poorly which makes the film come off being obnoxiously misogynistic. Miller literally gives his main character a back seat and hands the wheel to the women writing each character with great detail and different personalities. Don't get me wrong Max is still a good character with a lot of depth, but its really good to have the women kick the most ass. There's even very emotional and heartfelt moments in the movie, so by the time it ends you're most likely to catch more feels than you did with Quicksilver in Age of Ultron. What's even more amazing about Fury Road isn't only just the badass action sequences that are choreographed fantastically, but is the gorgeous cinematography and art design of the Aussie outback. There are epic sequences that involves tornadoes, canyons, and even just plain vast desert and Miller manages to make all of the different set pieces beautiful in there own way.

LAST STATEMENT: Though the speed may be off putting to some, the brilliant set pieces, story, female characters, and fucking perfect action sequences George Miller directs in Mad Max Fury Road proves that creativity never ages as long as you're still passionate about your franchise Fury Road is the perfect modern reboot that can also have the long lasting power to never become outdated.