I have never seen any of the Mad Max movies from back in the day. This is because I openly boycott and detest Mel Gibson and refuse to watch anything that he is affiliated with. However when I heard that he was not going to be in this installment and when the hype of this film reached very high level, I decided I should give it a shot.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is a very self-aware movie. Director George Miller (who directed the previous three) knew what his audience would be getting into and decided to throw the conventional rules of a high budget Hollywood action film and – for lack of a better term – just have fun with it. The film gives a very brief recap of just what kind of world we’re dealing with and it also helps for those who are not familiar with this world at all. Max this time is played by Tom Hardy as he aids Furiosa (Played by Charlize Theron), who is a woman of action looking to return to her childhood home. What ensues is a very high octane hour and a half long chase scene that, really never skips a beat.
As I watched the movie I noticed that Max is not only a protagonist, but he is a product of his own environment. What I mean is he is just as mad as the rest of humanity. He hears voices in his head, he has visions of his deceased wife and daughter, etc. It may seem like this is a confusing protagonist to follow, but Max is a man of few words and he lets his actions speak louder.
I would actually argue that Charlize Theron’s character is more of the protagonist than Hardy’s. She’s the character with a goal and an endgame. She’s the one who we are more focused on as the movie progresses. We see how Max reacts to everything; but it’s Furiosa who acts as the catalyst for what comes in the movie.
Nicholas Hoult is in the movie as well and he plays the classic henchman, named Nux, who decides he wants a shot at redemption. It’s a nice turn to see someone who still has A LITTLE sensibility in this crazy world. He also does exceptional in this movie. I feel like if I had not seen the cast list, I would not have been able to recognize Hoult. I also loved the henchman and bad guy in this movie. The henchmen all were just adrenaline junkies who served this guy who looks straight out of Twisted Metal. I’m a big fan of the dystopian future plot line with the “one man” who seems to be perceived as a God to the little people. But we all know that Gods must fall and this surely unfolds in the movie.
Like I said, it’s a very self-aware movie. The action is as mindless as the world established and because of this it works. There are no “deep layers” or “outlying theme” to go along with the movie because it’s unnecessary. It also makes sense because in a world where literally everyone seems to have gone mad, there’s no room for sensibility and grounded realism. Miller’s meta way of thinking allows him to give audiences exactly what they need in a movie like this: Two hours of pure dynamite.
Mad Max: Fury Road is the kind of action movie that the world needs right now. It’s senseless, it’s gratuitous, and above all, it’s just plain fun. It’s a time to really enjoy film for what it is – an escape from reality where anything is possible and we can accept that. Whether you’re a fan of the originals, or you’re just looking for pure adrenaline in entertainment, then this is certainly worth the price of a film ticket.
Overall Rating: 8/10 – Great
Great action and mindless characters to go along with it; Tom Hardy does well, but Charlize Theron is the real force in this movie. To be honest, I love her in just about anything she’s in.
-Reed
P.S. pretty mad they didn’t title the sequel 2Fast 2Fury Road.
IMAGES: http://cdn.chud.com/d/d6/d632b211_bb69cb62_MadPietFurryRoad5.jpeg, http://cdn1-www.superherohype.com/assets/uploads/gallery/mad-max-fury-road_1/mad-max-fury-road-poster2.jpg, http://posterposse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mad-max-fury-road.jpg, http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hEJnMQG9ev8/maxresdefault.jpg
WNS 