Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Steve Barton
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Starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne
Directed by George Miller
Speaking as a fan of the Mad Max franchise, I was reasonably certain… hell, scratch that… pretty damned positive that The Road Warrior would always be my favorite film of the series. That being said, I was not prepared for the spectacle that is Mad Max: Fury Road. In fact, I feel as if I barely survived it.
After a series of “HOLY SHIT” events, Max Rockatansky (played masterfully by Tom Hardy, replacing Mel Gibson as the lead) finds himself an unlikely ally of a vengeful sick-of-it-all woman named Imperator Furiosa (a truly badass in every sense of the word Charlize Theron). Together they set off to leave behind the wasteland kingdom of one Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, whom you may remember as Toecutter in the original film) in search of “The Green Place.” In tow they have Joe’s personal breeding brides, and it’s a mad dash to get them and themselves to this hopeful new world where some form of normalcy could be found and life could begin again. Of course the evil Immortan has other plans that involve some of the most insane stunt work you’ve ever seen along with a whole shitload of fire power, both flaming and otherwise.
The main question on everyone’s minds is, “Is this a remake?” No. It is not. “Is it a reboot or a sequel?” It’s a bit of both and so very much more. At its heart this is just another tale of Max, a road warrior who’s been driven thoroughly mad because when the apocalypse hit the fan, he was unable to save the people whom he cares most about… his family.
Director George Miller comes back to this insane world he created back in 1979 and then left in 1985, and believe me when I tell you he hasn’t missed a single beat. The only rust to be found in Fury Road is on the many battle vehicles that litter the wasteland. It’s almost as if Miller’s time away added to the ferocity of this film. Decades of aggression explode onto the screen with absolute reckless abandon. This is a fully realized universe filled with oddities that you cannot take your eyes off of. There’s only about ten minutes of Fury Road‘s runtime in which you’re not being visually and mentally assaulted by some of the most incredible action set pieces ever brought to the screen. As a viewer you barely have time to catch your breath in between bouts of beautifully staged, nearly indescribable amounts of onscreen chaos that will leave you white-knuckled and cheering in your seat.
The sick thing? I’m trying desperately hard to not come off as hyperbolic, but Mad Max: Fury Road earns every single bit of its praise, and I’m ecstatic to be able to lavish it. Believe the hype. See it any way you want: 2D, 3D, RPX, IMAX, DBOX, whatever… just see it!
It doesn’t matter how many avengers you have on screen or just how fast and furious anyone else is… action-wise 2015 belongs to Max. Welcome home, you lovable fuckin’ lunatic. Oh, how we’ve missed you.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
