You can also see this review at CinemaRetro
By Mark Cerulli
Thirty years after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome seemingly ended the Australian post apocalypse triptych, director George Miller is back, with a vengeance (and a much bigger budget). The result could have been an overdone, bloated production, loaded with CGI and soft on any real thrills… instead Miller has created a masterpiece that significantly raises the bar of action filmmaking.
Where to begin? From the opening sequence when Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) surveys a vast desert wasteland while eating a mutant lizard that wandered too close, you know this ain’t your daddy’s Mad Max. The film explodes from there – Max is captured by a gang of “War Boys” run by a terrifying character named Immortan Joe, his face hidden behind a ghastly breathing mask complete with teeth. Joe is played by Hugh Keys-Byrne who starred as Toe Cutter in the original Mad Max. The actor has bulked up and gone gray, but lost none of his swaggering menace. Our Max is quickly put to use as a living blood donor for an ailing warrior named Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Max’s life seems grim and short until he makes a daring escape, joining up with Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who has just committed the most unforgivable of sins – stealing from Immortan Joe. And she didn’t just drive off with treasure or gasoline, she’s taken his very future – his five alluring slave wives, one of whom is carrying his child. You can bet he’ll unleash the hounds of automotive hell to get them back!
The film cleverly blends the best of the first three movies – snippets of Max’s personal tragedy, the hulking villain from 1982’s Road Warrior and a bit of Bartertown, resulting in a full throttle chase through the irradiated wasteland. Gradually Max and Furiousa learn to trust each other, but that’s as warm and fuzzy as the movie gets – there’s just no time for more. In fact, if Max has more than one page of dialogue in the entire film, I’d be surprised. What there IS time for, is an array of mind-bending stunts as they flee Immortan Joe’s forces, pursuing them in a fleet of devilishly souped-up vehicles. Throw in the hostile, opportunistic tribes roaming the wasteland and death is literally waiting around every curve. In terms of pacing, the director really puts the hammer down, so it’s relentless… and best of all, Miller did everything “Old School.” Real stunts, flying stuntmen, honest to gawd car crashes and glorious explosions, all played out against a white hot sky and muted red earth. (The film was shot off the grid in the Namibian desert when the Australian outback appeared too forgiving.)
While many of today’s releases can be enjoyed on DVD or any of the over the top services now available, Mad Max: Fury Road MUST be seen in a theater and with an audience. Guaranteed, there won’t be the usual multiplex hassles of conversation or texting – all eyes will be glued to the screen. (The preview audience I saw it with actually applauded various action sequences, a real rarity.)
We all love old movies and constantly lament, “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.” This time they did, and Lord Humongous would approve!
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