HOLLYWOOD—Ok, I never saw the first “Mad Max” film starring Mel Gibson back in 1979, it was before my time. Heck, I never saw any of the sequels from that movie either. So what was it about “Mad Max: Fury Road” that caught my attention: the action sequences.
The movie first resembled “The Book of Eli” starring Denzel Washington to me, but I soon learned that movie was inspired by the original “Mad Max.” This movie, which some have deemed a remake or rebirth of the original, the phrases that are used to revitalize a franchise these days are complicated, brings director George Miller back for another round.
I always thought it would be fascinating to see the director who crafted the original work to return to the franchise to reboot it. This might be the first time this has actually happened in cinema, with glowing results. Could you imagine if Steven Spielberg stepped behind the camera to reinterpret his 1975 classic “Jaws?”
The movie is a dystopian tale, an Earth that has lost all hope to say the least, leaving anarchy for those who are still living. In a wink to the original, Hugh Keays-Bryne who played ‘Toecutter,’ returns for this installment as Immmortan Joe, the ruthless villain in the movie.
Our protagonist Max, is played by Tom Hardy. Hardy is no Mel Gibson, but he does suitable work for the role that he was cast in. When he escapes the clutches of his tormentor, he teams up with Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who gives new meaning to the word female bad***. Theron’s character harkens a bit to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in “Aliens” and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in “T2.”
It’s nice to see a movie not be afraid to embrace a woman as a heroine, and do to so without making the character hokey or unbelievable. Well she has a buzz-cut and she has a mechanical arm. This woman pretty much signals tough.
This film can be deemed an epic chase from start to finish. Will the spectator get bored, if you like action, no! If narrative pleases you, the film fails slightly on that front, but to be honest the level of intensity this movie produces, the narrative becomes almost non-existent in my opinion. Guess what, it really doesn’t matter. The stunts are so visceral, the explosions are so epic, the gunfire is so wicked, and the fight sequences are to die for. I seriously can’t recall ever seeing a movie of this magnitude, that presents such bleakness, but at the same time warps you into this world that leaves you speechless at times.
Some might be thinking to themselves to skip seeing the movie in 3D and I thought the same thing, but the extra visual only heightens the movie in my opinion. For most films not shot 3D it’s a waste of time to pay the additional price, but this movie seems to capitalize on those visuals because the action sequences totally deliver on the 3D aspect. Is it “Avatar” grandeur, no, but its still a treat to watch, way better than the waste of cash I shelled out for “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
I would argue this isn’t a film for the kiddies as it has a hard R-rating, and at times I almost felt as if I was watching a horror/action movie intertwined. I almost can’t believe I’m going to say this, “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a movie that I would consider seeing more than once in the theater. There has been only one movie in my entire lifetime that has gotten me to do that: it was “The Sixth Sense.”
That’s something I rarely tell people, so with that admission alone, what are you waiting for, get in line to see “Mad Max: Fury Road!”
