Did you watch “Mad Max: Fury Road”? If not, your summer was terrible. It doesn’t matter what you did, nothing can compare to the two hours of fuel injected, supercharged, masterclass of action that ran down critics when hit theaters last May.
It isn’t inexcusable if you missed Fury Road. In all honesty, the film had everything going against it being a passable film. This half reboot, quasi-sequel of the Mad Max franchise whose last film, “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” came out 30 years ago. In the time between the Mad Max films, the series’ director, George Miller, spent his time on two other franchises: the family films “Babe” and “Happy Feet.”
That’s why there were little in terms of expectations for this return to the wastelands of post-apocalyptia. But luckily Miller, who’s 70 years old, kicked Hollywood on their collective behinds with Fury Road.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” is a film made up of a single car chase. Max (Tom Hardy) finds himself once again thrown into the middle of another character’s story. This time, it’s Imperator Furiosa, (Charlize Theron) who’s attempting to rescue the wives of Imortant Joe. Suffice to say, he ttakes this poorly.
He leads his war party after Furiosa, which is made up of fully customized cars and trucks created to plow through the desert. One rig is made entirely of speakers, drums, and sports a guitarist who shoots flames into the sky.
The story sounds as though it was crafted by a 12 year old with an unhealthy obsession for chrome, and in the hands of another filmmaker it could have come off like that in the movie. The multiple action scenes are incredible combinations of fighting and driving that are expertly filmed. But no matter how impressive the action is, it isn’t what makes “Mad Max Fury Road” a great movie.
Miller’s greatest contribution to the film was his focus on adding character building moments during nearly every scene of the film. It’s also a great compliment to the cast that they were able to use these nuances to develop their characters instead of dialogue. Tom Hardy, billed as the lead actor, doesn’t say more than a couple dozen words throughout the entire film.
If you haven’t seen “Mad Max: Fury Road” you owe it to yourself to watch it. If you have seen “Mad Max: Fury Road” you owe it to yourself to watch it again. It’s beyond the best action film of the year. In all honesty, Fury Road is one of the greatest films produced in the last 20 years.
