George Miller's return to his iconic Mad Max franchise is not only the series' strongest entry, but quite possibly one of the best action movies ever made.
Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is an Imperator for the Citadel, a remnant of civilization in a post-apocalyptic world. She seeks to return to the land of her birth, and brings with her some woman from the Citadel, who wish for a life outside of the iron fist of the Citadel's tyrannical ruler. Along the way, she meets Max (Tom Hardy), a captive of the Citadel who is haunted by his past. In such a male-dominated genre, it's wonderful to see that the vast majority of Fury Road's "good guys" are strong women. In fact, Max and Nicholas Hoult's Nux are the only male characters among the protagonists, and though Max is the title character, he shares equal importance with Furiosa, and the others get a solid amount of screen time as well. I bet the same crowd that somehow enjoyed Jupiter Ascending is all over this.
The Mad Max franchise has always been about a post-apocalyptic world, with the aesthetic established by 1981's The Road Warrior being one of the most influential and well-remembered settings of its type. Said dustbowl setting is at its most beautifully realized in Fury Road, manifested as a thirsty world defined by towering dust storms and endless dunes. In the original films, the world was inherited by biker gangs, but Fury Road takes a stranger route, having a deformed warlord reigning over the thirsty populace by controlling the water supply. The bikers have been replaced with painted brutes who seek glory through battle and entrance to Valhalla. The film's antagonists have similarities to those of The Road Warrior, and are ultimately an evolution of those same characters, but here they're built up in more detail. The addition of a glimpse into the world's lore is just one of the things making Fury Road better than its predecessors.
The first Mad Max included some backstory for the character, but the parts where it talked about his family were ultimately the least enjoyable scenes. Fury Road instead chooses to take The Road Warrior's route of establishing his backstory in a brief introductory sequence, but also makes flashbacks a key part of Max's character. He's clearly suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, and experiences hallucinations on top of that, adding a level of vulnerability to an otherwise rough, tough character. Tom Hardy is a more than suitable replacement for Mel Gibson, though let's hope that he doesn't go down the same path in his personal life. However, this is mostly Furiosa's movie, and she's an equally fantastic character. She shows depth in glimpses, through discussion of her past and her motive as well as through her interactions with other characters. She and Max soon come to work together very well, which is helped by Furiosa simply being a fantastic action lead.
Miller is a fantastic filmmaker, and while he's had different cinematographers across his Mad Max films, each of them has been fantastic, and Fury Road is no exception. This time around, John Seale is at the wheel, and even though the film takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, he manages to wring colour out of it without betraying the integrity of the setting. Colour comes in many forms, and it's never out-of-place. The yellows of the expanse turn to blues in the night and reds in the middle of a storm, many people are coated in black and white war paint, fireworks are set off by the pursuing trucks, etc. It's a very visually appealing film, and it's one that makes full use of the technology available. One of the first sights in the movie is a two-headed lizard, something which must have been made in CGI but looks fairly convincing. This is a film where it's hard to know for sure how much computer graphics were even used, especially given that Miller is a filmmaker who cut his teeth in an era where practical effects were the only effects. In any case, it looks fantastic.
Then there's the action, which is one of the central components of the film and is just as manic and over-the-top as I had hoped. Somehow, the actual film actually manages to surpass the trailers in terms of the propulsive action scenes, which are intertwined gracefully with the story and the quieter moments. Every scene has a sense of purpose, even moreso than The Road Warrior, and just like that one, this is a film with no fat. The vast majority of the movie consists of Furiosa's rig escaping its pursuers, and with such a centrepiece, constant forward momentum is basically guaranteed. This is a film that is constantly surging forward, which infuses it with energy that even its zany stunt work and cartoonish violence can't fully create. Even if all the other facets that make this a brilliant piece of filmmaking mean nothing to you, the simple truth is that Mad Max: Fury Road is an absolute blast. Oh, and in case you were worried, there's explosions aplenty.
Mad Max has always been strange, and with loftier vision than ever before, the strangeness in Fury Road is somehow both more pervasive and less obtrusive than in previous films. There's what appears to be a mutated man-child, recurring appearances of human breast milk, and a war drum vehicle that also features someone wielding an electric flamethrower guitar. Of course, this all just gives the film a greater sense of personality and contributes to the fun of it all. Mad Max has not been homogenized. It remains distinctive in the action landscape.
The core of it is that Mad Max: Fury Road is the best action film in recent memory and will be tough to beat as one of the single greatest films of the year. Even if it's not doing exceptionally at the box office, it's almost guaranteed to go down as a classic just as its predecessors have. It is a singular achievement that serves brilliant action in conjunction with a fantastic story and some of the best direction in any genre, and deserves all the praise it gets. To put it simply: Fury Road is a masterpiece.
10/10
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