Mad Max: Fury Road★★★★1/2
Max is a bit nuts
Furiosa's a badass
What a lovely day
In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.
You might have heard of this movie? It's a little, arty film featuring some up-and-coming actors—and who am I kidding? I can't keep this joke going. If you haven't heard of Mad Max: Fury Road, I have to ask what rock you've been living under.
I'm not quite sure if Fury Road is supposed to be a remake, a reboot, or just a continuation of the franchise that started back in 1979 (with Mel Gibson as Max) with a new leading man. Regardless, the movie fits perfectly in the world created in that first movie, and the subsequent sequels The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome, and jacks the intensity up to 11.
There's much to like about this movie: The strong female characters, particularly Charlize Theron's Furiosa, the true partnership between Tom Hardy's Max and Furiosa (rather than it being some forced romantic thing). The balls-to-the-wall crazy of Immortan Joe and his War Boys, particularly Nicholas Hoult's Nux. The amazing chase scenes and the RIDICULOUS vehicles they all drive. It's all a whole lot of fun.
I do have a nit to pick, however. It's obvious that 3D effects were added to the movie post-production. I am not a fan of this sort of 3D, and the occasional scene in which things were added for 3D's sake (objects jutting toward the screen, etc.) was annoyingly distracting. They took me out of the movie, which I really dislike.
Even if you've never seen the first three Mad Max movies, if you're a fan of action, badass ladies, and men who'll stand up for what's right, I'd definitely recommend this one.
Check it out:
I kind of wish I had gone into this movie with a Pacific Rim attitude, meaning just enjoy the spectacle, stop trying to apply logic. I kept trying to apply logic to it, and was getting really frustrated (for example, someone should really let the filmmakers know how tornadoes work....) But after the first 30 minutes, I just said fuck it, and immersed myself in the ridiculous action and that made it way better! (The end chase scene with guys on the counter-weighted poles - that was awesome.) It was a great fun summer movie, and I was SO happy to see the amount of badass females taking the lead in this, to the point that Max was practically a secondary character. That was really unexpected in such a good way!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this yet but this take on continuity is exactly what I want or of superhero movies from now on. I don't need spider-man's origin for the twelfth time, just leap right in and assume that I know who the hell spiderman is. If there are any plot relevant differences from standard then handle them with a few flashbacks.
ReplyDeleteYou might also be interested to check out nostalgiachick's take on it if you haven't seen it already. Nostalgiachick strikes me as the kind of thing you'd watch.
Yes, this is definitely not a movie with much in the way of logic. I'm glad you were able to overlook that, and enjoy it for what it was!
ReplyDeleteYES. I love this thinking! And I totally agree. If only!
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of it, but I'm going to look now. Thank you for the rec!
Max Max isn't the kind of movie I typically watch, but after hearing positive reviews, I gave it a shot. There were a few moments I couldn't sort out the logic on since we were plunged into their world and not given the full scope of some things. Furiosa is my new favorite female lead. I was thankful their wasn't a romance between her and Max, since their working relationship/friendship was pure gold. That said, I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI do think it helped to have seen at least two of the previous movies, because they do sort of explain the world. (Which is why I feel like this movie is an expansion of the universe/franchise rather than a real reboot.) But I'm glad that you enjoyed it regardless! And yes, the friendship/partnership was awesome and as powerful—if not more so—than a romance would have been.
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