Mad Max: Fury Road

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2015)

From Oscar and Golden Globe nominated original Mad Max trilogy director George Miller (The Witches of Eastwick, Babe: Pig in the City, Happy Feet), the character originally played by Mel Gibson had been off screen for thirty years, so I was most excited to see the franchise reignited. Basically in the future the world has become a desert wasteland and civilisation has collapsed following a nuclear war. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a survivor and loner, is captured by the War Boys, the army of the tyrannical Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), and taken to the Citadel, Max is designated a universal blood donor and used as a "blood bag" for sick Wild Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) meanwhile is driving an armoured war rig to collect gasoline, she drives off- route, and Joe realises that his five wives - women selected for breeding - are missing, so he leads his whole army to chase after her, with the aid of Gas Town and the Bullet Farm. Max continues to supply blood strapped onto the front Nux's car who is also in pursuit, Joe's forces and Furiosa's rig ensues in a battle, but she is able to evade the pursuers driving into a sand storm, except Nux who is prepared to sacrifice himself, the car crashes and Max is able to escape, dragging an unconscious Nux by his chain. Max finds Furiosa accompanied by the five wives: The Splendid Angharad (Transformers: Dark of the Moon's Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), Capable (Riley Keough), Cheedo the Fragile (Courtney Eaton), Toast the Knowing (Zoë Kravitz, Lenny's daughter) and the Dag (Abbey Lee), who are repairing the rig, he attempts to steal it, but the kill switch disables the truck, so he reluctantly allows Furiosa and the wives to accompany him, Nux returns to Joe. Furiosa has agreed to exchange gasoline for passage, and drives through biker gang territory into a narrow gang, but Joe's gang are in hot pursuit, the bikers detonate the canyon walls to block the path, Max and Furiosa defeat many of the bikers, but Joe's vehicle evades the blockade and attacks the rig, Nux manages to board it. The rig escapes, but heavily pregnant Angharad falls from it and is run over, killing her and her child, Furiosa tells Max that she is heading for the "Green Place", a location she remembers from her youth, Capable finds Nux hiding, she consoles him as he is distraught for failing Joe. At night, the rig gets stuck in mud, Joe's approaching forces are slowed by explosives, but Joe's ally, the Bullet Farmer (Richard Carter) continues to pursue, Nux helps them get away and Furiosa shoots and blinds the Bullet Farmer, Max walks away for a moment to confront them, and returns with guns and ammunition. Dawn breaks and rig travels through swampland and desert, eventually coming across a naked woman trapped in a high cage, Max suspects a trap, but calling out her former clan affiliation she summons her group, they recognise her as part of their clan, but Furiosa is distraught to be told that they have already passed the Green Place, now inhospitable. The group agree to ride motorbikes and the rig across the immense salt flats in the hope of finding somewhere to live, Max was originally going to stay behind, but following visions of his dead daughter he convinces the group to return to the Citadel, because of its ample water and greenery that Joe keeps from the survivors, and they plan to trap Joe's gang in the bikers' canyon. The group start their journey back to the Citadel, Joe spots them and realises what they are doing, they are attacked by his gang and Furiosa is badly wounded, the rig is slowed by Joe's car, while Max fights with Joe's son Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones). Toast gets captured and put on Joe's car, but Joe is distracted by her, and his mask hooked to his car's rotating wheels, tearing his face off and killing him, while Nux sacrifices himself by destroying the rig, blocking the canyon, killing Rictus, and the group are able to escape in Joe's car. Max transfuses his blood to save Furiosa and help her injuries, at the Citadel the surviving citizens are overjoyed that Joe is dead, Furiosa and the wives are raised on a platform by the War Boys and allowed to open the water gates and rinse the people, Max stays below, he and Furiosa share a glance before he disappears into the crowd. Also starring X-Men: Days of Future Past's Josh Helman as Slit, John Howard as The People Eater, Iota as The Doof Warrior and Angus Sampsonas The Organic Mechanic. Hardy gives a magnetic performance as the man who only utters a few words, Theron with her shaved head is terrific, Hoult is unrecognisable as the pale and scarred freak, and the supporting cast all do very well also. The story is simple enough to keep up with, the special effects and makeup throughout is fantastic, and the chase sequences accompanied with over-the-top violence is exciting, it is a thrill ride you will absolutely want to get on, a brilliantly entertaining futuristic action adventure. It won the Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Production Design, and it was nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects, it won the BAFTAs for Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hair, and it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Special Visual Effects, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Very good!