One of the Greatest Films I have Ever Seen; I Dare You to see Otherwise

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2015)

Max is not so much a character as a figure, a myth. Kinda like James Bond, only with more in-universe justification. If Batman was a moviegoer, he would likely sing this movie's praises as if it were an angel that brought his parents back. It is thus not an issue that Mel Gibson is replaced by Tom Hardy. They are simply two faces to the myth of the desert known as Mad Max. Hardy delivers an admirable performance. Though he is not the main character, his starting monologue sets the tone for the film and his grunts and groans and occasional line propel it onwards through the adrenaline-soaked landscape.
And what a stunning landscape it is. Miller's filters make the desert a bright orange and the sky a deep, sapphire blue. At night, everything is covered by a thick deep-sea-blue fog that perfectly fits with the barrenness of the desert. Oh what a film. What a lovely film it is indeed. It is a piece of poetry in fire and blood and dirt and cars and dystopian and hope and redemption. There is a scene in the first third of the movie in which they go into a dust storm. As Imperator Furiosa, the true main character and the showstealer from all accounts that seek to be considered reasonable, drives towards it, you are awestruck. Not as an exaggeration or a figure of speech; you are literally struck with awe. It ripples through your veins and sends your heart beating out of your chest and into the air of the theatre or living room in which you watch it. You are certain that this can't be topped, that they can't show you anything better than this.
You are wrong. As they enter the dustcloud, you can see that this is not any kind of normal storm. There is lightning and tornadoes. You look into the pure heart of chaos and see that it is one of the most beautiful, most deadly, most arcane, most fantastic things you have ever seen, in film or otherwise. And that is only the setting. The action here, in no terms the ultimate highlight of all the action that takes place throughout the movie, involves cars burning up and getting thrown into the winds. It involves chases that would make even a typically-accomplished action filmmaker hold their breath. And then the dust blows over and the main characters emerge, alive but covered in sand. Perhaps for the first time, they know what they're in for. And so do you.
This is one of the most beloved movies in the country as I write this. As well it should be. Everyone has that one moment when they knew that this wasn't just going to be another action movie, that it wasn't even just going to be another Mad Max movie. This was going to be something grand, something monumental, something that would be studied and respected and learned from for decades.
Miller himself has been at it for decades. I have been born and raised in the lull between the last Mad Max movie and this one. But if this is what twenty-five years of waiting and learning and making Happy Feet Two gets you, then I would recommend it to anyone. This isn't just a mind-blowing film if you come into it not knowing what to expect. It is inherently a mind-blowing film. It carries such through its very essence. But it is even more than that, perhaps far more.
This is the movie that Miller always wanted to make. When he made those other Mad Max movies, as fantastic and thrilling and immersive as they were, he was always thinking of this. This is the magnum opus of one of the greatest action filmmakers in history. If I went to an alien civilization and was asked to show them a Mad Max movie, this is the one I would show. If they asked for an action movie, this is the one I would show.
The cinematography stuns. You feel as spent as the characters when the film finishes. The soundtrack fits so well that I can hardly dare to call it a soundtrack. Soundtracks play repeatedly on video game levels when you are taking a break to drink a soda. This music is the natural essence of the film played out to a sonar format. As a whole, the film is what I'd call a symphony if it was more perfect and restrained and classical. As it is, it's more like one glorious rock opera played out to the arms of the masses.
That is not even to mention the angles and shots they conjure up. There are many thoughts that lay dormant in my mind of what a movie could do but hasn't yet. This two-hour chasefest filled perhaps more of them than any other film. It accomplishes what could only be before thought of in the realm of imagination, from subtle touches to entire action sequences. Miller is a virtuoso.
I have compared these films to Miyazaki's works. If so, then this film is Mononoke or Spirited Away. A defining work that leaves all others in the sand. It races ahead day and night through the desert, sometimes looking for a purpose, sometimes looking for redemption, sometimes just looking.
Is it the best film ever? Maybe not. But it is the most adrenaline-fueled, a unique decision that is handled well and makes the pauses mean only the more. It is one of the greatest films of the decade and its characters and ideas (thunderpoon, anyone) will live for eternity. Action can be understood by all. Great action speaks to all. Superb action puts all on a high from which you will not permanently egress.
See you in Valhalla.