an action movie that stays with you

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2015)

Mad Max was really fun. Could probably have benefited from some more editing to improve the pacing though. They could have easily cut 15 minutes or so. i watched fury road earlier & it was a god damned THRILLRIDE.
really loved mad max. seeing the most recent trailer before another movie recently, i was sure this thing was gonna suck. and starting off, i thought the action in the 1st act was encroaching on emotionless bling, à la lightsaber fever. (i'm blaming that now on the 3D, but i will watch again to be sure. the 3D did enhance many areas later on.) but soon enough they started injecting the characters with life, and we were off. i say it all the time, but once a movie has me caring about it's people, i'm able to achieve suspension of disbelief and take the ride i'm supposed to take.
this latest version of the mad max universe was a masterful combination of the classic films and some creative new ideas. the mythology really entertained me and has me wanting to become a bigger fan of the series. i will definitely watch the original trilogy again. i had just watched them in 2014 but thanks to this film its time to go back already and really soak in as much of the mythos as possible. fury road has created a fanboy here.
the picture was photographically beautiful. i'll enjoy looking at all that again in the near future. lots to marvel at. but also cinematically there were great things going on. moments in the big road battles were actually breathtaking, and the retro zooms and framerate speeds added the perfect touch that both paid tribute to the classics and added to the manic feel of the movie.
i had also heard about the feminist interpretations of this film and i was not disappointed. this was my favorite charlize theron role ever. and the way they sort of deflated the cliché hero archetype to create this max was much appreciated here. i realize he wasn't super human in the originals either, but here we have a character who goes lower than anti-hero into pitiful territory. it's welcome in an age where we seem addicted to writing nauseatingly "safe" men in lead roles. the risk is taken here that max will not be idolized or even identified with by a large percent of the male population, and thats a refreshing change of pace.