Mad Max: Fury Road

Rating: 10/10 (18 May 2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road is exactly what I expected from a prequel/reboot of the Mad Max saga: action from the beginning to the end, with a dense emotional core which brings substance to the chases and creates interest for the laconic characters who say little but express a lot. Mad Max: Fury Road basically consists on a 120-minute chase, in which the vehicles rarely stop; however, the perfect screenplay creates a fascinating dramatic arc for the main characters, offering them emotional moments which end up being as memorable as the magnificent action sequences. Some examples: Max's "thumbs up", the bag of seeds, an old lady's hussy smile... they are very brief details, but their accumulated impact makes the film hugely more satisfactory than other blockbusters full of special effects. What takes me to the amazing chases and stunts from Mad Max: Fury Road. Director George Miller has wide experience with these frantic chases through Australian outback (even though they were shot in the Namibia desert this time), having made the three previous Mad Max films. However, it is possible that, until now, thanks to the invisible fusion of digital effects and practical stunts, Miller could finally translate what he had imagined many years ago... and the result is truly extraordinary, not only due to the explosions, body-machine combats and exuberant vehicles design, but also because of the beautiful cinematography and absolute clarity in the flow of the action and the development of car battles... even though we might have to call them otherwise, because the only "automobile" recognizable as such is Max's Interceptor; all the other vehicles are insane mechanical frankensteins, each one of them more bizarre than the previous one... and even like that, beautiful in their twisted primordial aesthetic. And then, we have the excellent performances. It can be said that the authentic leading role belongs to Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, with Tom Hardy in the supporting role of Max, but I don't see the point of establishing hierarchies; their characters are equally essential to the narrative, and their perfect performances immediately capture us into their adventures (and dis-adventures). Hugh Keays-Byrne brings an appropriately grotesque attitude to the villain, and I also liked the performances from Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton and Zoë Kravitz; on the beginning, they seem to be employed as mere "eye candy", but eventually, the actresses make those characters feel like credible human beings with well defined personalities, something which hooks us even more into the narrative and makes this "2-hour chase" a genuine tale of freedom and personal redemption... not to mention the strong feminist subtext which is apparently bothering some people. I don't understand them, but they are entitled to their opinion. In conclusion, Mad Max: Fury Road is a violent and somber movie, but with abundant spirit and humanity which compensate the cruelty of post-apocalyptic life. This is definitely one of the best films I have seen in recent years, not only because of the action and the characters, but also because it triumphantly re-establishes a fascinating world, which is simultaneously simple in its needs and complex in its evolution. I hope Mad Max: Fury Road earns the necessary money to make the planned sequels become reality; there is a lot of dramatic material to justify them. Besides, I need more doses of visual poetry with claws and a flamethrower which never runs out of fuel.