High Octane Insanity - An Absolute Blast!

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2016)

As of now, I have never seen the Mel Gibson/Mad Max film series. I knew of them, growing up, but didn't know much beyond Mel Gibson, the word Thunderdome, and Tina Turner having a role in one of the films (which I have since learned was the aforementioned Thunderdome). I had zero interest in the news that there was a new film coming from George Miller but the trailer and the onslaught of positive reviews got me curious enough that I found myself in the theater for FURY ROAD. And, wow, it was as nuts as everyone said. Sadly, I still haven't gone back to check out the Gibson series but now I'm anxious to do so. Still, I went in to this movie blind, knowing only the main character's name (obviously) and that he drives a sweet looking car through the desert. FURY ROAD didn't care; it gave me all the information a newbie like me needs to get caught up and enjoy the craziness. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is a loner, drifting through the post-apocalyptic wasteland, apparently trying to avoid getting caught up in all the end-of-the-world lunacy since he's had a few too many close acquaintances die on his watch. It's ruined within moments of the film's opening when he's chased down and captured by a party of War Boys from the nearby Citadel, a desert oasis set inside a massive rock formation that's ruled through cruelty by Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). When Furiosa (Charlize Theron), one of Joe's prized Imperators, betrays him, Max sees his opportunity to get out.
FURY ROAD is insane; it's nearly two hours of mind-blowing action and car chases. We spend the first half or so of the movie on a massive car chase into the desert and the second half on a massive car chase back, with a few pauses at the very beginning and the middle for straight exposition. With no context, that sounds absolutely horrible: just two straight hours of guns and explosions and cars flipping and revving engines. On the contrary, George Miller (and this is where I feel he got robbed on the Best Director loss at the Academy Awards) tells a coherent, engaging story in a world that, while it is still Earth, is near unrecognizable to our own. I don't know what Immortan means. Or Imperator. But it's not important because I learn enough from film that I'm not bogged down with questions. Immortan Joe is the villain; Furiosa was some sort of lieutenant. She hates his guts and formulates an escape plan where she can steal his five beloved wives and they'll all run away together to this mystical "green place" where they can live happily ever after. Fortunately, Max becomes involved and uses his skills at murdering people awesomely to help them on their quest. You would generally assume movies of nonstop action to be mindless spectacles (*cough* Michael Bay *cough*) but Miller never forgets that an action movie is still a movie, and movies tell stories that will draw audiences in. In that sense, this isn't really a "Mad Max" movie
Furiosa is, to me, the actual protagonist of FURY ROAD. It's her journey. Her mission. We sympathize with her; we cheer her on. Max is just along for the ride. But that isn't to cheapen Tom Hardy's role in the movie. Hardy does a fantastic job with a character who's motivations are delivered through haunting flashes of memories and who's main form of communication is monosyllabic utterances. He is a major supporting role in FURY ROAD but this is Furiosa's show 100% and Charlize Theron nails it. Really, everyone does. No one in this movie is giving less than 110%, cast and crew alike. Even Rosie Huntington-Whitely, whom I've only ever seen flashing skin in the third TRANSFORMERS movie, proves that she can do wonders with the right material. She can act! If only certain other directors utilized her as more than eye candy (*cough* Michael Bay *cough*). Enough of the cast, though. Seriously, the action in this movie is bonkers. And there's none of that shaky- cam, "can't tell what's going on" camera style here. We're talking wide shots, full view, of practical stunts with metal beasts. There's a reason FURY ROAD won pretty much all of the production awards for which it was nominated. This movie looks amazing. The stunts are amazing. The cast are amazing. And it's a total blast to watch. If I would muster one complaint, it's that the movie pauses oh-so-briefly in the middle to let us catch our breath. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD was the biggest surprise in 2015 and a must-watch for all.