Oh Max Where Have You Been? You've Been Sorely Missed.

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2015)

2015 is gearing up to be an interesting year for Hollywood. A couple of anticipated comic book movies as usual, a few remakes and reboots of course and finally the next instalment of the "Mad Max" franchise after 30 years of absence. We've all been anticipating it for too long, as a fourth in the series was to be released 8 years ago with Mel Gibson returning as the titular character. Unfortunately 9/11 happened and the Australian dollar collapsed, the Iraq War caused problems via travelling to Namibia and Gibson lost interest. After series creator George Miller finished the "Happy Feet" series, he finally returned to the project with five storyboard artists producing 3,500 art panels, a $150 million budget and then co-writing a script with 2000AD comic writer Brenan McCarthy, and Australian actor Nico Lathouris.
The world is an Apocalyptic wasteland, desert for miles and miles. Max (Tom Hardy) experiences lucid hallucinations of a troubling past, and is soon captured by a pale skinned cult ruled by the tyrannical leader King Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played the lead villain "Toecutter" in the original 1979 "Mad Max"). While off on a usual gasoline run, Joe's right hand woman Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), drives off course holding certain cargo that leads Joe and his assembled army to go after her with Max strapped on the hood of a car along for the ride. An epic chase ensues, with all the traps of the land and various gangs not so far behind.
What sets this apart from every other movie at the moment? Miller took particular influence from silent movies, 85% of the stunts are ALL practical and 480 hours of filmed footage has resulted in a 2 hour spectacle that delivered way beyond what I ever expected. For all the trailers we've seen with Giuseppe Verdi's music blaring out loud, the level of Punk in this movie is far beyond anything Hollywood has produced in years and surprisingly more violent than your average 15 rated feature (Even when it's off camera). It was like a mix between an old John Waters and Alejandro Jodorowsky picture, and recent Japanese extreme cinema was the only modern comparison I can think of (Something Miller wanted to somewhat approach).
Tom Hardy is our new Max and does fine work as always, though he somewhat plays a supporting character rather than a leading role this time. Max to me has always sort of represented the everyman rising to the situation, and I'm already enthusiastic should Tom return to the character again. Charlize Theron somewhat stole the show for me (Which has led to some hilarious Anti-feminist responses from "men"), and really was every bit as strong as they made her character out to be. Nicholas Hoult's character was surprisingly charming, and no other actor or actress turned in a bad performance. The criticism I would have is that while Hugh Keays-Byrne turned in a good performance, the villain wasn't particularly imposing, memorable or even felt threatening (A discount "Lord Humungous" from Mad Max 2, if you will).
I admit to having a weakness when it comes to the "Mad Max" franchise, because I have surprisingly enjoyed all of them but never really experienced them for the acting or even the cars. I simply am a lover of Punk, and I adore the outlandish style over substance Miller has crafted and exaggerated as time goes on. While "Fury Road" has made improvements over the predecessors, I still only saw a movie of style over substance. The blue-orange colour scheme was gorgeous, music by Junkie XL was suitable and the stunt work was so phenomenal it made me remember why I loved these movies so much. Miller stated in an interview that "Fury Road" contains 2,700 cuts over two hours (Apparently that's 22.5 cuts per minute), and while it all adds to this movies fast one of a kind style, some of the clarity in the stunt work is sacrificed as a result (Studio movies gotta look like a studio movie).
Final Verdict: When all is said and done, Mad Max came back with a large budget and I fell in love with it all over again instantly. While "The Road Warrior" remains my favourite of the bunch, this certainly ain't your daddy's Mad Max. Gone are the desires for gas and bullets, this one somewhat deals with human trafficking and surprisingly remained refreshing, new and somewhat nostalgic. Loud and furious, when the credits rolled I wanted to stay in the seat and watch it again and again. "What a lovely day" indeed. 10/10.