Not the revolution some are saying, still a great action movie

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2015)

I'm going to say it right now: this is one of the greatest ACTION movies I have ever seen. It had amazing car chases, exhilarating hand-to-hand fight sequences, with some of the most realistic choreography I've ever seen, and it even took time to tell a story. Though not in the typical way (tons of exposition in dialogue, painfully boring cliché romance etc.)
If you're going to review a movie, I don't think it's fair to start with comparing it to another. You have to look at what the movie sets out to do, and how well it pulls it off. Mad Max: Fury Road does nearly everything right. The action is exhilarating, the cinematography is beautiful (no shaky cam and stunning visuals) and even the characters are given proper depth through their actions. Some of it is, admittedly, easy to miss, like one of the girls carrying a music box, and some of the characters might feel bland as a result (at least if you haven't read the comics.) But if you re-watch the movie and pay attention to the things happening in the background, you will see that every single character is reacting to what is happening on the screen in their own way. This is what drives this movie. It's the interactions, expressions and the delivery of the lines that builds the characters individually, and I applaud the movie for not treating the audience like idiots.
Action is, as already stated, fantastic. The stunt-work is some of the best I've ever seen, and Tom Hardy is wonderful at fight choreography. It might not have shown in The Dark Knight Rises, but it definitely shines through here with how he throws himself around during the fight scenes. The costumes and make-up (all hand-crafted of course) makes it all feel real and authentic. And the vehicles. The vehicles... As a huge petrol-head, I was blown away by how much effort they put into building these machines. They help the movie build an impression, despite the fact that some of them are a bit too big and too excessive for the environment. However, the movie does try to explain the more insane ones, and does a reasonable job at it.
The plot is lackluster, but Mad Max never tried to tell a deep story. The story is just there so that our characters have something to do while the world is built around them. I must say though, that the movie does get themes right. There are themes like betrayal, loneliness, depression, fear, stress, anger and even desperation in this movie, all told through the visuals of course. There is one scene where one of our characters breaks down and lets loose a scream. This scene is very well filmed and is slightly heartbreaking, and is made even better by the acting. The themes I mentioned are pretty much all explored here in this half a minute long scene.
Overall, I don't see why nobody acknowledges why this movie is great. Sure, it's not the greatest movie ever, but it does do a lot of things right. It tells a story about good characters through amazing action and visuals.
It's not a 10, it's DEFINITELY not a 1-4, it rests in the 6-9 area. For me it's definitely an 8. Good job, team.