Fuel, Fire And Flame Throwing guitars

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2015)

Fury Road is the definitive sequel to Road Warrior that Thunderdome should have been.
The true star of the show are the vehicles. All of which are practical and built for the purpose of the film. And the world the survivors inhabit. The visual style and aesthetic is beautiful to behold. All of the characters are unique and well designed. CGI is minimal, reserved for the radioactive weather and a few shots when the road battles are taking place Even the story, which is more or less just a reworking of road warrior fused with Thunderdome but on a much bigger scale, is well executed too. The imagery and imagination behind it is fantastic. very inventive. The dialogue is pretty good too.
Hardy's Max? He's very subdued and underplayed here. He takes a back seat in this film. But the MM series was never really just about Max. He was just the relatable conduit into the post apocalyptic world for the viewer. So in that respect, it's definitely in keeping with the tone of the O.T. Hardy does a good job of conveying the tortured Max, but, I will always prefer Mel. One thing I disliked was the Batman voice Tom uses. Seems all films try to copy that, now. The Furiosa character, very strong female lead,, even tougher and ballsy than Max, She's the real hero of this movie. In one scene she almost kills Max twice. And if it wasn't for pure luck, she'd have killed him. There's a really great moment when Max wrestles the gun off her and he shows her that he too could have pulled the trigger, but doesn't. It's my fave part of the film. Max had her in a position where he could have killed her and taken the War Rig...But he was the bigger man. Refusing to kill, unlike the heroine. Who as no qualms about killing. Which shows that Max, despite his original quest for revenge, as grown, matured and evolved as a person, even though he is tormented, through his years in the post apocalyptic world.
The terminology used in the film is vintage MM. Phrases such as War Rig, War Boy, Half Life, Full Life, Mothers Milk, Gas Town etc. Max fans will recognise it and it fits perfectly with the world already established in the original films.
Compared to most Hollywood films I've seen in what?, oh, at least the last 5 years, it's a masterpiece. If there are flaws in it, I couldn't spot them.
I think what makes it a cut above the average Hollywood fodder that comes out now is the fact they got the original creator on board. George Miller, a guy who can actually write a 3 act script and ensure that it's directed properly. All the scenes are executed flawlessly, too. The pacing is spot on, none of the scenes or character interaction feels forced, and there is no fast cut edits, which give people headaches, it's just left to naturally unfold, as it were. There's no sloppy forced love sub plots here (well, there is a smallish one, one of the Breeder girls sort of gets the hots for one of the albino Half Life War Boys that falls into their company, who then sacrifices himself for them to escape at the end.
My one gripe, because, I need to find one, is that the main villain, who is the most original and unique villain of the whole MM universe, Immortan Joe (had to look that up on Wiki, thought it was "Immortal") at least in the way he looks, is killed off pretty easily at the end by Furiosa. That guy should have definitely been in the next movie, which has been confirmed by Miller to be in the pipeline.
And if that doesn't convince you to watch this film then I have three little words that will sway you to do so......
Flame Throwing Guitar.
Yes! A flame throwing guitar! And there's a war Drum vehicle that is a huge sub-woofer! And most amazingly, the vehicles are all real, built for the film. Outstanding design and workmanship in their realisation.
In closing, Fury Road is an excellent and well made addition to the Max universe. It fits perfectly alongside Road Warrior. In this age of rehashes, reboots, and rubbish CGI infested sequels and prequels, Fury Road is a cut above the rest. It's great just to see a film that actually just tells a three act story and is paced correctly. A piece of story telling that is well thought out, and executed on screen to pitch perfection. Don't be expecting The Lord of The Rings, plot wise, it's a simple tale, but just the fact it is done right, gives it an 8 out of 10 in my book.