Road Rage

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2015)

(Rating: ☆☆☆ out of 4)
This film is recommended.
In brief: As reboots go, the crash-and burn crowd will love this epic state-of-the-art film. Others, not so much.
GRADE: B
The good news about our bleak future is that even with the limited amount of water and gas, our vehicles will not be gas-guzzlers, will never overheat, and can get at least 200 miles per gallon. Earth may be a wasteland, but you can still get around pretty well. Survival is within one's grasp for the most fast and furious of us all. So throw that logic to the wayside and put your pedal to the metal for George Miller's reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road. (It's the only way you can survive this onslaught of heavy metal.)
There's a lot of sound and fury (but not much plot) in the wild steam-punk extravaganza called The CGI and stunt work are jaw-dropping. Shall we say...to the Max? And there is more demolition and destruction per minute than most action films this days as director George Miller brings back his Mad Max saga with a vengeance.
Yes, the crash-and burn crowd will have found nirvana with this action thriller, with its big rigs and even bigger wheels, fast motorcycles, and super muscle cars. Other moviegoers looking for more story and substance need not apply.
As for me, my feeling were decidedly mixed. I felt somewhat uninvolved with the resulting mayhem on the screen, yet was in awe of the spectacle. Expectations were high for this film, and the film delivers with the non-stop action sequences so unrelenting and well staged. Production values are top-notch all the way. Still a nagging sense of the unfulfilled lingered throughout my movie-going experience. The actors do a credible enough job, especially Charlize Theron. The budget is bigger and one action scene easily tops the next in a giddy childlike craving for more thrills. Had I somehow outgrown the absurd nonsense of the post- apocalyptic future and become desensitized to the carnal violence from years of viewing other action thrillers of the same ilk? Why didn't I get more pleasure from this new and so-called improved version? It is what it is.
While visually satisfying for the eye, the mind has no such engagement. Exposition and dialog are at a minimum. The non-existent plot is never fully explained. (There is virtually no deep revenge motive as in the original source. No time for real emotion to be on display; just plenty of car crashes and violent killings.) The whole film is just our anti-hero Max escaping one perilous situation from the next mindless chase scene, albeit stunningly filmed and choreographed.
In retrospect, the colorful characters are pale comparisons to Mel Gibson and his cronies. The actors are not at fault; it's the script which sacrifices character development for bigger adrenal-pumped stunts. Tom Hardy takes over the Mad Max role and his interpretation is less sexual cool and more brutish retro hero who speaks in his low raspy voice and grunts his dialog. He is still effective in the role, but he downplays the character to the point of irrelevance and keeps his emoting at bay when the opposite acting choice would have had more impact on the movie-going audience. One rarely empathizes with this updated Max wannabe. Ms. Theron actually has the more showier role as Imperator Furiosa, a female rogue warrior. The actress makes the most of it with her gonzo crazed look, buzz cut and metal arm, and her macho posturing. She brings woman empowerment to another level with her Amazonian crew along for the ride. (Let's here it for the girls!) In fact, Theron's character has more screen presence and steals the film from under Max's grip.
Also helping to keep things in motion are Nicholas Hoult as Nux, who plays a psycho sidekick and rightfully overdoes his madness. Hugh Keays-Bryne as Immortan Joe, brings real menace to his villainous one-note role.
The director's work remains solid, even if his script (along with Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris) lacks any real depth. Miller once again captures the surreal qualities from his earlier trilogy and masterfully handles the non-stop action. His use of hyper movement contrasting with slow motion imagery heightens the tension and adds a poetic spin to his vision of scorched vistas and its zombie-like inhabitants. The film is stunning reproduced with all its pyrotechnics and razzle-dazzle. There is an epic beauty about it all. Kudos to the stark production design by Colin Gibson, the frenetic editing by Margaret Sixel and the atmospheric photography by John Seale, all contributing greatly to Miller's absurd world.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a mad exhausting romp to the dark side. Hell never looked so good.
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