A well orchestrated orgy of chaos

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2015)

George Miller returns to the big stage proving that he's got a few tricks up his sleeve yet with "Mad Max: Fury Road". A monstrously bold 120-minute extravaganza with a road chase to end all road chases culminating in an explosive and thrilling final stretch. Miller clearly has a deep and comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the kinetics of cinema.
What he has displayed through this and previous Mad Max films are applications of the foundations of what is needed to sustain momentum, motion and fluidity of events within scenes. What is displayed in Fury Road is as basic as what was seen in a vast array of silent films.
Fury Road is no holds barred through and through. If you can submit to the unrelenting mayhem then I don't think you'll have a better time. I found myself at one stage thinking "There is a gigantic truck and on the back of it is a mountain of speakers with weird looking dude playing a flame throwing electric guitar. This is so awesomely weird that any argument I could make against it would be completely invalid"
That's not to say that I don't have criticisms the transitions between certain acts come off as cheap at times. Why don't you just cut instead of fading to black and then re-joining the action? The unstoppable insane action can come off as exhausting at times though there are plenty of respites to help mitigate this effect. The action moves forward so fast that some narrative elements and characters get lost in the mix. Some parts come off a bit trashier than others which leaned heavier into the realm of exploitation than I would have liked. These are only minor issues though.
Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, in particular, own their roles with well-choreographed and unique physicality. The stunt work is flawless, the action has precise clarity, the music from Junkie XL is heart pounding and fits well with the action, the anamorphic digital aesthetics are flawless with rich well-conceived desert night blues and scorching daylight oranges. Environmental factors and production issues meant that it took many years to bring this film to the big screen with Mel Gibson original set to reprise the titular role. You could tell that Miller has used every single one of those hiccups as an opportunity to retool and improve pre- production aspects of the film and gladly this has made for a much better viewing experience. This film does what its predecessors accomplished on the world building front while creating some brisk forward momentum simultaneously. It takes a lot of talent, effort, and imagination for a movie that is for the most part wall to wall action to get me to still reflect on it once it finishes.