If only we had Mel Gibson in this one!

Rating: 9/10 (15 November 2015)

Seems like whenever we get a Mad Max movie with the word "road" in the title, it's going to be great and also full of impressive action. I just finished watching the blu-ray version, along with a couple cool special features.
There is a kind of purity to this film. While it is a big-budget movie for large audiences, it doesn't make any compromises. It is not your typical Hollywood action movie. George Miller, in a way, took all the advantages of mainstream production capabilities but unlike so many others, he didn't fall into that stream himself. "Mad Max: Fury Road" knows exactly what kind of a movie it is, and doesn't apologize for it one bit.
"Mad Max: Fury Road" isn't deep. There is a simple story and a few somewhat emotional moments, but at its heart it's just pure chaos. Everything is crazy. Characters, vehicles, violence, stunts, camera drives, everything is absolutely crazy. It's not only chaos but controlled chaos, and it's magnificent. If this was an Indiana Jones movie, it would be a 2-hour version of the truck chase scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", pumped up with steroids and acid.
This movie looks beautiful. I'm not only talking about the wonderful design of all the crazy vehicles, weapons and clothes, but also the cinematography in general. Cameras are used exceptionally well, and the scenery is gorgeous. And just when you're getting tired of the orange color palette swallowing everything, you get half an hour of deep, calm blue. After seeing so many movies that try to attack my senses with excessive jump cuts, shaking cameras or horrifying color filters, all in the name of "visual storytelling", George Miller shows how it's really done. CGI is used just the way it should be - not to make the film, just complement it.
I have one gripe. Tom Hardy's Max. I usually like him, Tom Hardy is a very good actor, but I didn't buy him as Max at all. Either because it's hard for me to imagine anyone else playing him besides Mel Gibson, or because every time he spoke it sounded and felt weirdly fake. His facial expressions and mannerisms were alright at times, and I enjoyed him to some extent, but he took me out of the movie a couple times. I do realize that Max is always less of a character than the environment, crazy baddies and action itself, but I guess I was hoping for more.
While Max remains a little distant, Furiosa (Theron) and Nux (Hoult) are given more to work with. Charlize Theron is good, and she is the emotional heart of the film. She's not here to look pretty, but to play her part, and she nails it. Nicholas Hoult is clearly having a blast in his role, he is full of energy and adds that certain precious spark to the cast. I have always liked Hoult, now I like him even more.
What else could I say? Crazy characters in crazy vehicles chasing each other, someone playing electric guitar that spews fire and a few grannies with shotguns and rifles. If that didn't make you want to watch it, go see a doctor.