A Visceral and Wonderfully Cinematic Experience

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2015)

The only exposure to the Mad Max franchise I had before this one was "Thunderdome," that piece of 80s hoo-hah that was all big hair and snarly performances. So I came into "Fury Road" fresh, with no expectations and no comparisons to make.
"Mad Max: Fury Road" is one of the most beautiful films I've seen in a long time. A strange claim to make about a film with such a dirty, grungy setting, peopled with characters out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare. But it is absolutely visually stunning and a reminder that beauty in film is about much more than pretty scenery and cinematography. George Miller and company turn this action film into a ballet that left me almost ecstatic with excitement and reminded me how infrequently I see a film that's truly cinematic and how much I love it when I do. The film is mostly one long sustained set piece that in the hands of a different director would become monotonous and boring, but not here. Stunt actors tumble, fly, crash, and swoop in and out of the frame while vehicular carnage is filmed with all the love of a romantic dance. There are narrative themes that tempt one to take the film more seriously than is probably wise -- beyond the obvious one of environmental crisis, the film evokes thoughts of the religious fundamentalism and tribal warfare plaguing the Middle East. But this movie is more about movement than anything else, and I was happy to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron are great at what they're asked to do, which is mostly grunt and kick butt. And if the makeup artists do not at least get nominated for an Academy Award for their work, there is no justice in Hollywood.
Grade: A