2015 seemed to be filled with iconic franchises
making returns. Moviegoers will be treated to the fourth installment to the
Jurassic Park franchise later this summer; while the Star Wars Saga continues
with The Force Awakens later this
year. However, the franchise in question does not deal with dinosaurs or the
force, but rather an apocalyptic world where fuel drives people to the brink of
insanity. The series I speak of is none other than Mad Max. Since the 70's,
director George Miller has brought the tales of Mad Max to the silver screen and
many moviegoers have come to know the action trilogy. Now the fourth
installment, Mad Max: Fury Road, has
arrived in theaters with George Miller once again in the director's chair.
Personally I feel that this series has been daunting and inconsistent, so I
could not help but be skeptical for this new installment. So when walking into
the theater, the question on my mind was could Fury Road make this naysayer into a believer?
This new film stars Tom Hardy as Max. Max finds
himself a prisoner of the warlord Imortan Joe (Hugh Keyes-Byrne). However Max
is not a prisoner for long as Joe and his men chase Furiosa (Charlize Theron):
a driver who abducts Joe's brides in order to free them. Max finds himself alongside
Furiosa and the unlikely allies must work together as they lead a group trying
to survive their pursuers.
Fury Road's plot is straightforward
as a story can get. It does not take long to get into the main premise and the
conflict to the plot is fairly simple. Yet while the structure was simplistic,
that was not to say the movie's concept were not effective as the plot was
commanded by the movie’s world. Thanks to this idea’s implemented in this film,
the crazed world of Mad Max was able
to shine through. The end result to Fury
Road’s story was an exciting and intriguing adventure that seemed to be a perfect
fit for this action franchise.
It is not easy for an actor to bring a new factor
to an established character, but I feel that Tom Hardy's Max was just as good
as his predecessor Mel Gibson. Max was very much a silent warrior in this film
and the story was not solely directed on Max's development. I found this to be
an interesting direction for the protagonist as it made Max into an outsider
looking in; which made sense for the character. Alongside Max was Charlize
Theron as Furiosa. Though her development was a tad on the standard side, Furiosa
was indeed a strong character and Theron's performance was fantastic. Together
Hardy and Theron made for perfect leads this crazy movie.
The supporting characters may not have stolen the
show, but they were effective. The brides of Imortan Joe turned out to be interesting
oppose just being background characters. Nicolaus Hoult had a solid performance
as the mad follower Nux. While he was crazy, the development of Nux surprised
me and the role allowed Hoult to show his versatility. While Imortan Joe was
not the most interesting movie villain, he was still effective as he (along
with his followers) had a certain method to their madness.
The action to Mad
Max: Fury Road is likely the thing viewers will take away from this movie,
and that is certainly not a bad thing. Fury Road's action was beautifully
executed and had a sense of variety to it. Whether it was a chase scene or a
fight sequence, there was indeed an attention of detail to the action element.
The cinematography was also something to behold. There was creative use of
color in film’s shots and it allowed Mad Max's concepts to be that more
effective. The movie's editing was good, but it could be questionable at times.
Though it did not hinder the film, some of the shots and effects used in the
movie were a bit disconcerting; like using a white flash when someone got hit
and having crazy zooms to characters’ faces. Rounding out the technical elements
to the movie was its score. While the music may not be the best soundtrack this
year, Junkie XL’s score was very much fitting to the world of Mad Max as it had a crazed sound to it.
For someone who is not a fan of Mad Max, I must take my hat off to Fury Road. For the first time in this
series, I found the ideas to be insane; which exactly what I should feel with a
franchise called Mad Max. Plus
factors such as story and characters were engaging and kept intrigued
throughout the entire two hours. Where this movie will stand with the rest of
the 2015 lineup is hard to say, but I will not deny that Mad Max: Fury Road was
a surprise as this crazy adventure is definitely a blockbuster worth seeing.
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