At one point, I was a little worried about this particular movie. Not only is it another entry of Mad Max, not only has it been 30 years since the last one but also being written, produced and directed by George Miller. If we learned anything, directors returning to movie series that put them on the map in the first place usually end up with underwhelming results (George Lucas with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Steven Spielberg with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Ridley Scott with Prometheus). Remember how the trailers would look spectacular and too good to be true but eventually being huge letdowns? However, that trend has now been broken because George Miller has made an insane action masterpiece!
The movie is a reboot of the series, with Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson as our troubled hero Max Rockatansky. Rather than start from the very beginning in typical reboot fashion, it already establishes Max’s wife and child were killed and he’s been surviving this 
chaotic post-apocalyptic world. He gets captured early on by the War Boys, a pale skinned gang led by Immorton Joe (played by only returning Mad Max cast member, Hugh Keays-Byrne). He is in charge of a kingdom known as the Citadel, as he controls the people and major water supply. Though Furiosa (Charlize Theron) has her own agenda; taking Joe’s five brides away and taking them to the green place. This results Joe giving chase and Max (and the audience) along with the wild ride. That’s pretty much it from there; a roller-coaster ride that barely slows down. The world of Fury Road is wildly creative with the production and costume design. It all feels Max has been transported to Dante’s Inferno, as there’s even an intense escape sequence before the main title shows up. Miller never gives any exposition to who or what is going on on-screen.
Tom Hardy is a great replacement, bringing the Max we all have grown familiar but also bringing his own interpretation that doesn’t result being an imitation. He’s almost like a wild animal, just making his way through and looking out for himself. Though even he is not so far from being insane as everyone else. He often has hallucinations of his family, mostly from a little girl. Keays-Byrne is impressively threatening as Immorton Joe. Fuelled by pursuing his belongings as if he’d lose everything (including his sanity) if they ever get far from his grasp. The inventive ventilator collar adds to his bonkers costume design, including a see-through body armour. Though the ones who steal the spot-light are the women, including Theron’s Furiosa. They are far from the damsels in distress or completely written as being illogical (I’m looking at you Anastasia Steele and Bella Swan!) It’s also saying something that most of the women in this movie are the sane ones. The brides may not be warriors but they will do the damn hardest to actually do something to prevent from anything bad happening. Everyone is aiming for something, whether it’s simply to survive, gain back something or even head somewhere better. Even Nux (Nicholas Hoult) is given a bit of an arc, something he slowly but eventually realises his full potential. The movie may be an action movie on its surface but it has a bit of humanity in its core and also heart on its sleeve.
As said before, the movie is completely bonkers but it is beautifully bat-shit insane! It’s one of those situations where I would describe something from the film and it will give you an idea what kind of ride you’ll be going on. For example; there’s one character where he wears a red onsie but is standing on a bunch of towering sound-speakers and plays an electric guitar. . . . that also acts as a flamethrower. Even character names will also give you an idea what you’re walking into, such as The People Eater and The Bullet Farmer. John Seale even came out of retirement to help shoot this movie. His experience on shooting in desert settings in The English Patient may have been useful but he brings it to a whole new level. The action sequences are easy to follow but shot in a way that’s more intense and satisfying to watch than any action movie nowadays. You actually get worried when our heroes are close to death’s door (unlike Fast & Furious series where lead characters can survive anything, even ramming to an oncoming car).
Overall: 30 years waiting for the return of Mad Max and it was worth it! George Miller finally unleashes his crazy vision and never holds back. The cast is excellent and the action is breath-taking! Easily one of the best movies of the year and going to be hard to top this from being movie of the summer. J.J. Abrams, don’t let us down with The Force Awakens!
5 out of 5!
The movie doesn’t waste any time setting things up (if you haven’t been following the events from previous movies, good luck) and we’re straight into our first big action set-piece. It may feel a little rushed at times but it all flows seamlessly together. The whole MCU is already established at this point, though the few scenes where it takes a break from the action is one of the highlights. The entire cast fits into their characters like a glove, fully adjusting to their roles that we’ve been following since 2008. It completely shows their camaraderie as working in a team, as what made The Avengers such a treat to watch. Their witty banter and emotional connection are probably one of the most compelling moments in this movie (especially a running gag with Rogers and the team). We’re even given more back-story to Barton and Romanoff, which fleshed out their characters in a huge way than before. Both Maximoff twins are a welcome addition, giving Avengers an extra challenge to tackle. Wanda uses her hypnosis to bring out the team’s fears, thus adding a human layer to their characterisation.There are a few additional characters put into the mix (Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue to name one of many and antagonist for future Black Panther film) and may feel a little much to take all in but you tend to go along with the ride. Though it’s James Spader who steals the spot-light and he’s the most charismatic and intimidating villain since Loki. His introduction is undeniably gripping and quite spine-chilling with his speech towards the Avengers. He observes the world with childlike perception, slowly growing incredibly intellectual but also persistent on bringing total destruction on a global scale.
themselves, and you can clearly see that struggle to try balance the two. Though it does work for the most part and it’s all down to McConaughey being cast as the lead. He has certainly been having a huge career change and this film is no exception. If Mud, Dallas Buyers Club and True Detective proved anything, it is that he can be just as involving as he is likeable in his rom-com days. His craving to venture to the unknown is pretty much anyone’s curiosity and makes his motivation to help his family (and the human race) somewhat relatable. Even McConaughey delivers an incredibly emotional performance in one particular scene as he’s watching video messages of his children growing older. If Gravity showed that working in space is no fun and games, Interstellar shows us that space travel is not all that fun as Star Trek likes to make us believe (or wants us to). Especially dealing with relativity; every hour they spend, 7 years have passed on Earth (similar to The Forever War). The stand-out performance has to be character of Murph, played brilliantly by Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain. She is the emotional core of the movie and drives the narrative forward.
Nick, from police, neighbours and even talk show hosts. Though as the story progresses, we cut back to diary entries from Amy herself. Giving two completely different perspectives and asking ourselves; who is telling the truth?
