Mad Max: Fury Road

Warner Bros.

Walking out of the theater after watching Mad Max: Fury Road, my brother, commenting on what he had just witnessed, says “that was probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” While I can’t say it’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, it certainly one of the more bizarrely manic, action packed blockbusters I have seen. With Fury Road, George Miller returns the to the Mad Max world he created decades ago. This time around though, Tom Hardy steps in as the title character with Charlize Thereon by his side but it is Miller that garnishes most of the attention as he destroys any "out-of-touch" thoughts or comments with this latest installment. Mad Max: Fury Road is as bizarre and loony as it is billed and equally matched with careful construction and engaging ideas.

Using basically the same back story as the Mel Gibson filled role from the past, Fury Road’s Max (Tom Hardy) was once an officer of the law in Australia but now struggles to stay sane in an apocalyptic civilization that has gone completely mad. As a result of this type of atmosphere, as heard in voice over or seen in frequent flashbacks, Max is haunted by the death of his daughter. In the film’s opening scene, Max fails to escape the madness as he is captured by what are referred to as War Boys, extremely pale skinned, unhealthy soldiers for cult leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).

Meanwhile, as the War Boys are returning to the Immortan Joe ruled compound-like fortress with Max, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is departing in War Rig, a large extremely durable vehicle used to transport gasoline. When Furiosa takes a left, straying off the usual path, the war boys along with neighboring communities must stop her from going any further. Used as a blood donor or "blood bag" for ill War Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult), Max, strapped on to the front of a fast moving vehicle, must also go along.

While Max is forced to get into the madness for the majority of the film when violently confronted, he is otherwise rather reserved, saying few words as he attempts to battle the madding thoughts within. When this type of Max is on screen, the audience is reminded that the right guy is filling the role. Sure, Tom Hardy can deliver a line in the most charismatic of ways (Inception or Bronson) but here he proves, if he hadn’t already, that he is just as entertaining when taking a non-verbal route.

The insanity that takes over the screen, comes in the form of the War Boys and everything else that share the same motives. The War Boys, more creature-like than human, solidly represent the product of a desolate and mentally taxing world that pushes you to be in the most madding and manic of states in order to survive as every word they utter, though hard to understand at times, is nobly stated and always seems aimed at the task at hand.

In a film like Fury Road though, when the spectacle and strangeness are blended together to create something entirely off the wall bonkers, the bizarreness of the War Boys takes a back seat at times. Of course Immortan Joe is a sight to be seen but thoughts of "what exactly am I watching?" will flood the mind when a man chained to a large vehicle plays a fire-spitting guitar along with contraptions that give stunt a new meaning quickly grab your attention.

But even through all this, Miller is still able to add depth and real weight to it all. Miller’s chaotic approach represents a lot more than just a well done, action packed summer flick. The constant motion, explosion heavy, urgent and desperate atmosphere present in Fury Road’s action sequences may be fascinating to watch but it is their collective meanings and themes that make them all the better. Survival and how these sequences matches the fight that comes with it is clear but Millers story digs a bit deeper to reach a more personal level.

This comes in the form of the five wives and Furiosa. With Immortan Joe’s cult, there are classification groups that individuals are put in. Max is a part of the blood donor group but there is also a breeding group that consist of the five wives of Immortan Joe, headlined by a pregnant Angharad (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley). These five women along with Furiosa represent the pursuit for a better life for not just them, but their children as Furiosa attempts to take them to a better place, her childhood home. What they must go through to get there, fighting off the forces of Immortan Joes’s, symbolizes how brutally intense and difficult this pursuit can be with imagery accompanying it that is absolutely phenomenal at times.

What Miller’s approach does more than anything is make it clear that escaping madness is one dangerous ride. Whether it be through Max or others, redemption and starting anew in a completely hopeless world is no easy task. Miller just happens to make this statement while also creating a visually striking experience at the cinemas. Even though it may run just a bit long, dragging in the middle at times, Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the few action films in recent memory that matches, at an extreme level I might add, its genre with its message, only aiding each other in the process.

Grade: B

Review written by Brad Shawgo. Visit his blog, ShawGoesToTheMovies, for more great film reviews and movie posts.

Published on 6/8/2015 9:07:40 PM