Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max Fury Road is one of those films that will automatically catch you by surprise.  The opening shots of the film showcase a dessert land and Max (Tom Hardy) gazing off into the distance surveying the post-apocalyptic wasteland he inhabits before getting in his car an being chased and captured by a group of radiation poisoned bandits known as the War Boys.  Max is used as a “blood bag” to help purify the blood of the radiated bandits while they go on supply runs.  The first supply run we see Max go on is with Furiosa (Charlize Theron), she is the second in command to the War Boys leader Immorten Joe.  The supply run is not all that it seems and the journey that it takes both Max and Furiosa on is the genuine thrill of this film.

Almost 30 years after the last entry in the Mad Max franchise director George Miller returns to the dark and inventive world he built with Mad Max: Fury Road.  Miller’s story is fantastic because he never allows his audience to breathe once throughout the film’s two hour run time.  The contrasts of bright orange and tinted yellows for day scenes and blacks and sky blues for night scenes make this film a constant visual feast.

I came into Mad Max: Fury Road completely blank as I had never seen any of the previous three films that laid the ground work for the fourth entry in this remarkable unique series.  I have to admit half of the time I was watching the film I was more scared than invigorated by what I saw.  Every War Boys soldier is outfitted in a bizarre skeleton make up that signifies they are part of the War Boys tribe.  The speech of these character is clear but extremely frantic as if the entire army is high on speed or methamphetamine.  Those specific characters are truly frightening to see and if you add to that the semi often sped up frame rate of the action going on around the main characters I felt like I had been shot with an extremely high dose of adrenaline and told to sit still while I watched the story unfold before me.  Needless to say, the film is a very intense experience and not for those who cannot handle a quickly moving story or extremely faced paced action with bits of brutality thrown in.

The cast is exceptional in this film but what makes this film distinctly different from other action films is that while the title touts Max as the lead for this particular adventure the real protagonist is Furiosa.  She is the guiding force behind why people will care about this story.  Furiousa’s goal is to travel to a very distinct place and what happens along the way is what makes the film enjoyable.  Max is a supporting character in someone else’s story and while that’s not unusual it does give the audience an interesting way to look at the world Miller created.  Tom Hardy performance is decidedly mute due to events of previous films but when does get dialogue or action he excels.  The performance by Theron is in a word beautiful.  Theron’s Furiosa is vulnerable but incredibly intelligent and physically strong.  She is a survivor and her resilience is intoxicating.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a fascinatingly dark and emotion driven film that needs to be experienced to be believed.  George Miller’s apocalyptic vision will leave many coming back for more.  The only issue the film has is that it may be too fast and too intense for some.  I highly recommend audiences at least try the film.