Mad Max: Fury Road *review*

Mad Max: Fury Road

Grease, Guts and Guns are the three best words I can think of to describe the latest installment in the Mad Max Franchise, ok so it’s closer to Cars, Explosions and Female protagonists but I like the alliteration so it stays.  Fury Road delivers everything you would come to expect from a major apocalyptic sci-fi story about road worriers and desert tanks, and it is a beautiful sight to behold.  The film feels like it was lifted straight from the 80’s as if the film industry had never missed a beat in creating fun memorable action/adventure films.

What’s really impressive is how incredibly well Mad Max lends its self to modern cinema. The blending of plot and modern effects is practically seamless as if Mad Max had been waiting all these years for technology to catch up with it so it could show all the crazy things it was always meant to show and now where demonstrates this better then the setting.  Despite taking place in a desert backdrop the settings are breathtaking making you feel apart of some far away and exotic world that you can’t wait to see more of.  On the smaller scale the props used in the movie were also

wonderfully larger than life fitting the fun over the top acting provided by the many of the main cast.

There is one black cloud hovering over the film however, where Mad Max: Fury Road excels in visuals it lacks in actual story.  The film essentially boils down to a very long and involved car chase in which our titular character is given second billing in his own movie. Max really doesn’t do much and one of his most hardcore moments happens off screen much to my disappointment.  There’s also nothing especially meaningful or deep about this movie so don’t expect to be pondering the mysteries of life or contemplating the injustices of social class segregation, I mean you could but that’s really giving the movie more credit than it deserves.  But in the end that’s ok, because that’s not why you go see a Mad Max movie.  You go see a Mad Max movie to watch crazy people blow each other up to obtain water and gasoline and blow themselves up they do.

The best part of Mad Max: Fury Road is the overall feel of the movie. At no point does it take itself too seriously or try to tone down all the wild stunts and characters that are being thrown at you.  Once the movie starts it never stops and for the first time in forever I felt like that 10 year old kid again, sitting in the front row as the movies become awesome again.  Fury Road makes no apologize for the kind of film it is and it’s never for a moment dull. this high octane thrill ride will keep you on the edge of your seat till the very last frame.

The Spoiler Corner:

. That has to be the one of the best action movie opening title sequence I've seen in a long time.

. Of course I feel like I would have a better idea of who we were looking at in the opening sequence if 

I had actually watched the third mad max movie, or not tried to watch with an 8 year gap between me and the first and second movies.

. Immortan Joe is rocking that skull mask so much

. I love of the creative designs for all these characters it makes my ADD addled brain very happy.

. Well she didn’t last long.  I though being his “favorite” would at least get her to the end of the movie.

.  Ok none of these ladies, minus Furiosa of course, are really anything more than a plot device and eye candy.  Eh, I can live with that.

.Yes! Albino guy has joined the party!  *cue FF Music*

. What the? Wait go back! What were those things! In the swamp with the stilts, were those people? Do they live like that? Is this a weird way of foraging?  Come on movie why you leaving me hanging?

.Hit him with his own guitar! Hit him with his own guitar!  YAY!

. So I can’t help but wonder, because I can’t just my brain off, if water is such a scarcity was Immortan Joe really that wrong to withhold it?  I mean yeah he was an evil skull faced douchbag who was doing a lot nasty things outside of water rationing but seriously two months down the road isn’t Furiosa going to have to ration it as well.  I mean what’s stopping her from just becoming the new Immortan Joe?  Just one of those things you think about after the credits end.