Mad Max: Fury Road – Film Review
Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is a fugitive on a mission to make it to her homeland. The inhabitants of the desert land that Furiosa is fleeing are coarse, and so far removed from basic humanity that they fiend for water, which is only supplied to them at the whim of their ruler, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).
Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is the bad-ass lone wolf that has been kidnapped by crusaders of the desert land to serve as a blood bank for Nux (Nicholas Hoult), one of the crusaders who seems to think his only purpose in life is to fight and die for his leader.
The first Mad Max movie was made in 1979 with Mel Gibson as Max. We would very much love to think that Gibson is proud of Hardy for playing this role with such vitality. One can honestly say that this movie is cast excellently, down to the very last extra. As the main characters, Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron are therefore the strongest. And Nicholas Hoult, who has come a long way from his role in About a Boy, puts truth to his character just as superbly. The actors’ commitment to their roles is seamless; they act out their characters all the way from their toes to the pupils of their eyes. As you watch Mad Max you will realise that it is not your typical action flick. Oh no! There is nothing predictable about this film, everything is raw and just blows your mind away with each scene. Throughout the movie, the main characters do not say much, nor do they have to. The adventure is so strong and the cinematography is so intense, that you end up getting lost in the movie. The fast-paced, gritty action makes you feel like all the other action films you have watched are slow. For example, scenes in other movies where someone dodges a bullet with a somewhat slow, delayed reflex, can evoke a feeling of “oh, I am not experiencing this; it’s just fiction”. But in Mad Max, when someone dodges a spear or throws a kick-ass punch, the action has you grabbing onto your arm rest. Everything about the film screams power, from the storyline and actors to the dare-devil crusader automobiles. Though gruesome, the scenery and composition is clean. The lighting shows a very limited colour pallet of browns and shades of blue at varying times, but it does not render the visuals dull in any way. One might also find the film to be quite symbolic. There are scenes that display human beings in an intensely barbaric state, but with something fragile harbouring inside. This state is conflicting, yet harmonious. The visual and thematic elements of the film bond strongly together to create a clear story; the basic instinct of survival. However, this basic human ability is executed through the most extraordinary means. So if you do not enjoy the storyline, be sure to love the high-octane, super-charged cars that range from looking like fire-breathing dragons to metal porcupines.
Shot in the Namib near Swakopmund, in Cape Town and in Pernith, Australia, there is nothing about this movie that we can say falls through the cracks. Not too many movies that are out today are as thrilling and potent as Mad Max: Fury Road. The film befits the name and delivers simply the best in the symbolism, storyline, acting, characters, computer graphic imagery, and scenery. Everything flows together to give the audience an exhilarating, epic film.
