Mad Max: Fury Road

What is an adjective?

The dictionary tells us that an adjective is a word or phrase naming an attribute, grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.

My current problem is that I have too many adjectives.

Too many adjectives rumbling around in my head to describe the film I just watched.

Sure, I've seen the expertly crafted trailers. I've seen the reviews coming in praising this film that's 30 years separated from its predecessor.

I've even seen the first two films of the series, Mad Max, and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, though I don't share the same love for them as many others do (especially the first one).

But this new beast, Mad Max: Fury Road, is something else entirely. Directed once again by George Miller, a man who has heavily influenced much of the action you see today, Fury Road continues/reboots/begins Max's story. Many of my biggest issues from the past films in this franchise are gone (low budget, choppy editing, and a vision that doesn't seem fully realized) and what we are left with is a film that demands a lot of description -- adjectives -- that most likely won't do it too much justice.

Insane, jaw-dropping, intense, action-packed, visceral, adrenaline-fueled, gorgeous, eerie, violent, weird, gross, haunting, stunning, fast, crazy, furious, inventive, genius, barbaric, surprisingly deep...the list could go on and on.

But truly, the only description that I keep coming back to is, and pardon my French here:

F**king incredible.

Bane's mask after the world went to hell

Trying to figure out who takes a bath first...

Mad Max: Fury Road is a film that revels in its simplicity but is all the better for it. Tom Hardy plays the titular character, on the run and trying to survive in this world of "fire and blood". He is captured and quickly becomes a runaway with Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiousa (one of the coolest movie names ever) who's objective boils down to saving sex slaves designed for the purpose of impregnation, aka "breeders". The film equates to about a two hour long chase scene, although it's not all one, continuous chase. The plot's simplicity is part of the film's brilliance. Without plot twists or sub arcs, we get to focus on two main things: the action and the characters. These characters are surprisingly deep, especially considering the lack of dialogue in the film. We learn that Max is haunted by many of the people he couldn't save in his past, including his own child. This is a side of Max that personally I never really picked up on in the first two films and it hints toward the fact that he might have additional motives other than just personal survival. Equally as big of a character is Furiousa who, despite being exactly what her name implies, has strong motivations to try and be a decent person in this world of madness. Theron does fantastic here, and although it's an action film, she really owns the screen with a stellar performance. Furiousa is a badass, just as much as Max, and you'll be rooting for her the entire time.

An issue I've had with the previous Mad Max films that I saw was that I never really believed we were seeing Miller's true vision. That's most likely due to the decades in which they were made as well as their budgets, but Fury Road is the first time that I thought, "Now this is what he has had in his mind all these years." The world is dead and oil wars have turned into water wars. Civilization is practically out the window and those who have some semblance of power do whatever they want. A few elements were a bit too weird for me (an obese and paralyzed midget, chained nipple piercings -- on a man no less, cocaine-esque, metallic breast milk, etc.) and others a bit corny (the flamethrower guitar, as awesome as it was, seemed awfully comical and contradictory to the tone at times), but I also think that's the point Miller is trying to make. When the world goes to hell, many humans will go to hell in mind and moral compass with it. Despite some of my slight discomfort, I'll reiterate, this is the world that I think Miller always intended to show us. And it seems that the discomfort is a sensation he wants us to feel.

OMG! Your hair looks fabulous! I love that blowout!

[Toy Story Alien's voice]: "The CLAWWWW!"

As strong as most of the characters in Fury Road are, and as phenomenal of a job as Miller does at capturing his vision and his world, those aren't even the best parts. It's the action that will blow you away. Whereas some of my complaints with the earlier films in the series centered around the action editing (again, truly a sign of the times they were made in), Fury Road has some impeccable action editing. You almost always know where everyone is at at all times, who's vehicles are who's, the geography of the landscape, what action any certain character is trying to perform, etc. It's all well organized and seamlessly put together into intense, prolonged sequences of carnage, speed, and destruction. When you consider that most (and by most I mean probably 85-90%) of these stunts are practical, meaning that real cars, people, and speed were used, the film becomes that much more jaw-dropping. How Miller not only came up with some of this stuff, but then proceeded to actually film it without the use of CGI? He's been called a genius before, but it really wasn't until I saw Fury Road that I realized how much the man thinks outside of the box. Each chase, there are three main ones, has a distinct feel and I probably enjoyed the last one the most. The first one shares a lot of shots with the trailers so its "WOW" factor is somewhat diminished, but all three are still impressive nonetheless. It's a film meant to be seen on the big screen, as loud as possible, especially because it has some of the best sound editing that I've ever heard. Engines roar with ferocity, explosions provide deafening booms, and crashes are a cacophony of creaking, twisting, and tearing metal. 

My final point being that on top of all of this, Fury Road is just a really well made film technically speaking. The cinematography is top notch and makes the violence on this desolate wasteland look strangely gorgeous. I already mentioned the sound, but the original score is strong, with an intense main theme throughout. It plays out like a comic book panel at times (see below image for proof), but it always seems to capture exactly the image it wants to display and CGI, when used, is solid.

You don't seem very useful up there Max!

Mad Max: Fury Road is good, old-school, practical action at its finest. Granted I haven't seen the third film (though I hear I'm not missing much), but I would easily consider this the best in the series. Given that it has been 30 years in between films, that's somewhat of a minor Hollywood miracle. Miller and Co. have quite an accomplishment on their hands with this film and once again I would venture to guess that their vision, action style, and ability to tell a simple, yet important story will once again influence the industry for years to come.

Truth be told, you've never seen anything quite like Fury Road and you aren't likely to again anytime soon.

CONS:

• A tad too weird at times, at least for my liking
• Similar to the weirdness, a few things came across as a bit corny to me. At times I felt it messed with the overall tone
• The trailers, as stellar as they were, gave away several money shots
• Could have used slightly more back story

PROS:

• This is a true, fully realized world that Miller has put to screen. This is Earth as he sees it once the face of the planet is a wasteland. It's highly unique
• The plot is simple which allows for characters to build easily and action to occur almost endlessly
• Hardy, Theron, and Hoult all do fantastic and really embody the characters they are portraying. Furiousa is a classic character
• Great villain who is brutal, menacing, and scary
• Incredible action that utilizes almost entirely practical effects. The "WOW" factor is off the charts
• Said action almost never ends
• Well filmed and edited action allows the audience to follow along easily
• Gorgeous visuals and cinematography
• Absolutely incredible sound editing
• Strong original score
• The best in the series

Rath's Review Score: 9.5/10