Movie: Mad Max: Fury Road
My Rating: 5 stars
This is a super fun, balls-out, summer blockbuster. It’s outrageous, over the top, and even a little sexy, and it apologizes for none of it. I loved it! I even went to the theater to see it on opening day, which is a thing I rarely do. And, I’d see it again. This movie really is insane. There’s more fire, car crashes, and twisted metal than you’ve ever seen before. And, the movie just keeps throwing these things at you. There’s so much to look at, and such sensory overload, that it’s almost impossible to catch every detail in one viewing.
The story appears to be a continuation of the Mad Max saga, rather than a re-make. The first Mad Max movie takes place at the moment where society is starting to break down, and individual ne’er-do-wells are taking advantage of the anarchy by running amok. And, the second one is a desolate wasteland in which groups of these rogues have banded together to do even larger scale pillaging. In the third, several different micro-civilizations have sprung up—some good, others evil. And, it appears that this movie takes place even further along in time, when the baddies have managed to construct huge temples to their violent, bloodthirsty, testosterone-fueled lifestyle. There’s even a well-established hierarchy of classes, and differentiation of labor. It’s a well-oiled war machine. And, it really is an impressive sight to behold—the rowdy “War Boys” and their huge convoy of death and destruction getting psyched up for a raid. I can understand how that atmosphere would be intoxicating.
Interestingly enough, “Max,” played by Tom Hardy, isn’t really the protagonist in this film. He just kind of gets caught in the middle of a fight that’s not his, and does the best he can to survive. Charlize Theron is the real star of the show, playing Imperator Furiosa. She’s something like a general in Citadel City’s war convoy. But, her conscience has gotten the best of her, and she’s gone rogue. She’s decided to kidnap the “wives” of the disgusting, decaying War Lord, to take them somewhere where they won’t be kept as sex slaves. And, these wives are something to behold. They’re super models. The War Lord has found the most beautiful women left on earth to use as his own, private breeding stock. It makes the skin crawl.
Needless to say, this guy is none too happy to discover that his girls are missing, so he sets his whole army of insane, deformed goons after them. Really, this movie is just one big car chase. Granted, it’s a very fiery, explody, bone-crunching chase, and it’s very exciting. These guys drive custom-welded, Frankenstein’s-monster-grade, war vehicles, complete with booby traps and heavy artillery. And, they’re loaded to the gills with War Boys with a death wish. There’s never a dull moment.
I think you already know that I’m going to tell you to go see this movie. And, try to see it in the theater. It’s so amazing. I can’t wait to see it again. I already mentioned that there are so many little details hidden in every frame of the film that you’d need to watch it multiple times to catch them all. And, I’m planning on doing just that. This is just the trashy, exciting, summer flick that I’d been waiting for. Don’t miss out on this one.