Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Certified: 15
Duration: 120 minutes
Directed by: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Megan Gale, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, John Howard
KRS Releasing Ltd

George Miller’s first Mad Max movie (1979) simply reworked the rules, look and the future of the sci-fi action movie. Mad Max 2 (1981) was even better, set up the bar for Hollywood and served to make Mel Gibson a bona fide star. This sequel and the following one, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), defeated the preconception that sequels are simply cash cows capitalising on the original movie as both films continued reinventing and building the cult following around the Mad Max mythology.

Now years later comes another sequel, but one does not need to see any of the previous movies, even though it would not be a bad idea.

Mad Max: Fury Road comes complete with a new star, a mega budget and, most of, all a unique cinematic experience that will be one of 2015’s highlights of the year on the big screen. It is a glorious film, one that brings together diverse sensibilities from neo-punk post-apocalyptic looks to a dystopian future to a comic book-fuelled adrenaline rush to action spectacle.

The film enjoys the technology Miller only dreamed of in the 1980s: back then, computer-generated special effects were a thing of the future and 3D was mostly found in the realm of B-movies and not in respectable films. Times have changed and Miller has adapted the technology and owned it.

In a post-apocalyptic future, the world has been laid to waste. Earth has become one huge desert ruled by various gangs and mobs. King Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) is the powerful ruler of the Citadel, a desert compound that depends on her violent ruler for the release of water. The king’s son Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones) and the gang of War Boys are all out to carry out his orders with vehemence.

Through all the chaos and madness, there is also a cry of female empowerment

A female warrior, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), does his bidding while he has a stable of women including the likes of Capable (Riley Keogh), The Dag (Abbey Lee), The Splendid Angharad (Rosie Huntington –Whiteley), Toast the Knowing (Zoe Kravitz) and Cheedo, the Fragile (Courtney Eaton) to be used as breeding material.

Furiosa is at the moment leading one of Immortan Joe’s fuel convoy, however, she has a plan of her own. She has taken the five women in her rig and is driving off with them to a promised land. That is when the War Boys start to give chase. Affixed to one of the cars is universal blood donor Mad Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), who is used as a ‘blood bag’ for a War Boy who has a terminal illness. Furiosa and Max will at some point learn to help each other as Immortan Joe and his forces do their utmost to crush them.

Fury Road is a beautiful work of visual art. It’s almost one huge adrenaline rush, depicted and delivered in a manner that we are unused to and that will rewrite the way that action is delivered.

The film opens in a splendid fashion with a hell-bent for leather car chase and a magnificent dust storm. The cobbled post-apocalyptic cars are ingenious and well presented. This is a Hieronymous Bosch-style (an apocalyptic medieval painter known for his fantastic imagery) mish-mash with Tank Girl and other comic book versions of the future. Judge Dredd is surely an inspiration in this wild vision that will leave its audience breathless in both its intensity and insanity.

Miller’s insistence on realism and its seamless combination with special effects is simply mesmerising. The eye for detail gives the film a sense of place and time that makes it look real and gives it richness.

As regards the plot, it is stripped to the bare bones. There could have been so much more but this would have taken away from the visual aspect and would have changed the film experience.

Hardy has become one of my favourite actors and Miller exploits his muscular presence well. While comparisons will undoubtedly arise with Gibson, these will be useless as Hardy is not required to be eloquent, he is just required to be a force of nature which he and Theron are.

Through all the chaos and madness, there is also a cry of female empowerment that is delivered through the surreal visual beauty of both Theron as the warrior and the other girls who are seeking their freedom.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.