Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
120 mins; Class 15;
KRS Releasing Ltd

At its most rudimentary, Mad Max: Fury Road is a two-hour vehicle chase. Thankfully, George Miller, the film’s director, is more poetic, describing it as “somewhere between a wild rock concert and an opera”, as he brings the character crashing into the 21st century, with the fourth instalment in the franchise recounting the adventures of this popular anti-hero first created by Mel Gibson in 1979.

We are in the barren landscape of the Australia desert, in the not-too-distant, post-apocalyptic future. The scene still echoes the vestiges of the oil crisis that plunged the world into chaos. Mad Max (Tom Hardy) continues to wander alone, mourning his lost family and searching for a home that he knows is impossible to find.

Captured and taken prisoner to the Citadel by the War Boys, Max becomes embroiled in the battle between Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) as she escapes from the tyrannical Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), with a precious cargo of his. The enraged Immortan summons all his forces to pursue the fleeing woman starting off a road war that is as kinetic as it is chaotic.

Whether this fourth instalment in the franchise is a sequel, reboot, reimagining or what not is up for debate. Miller and his co-screenwriters Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris seem to care little for exposition, clearly itching to get right to the heart of the action.

So much so, we are allowed to breathe normally for about 30 seconds into the start of the film before a tranquil establishing shot of Max taking in his surroundings is interrupted by the ex-plosive roar of engines as the War Boys envelop him and take him prisoner.

From then on, it’s a complete assault on the senses with little let up. The barren desert landscapes provide the arena for numer-ous incessantly over-the-top sequences, one segueing into another as dozens of souped-up and mashed up vehicles hurtle across the sand at manic speeds, driven by a disparate group of mutant humans in elaborately designed war wear, using ingenious weaponry to attack their quarry. Miller’s ‘wild rock concert’ comment is deliberate; brought to you courtesy of the guitarist and percussionists who partake in all the action, providing a live soundtrack to the operatic, dramatic proceedings.

It is hard to truly describe in words the absolute crazy energy that fuels the scenes. Suffice it to say the most kinetic moments in the Fast &Furious franchise feel like a leisurely stroll on the front compared to this.

A sumptuous cinematic feast

It must be said that trying to ascertain who’s who and what’s what is a tad difficult initially. However, it matters not a jot, for when you are caught up in the frenetic activity you’re too busy enjoying the ride to stop to ponder much on plot.

To Miller and his team’s credit however, things start to fall into place and it must be noted that when the action does slow down a tad; there is enough communication between Max (who probably says around 100 words in all throughout the whole film) and Furiosa to establish the vital plot points while building convincing characters.

Hardy is a worthy successor to Mel Gibson and embodies all Max’s familiar characteristics while giving his own virile, brusque sheen to the anti-hero. This is another feather in the actor’s cap as he continually shows his effortless versatility, role by role.

Hardy is given a run for his money by Theron’s character. Furiosa by name and molto furiosa by nature, this is a woman determined to succeed in her mission no matter what her enemies throw at her.

Angry and determined, yet fiercely protective of her peers, Theron displays remarkable actions chops while providing the heart and soul of the film, giving it a ferocious and fascinating feminist bent.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a thrilling roller-coaster ride from beginning to end, a sumptuous cinematic feast of powerful visuals and visceral thrills underlying the adventures of two of the most unlikely protagonists you can ever root for, protagonists who amid the anarchy unfolding on screen, you grow to care for without even being aware of it.