Mad Max: Fury Road

First off, can I say, that poster is amazing. This is the first time I've seen this poster and if I had seen that a while ago, I probably would have seen this movie a long time ago.

If you haven't noticed, this movie came out last May, had a huge release, and what was I doing? I was watching Night at the Museum... not that that movie was bad, I just kind of wish I had actually gone out to see this movie.

One more disclaimer before I start the review, I haven't seen the other Mad Max movies, I have little to no context. I know kind of what those movies are about but not really anything beyond that. I know the role was played by Mel Gibson and now Tom Hardy is playing it in the pseudo-sequel that this is.

So in the beginning of this film, we catch up with Max (played by Tom Hardy), he's being haunted by the memories of people he failed to save. Who these people are... you don't really know. I don't know if they covered that in the other movies, but they're just kind of hiccups that show up randomly and just kind of mess things up for Max at really inconvenient times.

Max is taken captive by a warlord and his really creepy pale goons and put into slavery. For how long, well its not really known for sure but its enough to really screw Max over, so much that at the beginning of the film he can barely speak.

At the same time, you have Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron). She is a mercenary that works for this warlord doing runs for gasoline and bullets. On the events of this particular movie however, she is rescuing the wives of the warlord (played by Zoe Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton) from being nothing more than property or "breeders" and bringing them to the green place.

Through a series of events, Max finds himself in the company of Furiosa and the wives and finds himself helping them to escape from the War Boys.

Along the way, they are pursued by a War Boy by the name of Nux (played by Nicholas Hoult) and he has a certain role to play in the entire epic.

And that really is the correct word for this movie, an epic.

It was hard to find a picture that would best describe how epic this movie is, because it really is this huge grand scale movie, and if you know anything about the development of it, you'll know that a lot of it used practical effects and actual stunts.

Like there's a part where a guy is riding on a semi truck playing a guitar that is also a flamethrower... and that was totally real, they actually drove a bunch of cars in the desert, had a semi, built a rig that could hold a bunch of speakers, and a guy playing a guitar with a flame thrower on it. Sure the picture to the right used digital effects to show the sandstorm, but there's a lot of stunts in the movie that were totally real and it made you sit there, watching it in awe, just wondering which parts were actually shot. And from what it sounds, it sounds like a lot of them were actually done.

So yeah, the visuals of this movie are phenomenally awesome.

But what about the story and the performances?

Well if you've heard anything about this movie prior to reading this review, you'll know that while the movie is called Mad Max, the story is actually really about Furiosa.

And of course you probably heard about the Twitter outcry of guys being like, "Why is it focused on Furiosa instead of Max, its a MAD MAX movie." To that I say, are we still talking about it that four months later? No we're not. Are people still talking about how good this movie is, Yes. So that should put aside any thoughts on whether or not this movie is going to be good or not based on whether or not its actually about Max.

If that didn't make any sense, I'll just say this. Charlize Theron rocks it in this movie. Her backstory isn't exactly explained in this movie which makes me think that they're going to do a spin-off with her... we'll get to that later. But the fact that there's not a lot known about her doesn't really seem to matter based on her actions and her performance. Its just good.

And then you've got Max.

Like I said, I don't really know how Tom Hardy compares with Mel Gibson. The truth is I don't know anything about the character, which I almost feel was something I needed prior to watching this movie. They focus so much on developing the other characters that they don't really touch any kind of development on Max. He's more of just the vehicle to watching Furiosa's story. Which isn't a bad thing. I am in no way saying that Tom Hardy did a bad job. I just didn't feel like I really knew who Max was in this film. That has more to do with the writing (which I'm not saying is bad) than Hardy's performance.

I think if there was anything that was a downside of this movie, it would probably be the wives. They're not a huge part of the movie in regards to lines or impact, they're just the people that Furiosa and Max need to protect. They're not horrible but they are played by a bunch of actresses who are not known for acting, or if they are, they haven't been doing it for very long.

Something kind of fun about this movie is that the main antagonist, the warlord Immortan Joe is played by Hugh Keays-Byrne who actually played the main antagonist in the first Mad Max film.

Now when I first saw the trailer for this movie, I saw Immortan Joe and his War Boys and I think I was imagining seeing some really gruesome and just inhuman stuff going on by these guys. And don't get me wrong, the implications of what is going on in this fucked up world is very, very apparent. But you don't really see it. And i think I was expecting more out of this guy. I'm not saying that I want to see that, and the way that the movie turned out, it actually worked better just implying a lot of the fucked up stuff that goes on, but what I'm trying to say is that this guy was built up more, and it was a little less than I expected.

What I will say about the effects of Immortan Joe is shown through Nux. Nux is basically a disciple of Immortan Joe and believes whole heartedly that he is this god. So much that he's willing to do whatever he can to fall in his favor. But as he does this, his character evolves. I don't want to spoil it but I really liked Nux in this movie. When I saw the trailers I was a little bit confused on his whole role in this entire epic but now that I've seen the movie, it makes sense and I really think he did a great job.

Now onto the story.

The amazing part of this movie is how simplistic this story is. This movie is basically one long road trip/ road battle movie. But on the way you're really exposed to these different characters, what drives them, what triggers them to step away from the idea that they're just trying to survive in this post apocalyptic wasteland and find something out there that is better.

And that's the great part about Fury Road. Its a triumph over the worst of the worst from people who are not necessarily the greatest people, but have the better intentions and want to make the best out of the darkness.

That may sound over the top and kind of cheesy, but that's the stakes here in reality, and it comes down to our main characters.

While I did say that Max isn't totally developed as a character and is more of a vehicle to the real story going on which is Furiosa's, the two of them really make up a team dynamic that is just down right good. And a lot of the times, its without saying any words, these two just understand one another. And the greater part is, its without the relationship turning sexual. Furthermore, its an equal partnership recognizing the strengths and weaknesses in both parties.

I feel like I'm analyzing this movie too much but that's what you do with really good movies. There's a great scene where their truck has broken down and some bad guys are on their way. Max grabs the sniper rifle and starts shooting but misses. Furiosa comes behind him, and without making it a thing, without making a joke about it, before or after, he humbly hands over the rifle because he knows she's a better shot.

And I would disagree with people who say that Max is not a badass in his own movie. Max is definitely a badass.

This movie is more about the two of them and its done very, very well. It kind of makes me sad that there were rumors of the two actors not getting along on set and that's why they're allegedly not going to be in the sequel together, because you really can't tell, at all.

Anyway, closing notes. The action is phenomenal. From the car races, to the on the ground fighting, to the gunplay, to the jumping from one exploding car to the next, the action is great. The performances are great. Hardy, Theron, Hoult, all great. The story, very simplistic but very rich for these characters to interact in. And the movie looks gorgeous.

I have very little to complain about this movie. It is just as spectacular as people have said that it has been and I really regret not seeing it in theaters. We'll have to wait and see how much of an impact this movie has in the long run, but I am a proud owner of Mad Max: Fury Road on my Itunes and it was a movie well worth the price.

But what do you think? Did you like Mad Max? Did I miss anything wrong with the film? Comment and Discuss below! You can also comment on the film on my twitter @cmhaugen24 and give me your requests for films I should review in the future. You can also follow me to get updates on future movie news and reviews.

I'll leave you with this. I can't recall if I've shed light on this series of videos before, but I feel like I have. This woman takes popular characters from the media and delves into the changes in all their carnations. She did one on Mad Max. Take a look, its worth a watch. Enjoy!