Post-apocalyptic settings have become pretty commonplace in modern action films – but it’s fair to say that the original Mad Max trilogy is the grand-daddy of them all.
While it’s unclear if Fury Road is a remake, sequel, reboot or just another story from that glorious cinematic universe, you can rest assured that George Miller’s return to the series after a 30-year hiatus is a massive success.
Modern action films tend to be CGI heavy and incorporate futile twists and forced romance. Don’t get me wrong – as an action junkie, I’m down with that.
Mad Max: Fury Road, however, is an absolute throwback to what many would consider a golden age for the genre. The action is relentless and the stunts are unique.
For fans of the originals, the one obvious change is Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) replacing the legendary Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky.
But the scarily desolate Australian outback remains as the unforgiving setting for what is one of the best films I’ve seen this year.
As with the “old skool” versions, we’re neither given nor need a reason why the civilized world has ended. It just has – and those that are left have gone absolutely bonkers.
We find Max in his trademark V8 Interceptor – but he seems like a shell of a man. It doesn’t take long for him to be captured and packed off to the Citadel, a place ruled by the ghastly Immortan
Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne – he played the villain in the 1979 original).
Shockingly deformed, Joe leads a bizarre clan of pasty-skinned followers – dubbed the War Boys – in his mountain base.
It’s a baffling place where steering wheels are sacred, outsiders are used as blood doners and petrol is the most important resource.
The War Boys are nuts. They spray-paint their lips with chrome before killing themselves in battle – nuff said. The most memorable of them is Nux (Nicholas Hoult – X: Men Days of Future Past).
However, the top character of the entire film is Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa.
The one-armed bad-ass is central to the plot, having decided to turn her back on Joe. She pinches a massive truck (or War Rig as they call it) and his five beautiful, albeit enslaved, wives – Rosie
Huntington-Whiteley (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Zoë Kravitz (Divergent) are the pick – and hits the Fury Road.
What follows is essentially the biggest car chase you’ll ever see in a film, with the story playing out through various differing – and equally dangerous – locations.
With Joe and his army (including a heavy metal band led by a crazy fiend playing a fire-spouting electric guitar), in hot pursuit, the action is breathless. Be it sharp-shooting grannies on dirt-bikes, mutant bird men or ridiculously crazy characters (one is called Rictus Erectus), the insane sequences all merge into one.
Hardy’s Max is a typically gritty character. Although not as charismatic as Gibson before him, it’s another good turn from one of the hottest actors around at the moment.
However, Theron (Monster) does steal the show. Her performance is so good that Max is almost relegated to being a member of the supporting cast in his own comeback film.
I also enjoyed seeing Hoult in a very “out there” role. His scene involving the line “what a lovely day” is one of the most memorable.
Perhaps the best compliment I have to offer about Fury Road is that it’s hard to find any negatives.
If Miller’s insane universe and unique stunts are back to stay, I for one am looking forward to wherever the next stop for Mad Max is now he’s done with the Fury Road.
Voice Verdict: 9/10
+ Theron’s Furiosa
+ Wonderfuly insane world
+ Memorable characters
+ Unique
