A Post-Apocalyptic Spectacle With A Brain
The film I'm most looking forward to this year is Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It's the seventh film in that venerable franchise, and the first to be produced since George Lucas sold his production company to the Walt Disney Company. I'm optimistic about it, but there are no doubt legions of moviegoers scowling at yet another dormant blockbuster franchise returning for another go at the box office. George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road is the first in the director's post-apocalyptic series since 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Some may be wary of an easy cash-grab, but Fury Road is a thoughtful powerhouse of a blockbuster.
Tom Hardy steps into Mel Gibson's shoes as the titular road warrior, who begins this film by getting captured by the War Boys, a cultish army of pale, bald men led by the imposing Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Before long, Joe's entire legion is after Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a respected ally gone rogue, and Max is brought along as a prisoner. To go into more detail than that would spoil the wonderfully twisted and horrid texture Miller and his team have created for the opening act of the film. Once the chase begins, it dominates the remainder of the film.
The Fast & Furious franchise has in recent years planted its flag as the go to series for (mostly) practical car stunts and chases, but George Miller leaves Vin Diesel and his crew in the dust. The vehicles in this film are a sight unto themselves, as they should be in a Mad Max film. The non-human star is a custom-built, modified tanker rig that Furiosa charges through the desert, but the War Boys' demented hotrods are a close second. When Miller sends these vehicles swerving, crashing, bashing, exploding, and tumbling through the sand, it's like watching the truck chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark on steroids and cocaine. Characters hang from undercarriages and pole vault between cars. It's insanity in the very best way, and the fact that it was mostly done with real people and vehicles makes it that much more thrilling. Here computer effects are used to enhance the film when necessary, but they never dominate it.
The ingenious and precise action of Fury Road is perhaps its biggest selling point, but the thought and care put into the film's story and it's subtle yet effective lead performances make film standout as more than just an action film. The Mad Max films have always been concerned with the near-future humanity will create and inhabit, and Fury Road continues that tradition without missing a beat. Gasoline is still a prized resource, as is ammunition, but the true holy grail element is water. At a time when California is facing a terrible drought, nothing could be more current and possibly (horribly) prescient. Inhabiting this world with gusto are Theron and Hardy. Furiosa is a character with little initial backstory provided to the viewer, but Theron brings strength and sensitivity to her, as well as a depth that informs her character better than any dialogue could. Hardy, meanwhile, is given far less dialogue than Theron, and demonstrates through his expressions and body language why he's so highly regarded. I've only seen the original Mad Max, and therefore can't speak to Gibson's character throughout the series, but for Fury Road, Hardy embodies the tough, quiet warrior the franchise for which the franchise seems to be known.
Mad Max: Fury Road works so well because there isn't much plot or banter to clutter the story. It's big ideas and primal instincts brought to life as a grimy thrill-ride of a film. I found myself a bit detached from the film because of the quiet protagonists and nearly non-stop action, but I also knew Fury Road was far more than a disposable actioner. It's most certainly a feast for the eyes, and if you're willing to engage with the society Miller paints, you'll walk away with more intellectual substance than most summer blockbusters tend to muster. At the very least, Mad Max: Fury Road will stand as an example of how to perpetuate a franchise without selling its soul. 8.5/10