Fury Road sees the long awaited return of the wasteland’s forgotten son, Max. Captive in an unfriendly citadel, fate turns in his favour as he finds friends and freedom on the road.
Every aspect of this franchise came together with all the mad synergy of a Beethoven symphony, written on a cocktail of class A narcotics and conducted by director George Miller with a socket wrench.
The return of such a cult classic could only go one of two ways, a long repetitive journey trapped in a car awaiting a painful end, or a petrol fuelled adrenaline-boost over the cliff of reason. Watching Miller’s latest offering you can’t help but think this was the film he always wanted it to be.
Unchecked by budget or technology, the cinematography is a thing of beauty, stylised, tasteful and tailored to the scene. During moments of quiet in the film there was reverent stillness in the audience rarely experienced outside of a Buddhist temple, not even a loud breath to divert attention from the screen.
Charlize Theron plays Imperator Furiosa in ‘Mad Max:Fury Road’
Part of the film’s previous success, the vehicles are barbaric and glorious, everything on wheels is worthy of attention and desire here. Each vehicle is a perfect extension for the characters it carries.
So what about this new school of cast members? They certainly shine through the sheer grit of Fury Road, no character feels like an unnecessary prop as even bit-part players demand our full attention – pretty impressive considering they’re jostling for position with the enigmatic Tom Hardy and the captivating Charlize Theron.
The story in this latest offering is stripped back to the simplicity of survival, however within it there are many subtle messages. The loudest has to be the strength, beauty and importance of women as mothers and leaders, juxtaposing the stereotype that men are for blood and war – underpinned by Theron’s emphatic performance. This adds an understated element of depth to the proceedings, bringing reason to otherwise pointless carnage.
It is sadly rare to begin and end a review with nothing but praise; thankfully this is the case for Mad Max: Fury Road. Tom Hardy sometimes slips into his infamous Bane impression but in honesty there’s little to fault.
Supported by a fantastic cast of villains, even the mindless violence reaches a higher plane. rather than simple hero fodder there was an imbalance in the scales of justice worthy of watching to its rectification. In execution and imagination this movie will put to shame most other films in 2015 and many are already heralding Fury Road as one of the best action films of the year, a perspective I heartily agree with.
Author: Joe, Bath store
The trailer below is Certificate 15.
