The post-apocalypse means big bucks these days; from small-screen zombies to big screen apes, bold and bleak trips to the end of the world are not stopping anytime soon. So it’s no surprise that producers have started to look back to those apocalyptic gems of days past for inspiration, and none come bigger, badder or madder than George Miller’s Mad Max franchise.
Mercifully, Miller himseff is back onboard as producer and director for Fury Road, as evidently after bottling up his depravity for the past few decades (while also directing the gentle Babe: Pig in the City and the adorable Happy Feet) until the time was right to unleash his outrageous and operatic fourth instalment of Mad Max mayhem…
Max (Tom Hardy) is a lone wanderer of the desert wastelands where hope has vanished and survival is key. After being caught and narrowly escaping the clutches of a deranged gang of desert bandits, Max finds himself caught in the middle of a war between evil overlord lmmortan Joe, and lmperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who has f ed lmmortan’s Citadel with a pricey war rig, and something of even greater value.
With lmmortan and his hoards of psychotic disciples in hot pursuit, Max must help Furiosa battle the dangers of the desert and help her and her stolen booty reach the sanctity of home.
Plot is purely incidental in Mad Max:Fury Road. It’s merely an excuse for Miller and his jaw-dropping production values to hit the road, crank up the noise levels and unleash mayhem. This is Road Warrior territory; a reboot/revisit of that glorious cross-desert pursuit from the 1981 film, but with much more money and much more time dedicated to spectacle.
Keeping the CGI action to a minimum, the man-made stunts and general onscreen shenanigans keep pulses racing and fuel Fury Road’s breathless pace. The audience is swept up and strapped in from the outset and the action rarely stops. Indeed, for noisy ,non-stop big screen action, nothing else around touches Miller. He delivers an insane, surreal ride to hell (and back) a mad, mad, mad, mad world of pimped out cars, exploding bullets and leather-clad bad guys.
When the action does stop things are far less interesting. Hardy mumbles inaudibly, the dialogue is wince-inducing, and It’s really hard to care about some of the characters in a film that has no time for polite how-do-you-dos. But again, Miller’s all about the action here and action is what Miller does best.
Overall Verdict: Fury Road is Mad Max on overdrive a dizzying and absurd spectacle and return to true form for a director who still has so much more depravity to share with the world. Welcome back, George we’ve missed you.
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths