After stagnating in Development Hell for donkey’s years, ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky finally hit the road again for a fourth outing. Sticking Tom Hardy in the driver’s seat vacated by Mel Gibson, George Miller’s psychotic road trip got thumbs-up from everyone and their mum. And so it should – Mad Max: Fury Road is bold, brash and insanely stylish and the anarchic franchise has undoubtedly returned with a bang.
Moving along with breakneck pace, boasting an all-star cast and a simple, effective premise, it turns out that it was indeed a lovely day to catch up with the Road Warrior. However, it’s still only the third best in the series. To put it simply, Fury Road is ace but it falls short of brilliance. While there’s much to love, it’s actually little more than a by-the-numbers slice of fun – albeit a very well-crafted slice.
Yet again, the action picks up a good while after the world has gone to shit. Max is minding his own business in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, but gets picked up by the War Boys (an army led by batshit crazy cult leader, Immortan Joe) and held captive as a walking blood bag for sickly soldier Nux (Nicholas Hoult). With Joe having established a citadel in the desert where he begrudgingly rations out water to his followers, his little operation goes awry when one of his generals, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), takes an armoured truck and jailbreaks five of Joe’s wives that he uses for breeding. With the War Boys in pursuit, it’s soon abundantly clear that they’re going to need a little help from none other than that Rockatansky chap.
Miller’s trek down Fury Road does most things right. Its plot is as straightforward as they get, serving as a basic framework from which to hang a metric ton of bombastic anarchy, while the stellar cast all take to their roles with the grit, determination and respect that the franchise deserves. The production design is impeccable and the effects are flawless, while the dialogue finds that perfect balance between ludicrousness and poetry that such cinematic lunacy requires.
The problem is that it’s just a bit too simplistic in comparison to what’s come before. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue alone, but coupled with Max being reduced to second string as Furiosa takes the lead, it actually feels more like a spin-off for Charlize Theron’s warrior that a new Mad Max movie. For that alone, it’s enough to knock a star off the rating.
Seeing as Fury Road is the first Mad Max film in 30 years, it would have been better to have one where Max is the main protagonist. With a simplistic departure from the more thorough, comprehensive narratives of the first three, it allows you to detach your brain and just enjoy the ride, but it just feels a little smaller than Max deserves – which is odd considering the budget and scale.
Still, while it smacks a little of a film mildly giving the finger to its predecessors from time to time, it remains that Fury Road is fantastic fun bolstered by superb performances from Theron who handles her strong female lead with ease and the underutilised Hardy who makes Max his own.
Where the film really shines though is in its slick visuals. The oversaturated, lush orange and blue palette and the flawless design bring the post-apocalyptic Outback to brash, snarling life, and it’s shown off in stunning fashion with the high-def transfer. Reproducing every garish shade and handling the fast camerawork without a trace of artifacting or blurring, it’s truly a title to show off a quality AV set-up.
Similarly, the audio sticks you right in the thick of it with Max and the gang. Every explosion, every roar of an engine and every guitar strum from the weirdest baddie of the series are rendered with crystalline efficiency. It makes for a truly remarkable treat for your peepers and lugholes.
Elsewhere, the disc, being a Warner title, is rammed with a host of extras including deleted scenes and a ton of featurettes that delve into the characters and the production. Sadly, the hinted-at black and white version of the movie is absent but it’s not enough to stop this from being an essential purchase for any fan of the series.
In all, Max’s return was big, bold, bombastic silliness, expertly crafted by Miller. The issue remains that, despite its inherent craziness, it’s a just a tad safe with its downplayed plot that sidelines the titular hero. As a result, we end up missing out on the post-apocalyptic Aussie epic it could have been. Still, it’s not enough to make Fury Road anything less than an unforgettable, adrenaline fuelled, high octane trip back to the road warrior’s stomping ground.
Overall Verdict: Fury Road is a hyperactive, oversaturated slice of relentless action that falls slightly short of real brilliance, but luckily nowhere near enough to stop it from being a fantastic fun-filled trip back to Max’s savage Outback.
Reviewer: Jordan Brown