Mad Max: Fury Road
- Aug 4, 2015
- 3 min read
When I started hearing how good this movie was I really wanted to find a reason to disagree. Mad Max is very much an action movie and I wanted to prove that it was no more than that, but I was dead wrong. Between the flamethrowers, monster cars, and gore there is a unique hero’s journey and comment on the nature of hope. It is at times as hard to see as if it were one of the motorcycles roaring through the sand storm of epic proportions, but what it offers is novel and fresh.
While Max, played by Tom Hardy, is very much the main hero of the film, Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, takes over at times and is the strong female lead that so many films wish they had. At times it feels as though Furiosa could be the lead, but the key difference that makes Max’s hero journey the focus is his back story. Max is taken into custody in the very fist scene. Before you can get a grip of what is going on, Max is in prison and Furiosa is taking over the show. When the two characters first meet their eyes glisten with the same passion that Simba and Scar have when they face off at the end of the Lion King. There is no question in our mind who is good, but to them each is the alpha preparing to kill. After the first interaction on however the role of alpha is shared though thus adding to each of their respective characters.
The hero’s journey of Max an Furiousa is like nothing seen before. It is not one going on a journey and finding they need to team up to survive. Max is literally dragged into Furiousa’s journey until the end at which he must bring her back home. In lieu of character development through dialogue, we are treated to what in many movies would be a montage of a road race. This would be montage has more action and thrill than Avenger’s 1 and 2 put together. You feel the blood drip from the characters as they fight for their lives against the savagery of man and nature. You learn the characters through their sacrifice. Max does not tell you he had a daughter who haunts him, it flashes through his eyes and yours on the screen. Furiosa does not tell you she is a mother figure who can kick your ass 5 ways to Sunday, she shows by protecting the women she freed. And neither tell you they would die for each other, but the blood spent pulls you in and makes you fear to question their passion.
Hope is a false god in the world of Mad Max. To run from home because the grass is greener on the other side will get you to the top of the hill, at which point looking back can save your life. In dystopian stories it is often just enough to leave the place of darkness. There is a place that will answer all your problems if you just get away is a common story. That is not the case of Mad Max. Dream as you may of a world that could exist, often it is your home that has all you need. It is not good enough to escape the problem and the heroes must fix what was broken.
As the film progresses the high octane combat will exhaust you more than the characters on screen. George Miller’s heroes only get rest when your eyes do. The fade to dark transition is used sparingly in the beginning of the film as the heroes cannot rest. Towards the end of the movie however the transition is used more often. This transition is not just used to shift the camera, it is used to show the consciousness of Max and Furiosa. This clever devise makes the end of the film stretch a bit, but explains well just how exhausting a journey the heroes just survived.
This film is tough to score because it is both an edge of your seat action thriller and a piece of art. Both deserve high praise but their competing natures at times overwhelm the movie. You will feel as though you are dehydrated and drinking from a fire-hydrant to replenish yourself. That being said this is the definitive Summer Blockbuster of 2015.
9.5/10
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