I was planning on skipping Mad Max: Fury Road to rent it later or something. It’s not the type of film I’d usually go see in theaters. But a friend of mine talked me into seeing it. For an unplanned trip to the movies, it was surprisingly a great time! I’ve heard everyone online rave about how amazing this film is, and after seeing it, I’d have to agree. It is the most action packed movie of the year so far.
The story is simple: Charlize Theron plays a bad@$$ lady that has to get the cargo of a huge tanker truck from point A to point B, while being chased by hoards of crazy road warriors that wants what she’s taking with her on her mission. And Max is there, too. He kinda takes a backseat to Charlize Theron, as does everyone else. She gives the best performance out of everyone, she plays the most interesting character who turns out to also be the most bad@$$ character of the whole movie. It’s more about her than Max, which I personally have no problem with. This doesn’t mean that Max is a dull character, though. He’s just written to be a simple one.
Many people fail to realize that simple doesn’t always mean bad or boring. When handled correctly, simplicity can be a film’s best quality. Fury Road executes its simple premise like few films have ever done. It doesn’t need 20 or 30 minutes to set up the plot in great detail. It gets any exposition necessary to the audience out quick, easy, short, sweet, and to the point, then moves on. I’ve never seen any of the previous Mad Max installments all the way through, but I didn’t need to see them in order to understand Fury Road.
In terms of character development, there isn’t a whole lot. Charlize Theron and Nicholas Holt’s characters see the most development. Everyone else is just there to look cool, and they all do their jobs fine. In all honesty, did you ever look at the trailers and think, “yeah, I’ll get some deep, greatly written characters and a mind blowing plot out of this one”? I hope not! Because that’s not what anyone is going to see Mad Max for. It should be seen purely for the action. The characters that do end up being good are just a bonus.
Speaking of action, Fury Road is basically just one single action scene rolled up into one film. It’s the same desert road with the same premise throughout. There are some slower moments, but the pacing never messes up. It always goes right back to the insane, crazy, unbelievable action that is some of the best I’ve seen this year. The best part is that the majority of the car stunts and explosions were all really done in front of a camera. They actually got people to design and build those monstrosities! Those cars are unlike anything I’ve seen before. I don’t even know what words to use to describe them! By far my favorite vehicle was the one my friend and I called the “Soundtrack Mobile”. It’s a huge truck with guys doing drums on the back while some lunatic hags from bungee cords while playing a flamethrower guitar! This guy shown below:
He is my favorite part of the whole movie! No matter what absurd destruction or mayhem happens, he keeps playing that freaking guitar! I want to know who the specific person was that came up with that guy so I can thank him personally.
One last thing I refuse to not mention is the soundtrack. The movies I’ve seen this year have had great music in them, but Mad Max is the best I’ve heard so far. Like just about everything else in this movie, it’s crazy. I definitely want to but the score so I can listen to it whenever I want. It’s that good.
In conclusion, Fury Road was a great surprise. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I somehow got exactly what I wanted without even knowing I wanted it. I’m shocked that Pitch Perfect 2 is making more money than this! Why would people want to miss out on a film like this one? It’s awesome! And there isn’t a whole lot wrong with it. The lack of development might be a factor for some people, but in general, Fury Road is a fantastic thrill ride. I loved it!
FINAL RATING: 46 / 50
STORY: 4 / 5
ACTING: 4 / 5
CHARACTERS: 4 / 5
SPECIAL EFFECTS: 5 / 5
ACTION: 5 / 5
SOUNDTRACK: 5 / 5
TONE: 5 / 5
ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5
REWATCH VALUE: 4 / 5
OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5
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