I try as hard as I can not to believe the hype for anything. Too many times have I seen the trailer for a movie or video game, I have gotten excited over it only to be under whelmed by the final product. Thankfully, Mad Max: Fury Road lived up to the hype. Avid fans have been waiting thirty years for the franchise’s long awaited sequel, and it did not disappoint.
Set in post apocalyptic Australia, the film starts out with our protagonist Max – with Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson – being hunted and captured by The War Boys, an army of mutant humans, led by the tyrannical cult leader, Immortan Joe – played by Hugh Keays-Bryne. However, after Imperator Furiosa – played by Charlize Theron – escapes Joe’s fortress with his five wives, he leads his tribe after Furiosa. In the meantime, after an odd turn of events, Max joins up with Furiosa and grudgingly agrees to help her and Joe’s wives to escape to safety.
The movie as a whole is phenomenal. George Miller – creator of the franchise and director of Fury Road – follows the traditional movie formula of its predecessors – Max gets himself into trouble, Max tries to save his own skin as well as any innocents along the way – and it still continues to be a winning formula. The film is enjoyable in its entirety. Following a two hour road trip/ car chase from hell, this movie is far from boring. The soundtrack is just as fantastic as the rest of the film, reminding me a lot of music from Mad Max 2.
On the topic of cars, I have to give due credit to the car designs. All of these cars just look insanely cool, especially Max’s trusty V8 Interceptor. The Interceptor is probably the only car in movie history to look good when it’s in bad condition. Cleaned up, it looks horrible, but with a little bit of rust here, some wear and tear there, it looks amazing.
And now onto casting. Tom Hardy is a remarkable replacement from Mel Gibson’s usual role, going for a more silent, more gruff Max. But his performance is stolen by Charlize Theron as Furiosa, who just gives an amazing performance throughout the whole film. Even the rest of the secondary characters, Like Nux – played by Nicholas Hoult – deserve a mention. The only character I didn’t particularly like was the main villain, Immortan Joe. As the main antagonist, I would have expected someone a bit more threatening, and he just reminded of Bane from Batman’s overweight, albino cousin. Despite the performance the actor behind the character gives, I was a little bit disappointed by this particular character.
Overall, this is one of the best sequels I have seen in a long time. It is hard to imagine viewers being disappointed by the flick, both old fans of the franchise and new. I could not recommend this film enough. However, considering how badass and bombastic this film is, it’s hard to imagine it being as good on the small screen as it is in the cinema, so go check it out while it is still in theatres for the full experience.