NOTE: Mild spoilers.
"If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on the fury road!"
- Nux (Nicholas Hoult), Mad Max: Fury Road
Very few filmmakers around today have as eclectic a career as George Miller. Originally an emergency room doctor by trade, Miller was daily confronted with the realities of the harshness of the Australian Outback; specifically car and motorcycle accidents. At the same time, he was taking courses at a local film school where he met producing partner Byron Kennedy. Together, the two men devised a film to tackle the dangerous issues of life down under via a futuristic outlook. In 1979, they began the Mad Max series of films. A then unknown Mel Gibson took the title role of a police officer gone rogue in a terrible Wasteland after the tragic deaths of his loving wife and young child. In the sequels to the original, Max is a loner and dragged into fighting for causes other than his own survival. Initially unsuccessful internationally, Gibson's stardom and Miller's storytelling made for a memorable '80s franchise that helped to influence The Terminator and other post-apocalyptic features.
In between the second and third Mad Max films, George Miller was offered the opportunity by Steven Spielberg to direct the final segment in the infamous 1983 film Twilight Zone: The Movie. Miller took the opportunity to remake the classic episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" with John Lithgow taking over for William Shatner in what many consider the best segment of the film (one that certainly didn't end in the deaths of three actors, but that's neither here nor there). After finishing Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (which many consider the weakest of the films, due to Miller being overcome by the death of his friend Kennedy), Miller directed the fantasy/horror/comedy The Witches of Eastwick, the medicinal drama Lorenzo's Oil, co-wrote the screenplay for Babe (yes, *that* Babe) and even directed Babe: Pig in the City (of which Universal chairman Ron Meyer said years later was among the worst films Universal ever released). From there, Miller took on another franchise that is far and away worlds apart from the Mad Max films: the Happy Feet movies. Miller was attracted to telling a story that dealt with a desert of another kind: instead of blistering hot, freezing cold. Like Babe, Miller did the Happy Feet movies mostly for his children. Happy Feet Two, in particular, is notable for being the final time that actor Robin Williams would be heard in an animated film.
Still, Miller couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't done with the Mad Max series. In 2003, he and Mel Gibson had attempted to put together a new Mad Max film and were weeks away from shooting a fourth film when the U.S. invaded Iraq and the dollar shifted in Australia. Gibson decided to walk away from the character in favor of directing The Passion of the Christ. After having similar trouble attempting to start production on a Justice League film, Miller then considered making Mad Max 4 as a R-rated 3D animated film in anime style, but by 2009 (the franchise's 30th anniversary), he finally decided enough was enough and that it was time to reintroduce a live-action Mad Max to the world.
In the desolate world of the Wasteland, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is more savage than man. In more ways than one, the Road Warrior is not what he used to be. Max is quickly captured by the War Boys, loyal fanatics of a warrior king known as Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne; returning to the series as yet another villain, after portraying the first film's Toecutter). The tyrannical Joe sends off a War Rig driven by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) for supplies, but Furiosa quickly betrays Joe and takes a cargo full of unwed mothers away from his clutches. Immortan Joe sends out a war party led by the ambitious and eager-to-please Nux (Nicholas Hoult of X-Men fame) with a muzzled Max in tow. Max eventually escapes Nux and catches up to Furiosa and the mothers. At first, Furiosa and Max are at odds, but once Max is convinced of their "righteous cause", he pledges to help them, once again becoming a man on a mission.
In the desolate world of the Wasteland, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is more savage than man. In more ways than one, the Road Warrior is not what he used to be. Max is quickly captured by the War Boys, loyal fanatics of a warrior king known as Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne; returning to the series as yet another villain, after portraying the first film's Toecutter). The tyrannical Joe sends off a War Rig driven by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) for supplies, but Furiosa quickly betrays Joe and takes a cargo full of unwed mothers away from his clutches. Immortan Joe sends out a war party led by the ambitious and eager-to-please Nux (Nicholas Hoult of X-Men fame) with a muzzled Max in tow. Max eventually escapes Nux and catches up to Furiosa and the mothers. At first, Furiosa and Max are at odds, but once Max is convinced of their "righteous cause", he pledges to help them, once again becoming a man on a mission.
I don't know if it'd be entirely accurate to say I'm new to the world of Mad Max (I bought the original on Blu-Ray and recommend it; and I also DVR'd The Road Warrior to rewatch it) but for those others of my generation who haven't seen nor heard of these other flicks, it has to be more than wildly confusing. Sure, some might say that this film doesn't necessarily have to be connected to the originals and can stand on its own - which it does for the most part - but unlike The Road Warrior which sums up the lead-up to the Wasteland and the events of Mad Max in less than two minutes. This movie tries to do the same thing with audio news sources, which is interesting. Max crops up to start narrating the movie, but this is eventually abandoned. From what I've read, there was more of his narration throughout the movie but it was eventually cut out after test screenings.
A lot recently has been made up of this Mad Max movie supposedly not being tailored towards men as the franchise had been in the past. The Mad Max movies have introduced strong-willed women in each film (Jessie Rockatansky from Mad Max, the Warrior Woman from Road Warrior and notably Tina Turner's Aunty Entity from Beyond Thunderdome) in the past and this one is no different. The story point of Furiosa and the Mothers is to give Max a "righteous cause" so he can eventually revert from mindless savage to the badass hero we all expect. Charlize Theron gives her all in this part (though I'm kind of confused as to why her and some of the other Mothers don't have Australian accents). It's not entirely her movie as they would like you to believe. And even if it was, by the end of this movie where she loses her robotic arm and one eye, she earned it.
The technical achievements of this film are phenomenal. The amount of physical effects in the car crashes and explosions - a staple of the franchise - is staggering. Take in this fact: George Miller is 70 years old. The cinematographer of this movie, John Seale, is 72. All of this crash, boom, bang would result in blockbuster king Michael Bay watching this movie and sitting there, dumbstruck. And possibly crying into his popcorn. All these vehicles had to be built from the ground up and this movie has one of the longest credits dedicated to stunt people I've ever seen. I'd also like to mention that the score by Junkie XL is very, very good. It amps up the action with hard-hitting drum beats but also compliments the softer scenes with sweeter melodies (almost like the original Mad Max).
A lot recently has been made up of this Mad Max movie supposedly not being tailored towards men as the franchise had been in the past. The Mad Max movies have introduced strong-willed women in each film (Jessie Rockatansky from Mad Max, the Warrior Woman from Road Warrior and notably Tina Turner's Aunty Entity from Beyond Thunderdome) in the past and this one is no different. The story point of Furiosa and the Mothers is to give Max a "righteous cause" so he can eventually revert from mindless savage to the badass hero we all expect. Charlize Theron gives her all in this part (though I'm kind of confused as to why her and some of the other Mothers don't have Australian accents). It's not entirely her movie as they would like you to believe. And even if it was, by the end of this movie where she loses her robotic arm and one eye, she earned it.
The technical achievements of this film are phenomenal. The amount of physical effects in the car crashes and explosions - a staple of the franchise - is staggering. Take in this fact: George Miller is 70 years old. The cinematographer of this movie, John Seale, is 72. All of this crash, boom, bang would result in blockbuster king Michael Bay watching this movie and sitting there, dumbstruck. And possibly crying into his popcorn. All these vehicles had to be built from the ground up and this movie has one of the longest credits dedicated to stunt people I've ever seen. I'd also like to mention that the score by Junkie XL is very, very good. It amps up the action with hard-hitting drum beats but also compliments the softer scenes with sweeter melodies (almost like the original Mad Max).
Many were surprised to see how well Mad Max: Fury Road did with the critical reception resulting in only two rotten reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. It's the triumphant return of a great director as well as a classic franchise. I'd like to mention I first saw this film in 3D (I hadn't seen a 3D film since Gravity and went through all of 2014 in 2D) and thought it wasn't a bad post-conversion. Hooks, chains, and even guitars fly out towards the screen while expanding the world into the screen. Kick it into drive and see Fury Road.
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