Mad Max: Fury Road: 99% Fresh with 190 Critic Reviews

[Tel Aviv]

A lot has been made of Theron - she's very good after all - but I thought Hardy was great also. Peculiar in his mannerisms, almost feral at times. His and Furiosa's relationship was one of the high points of the movie for me.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Tel Aviv

[Nonek]

I've also always liked Hardy, though definitely a secondary player in this movie, I think his part is well played, just not really well fleshed out. Though I admit that I thought Mel Gibson's Max was more mellow than mad, and provided more of a sane backdrop to the world and setting than indulging in the outrageousness. 

[Monte Carlo]

Hardy is an interesting actor and he keeps getting better. Give him ten years and he'll be very, very good indeed.

 

I *loved* him in Inception. He was one of the best characters in it.

[BruceVC]

This movie is a sort of a triumph and a sort of film I have been wanting and wanting and haven't recieved in a very long time from Hollywood action cinema. But that anyone thinks there's anything here worth talking about politically is baffling to me. There is not some complex discussion about gender politics going on in this movie. It's a simple, straightforward action movie plot that has been told a hundred times before in exactly the same way -- so common because it serves an action movie pacing so perfectly well when done right. There are a dozen films out every year that could have books written about the way they examine gender, and none of the people talking about Mad Max will ever watch any of them.

 

The great thing about this movie, and the thing everyone should actually be talking about, is that no matter how much commotion is on the screen at once, or how fast everything is moving, or how frantic everyone is behaving, I did not at any point feel like I was having trouble following it. This is a big, big deal today. The Bourne films, the Taken films, the Transformers films, the like six movies where aliens blow up a city and nothing else happens, and just about every single super hero movie that has come out, they have all somehow managed to train their directors and cinematographers to painstakingly unlearn every important technique directors have carefully crafted to ensure that the audience's brains can easily and effortlessly follow the action as it flows on screen. Every fight scene in the last ten years has been between people who shouldn't know karate doing crazy karate moves while the camera darts around them every which way and cutting approximately every quarter of a nanosecond. Characters swapping places. Blows you only know connect because of the sound effects. Nobody ever seeming to get tired except the viewer. No indication at all of which side is gaining ground and which is losing it. Battles are editted where they should be chereographed, and choreographed where they should be editted.

 

Methods of conveying this information have been around and perfected for almost a century. Buster Keaton made probably the most perfectly filmed action chase movie ever filmed in goddamn 1926 with The General, and this is probably the first movie I've seen in over a decade where I could tell the director had actually seen and studied that movie and others like it. I felt like I was moving in one direction watching this movie, the direction of the chase, and I felt that the film and its pacing and its plotting were going in that same direction and at the same breakneck speed. It's sad that it has become exceptional for a film to achieve this today, and that it isn't just the norm for any high quality film, but since it is then this film is definitely that -- exceptional.

 

I liked that the movie had just the right blend of practical effects and CGI, with the CGI serving more to enhance the imagery rather than create it from scratch, or to create the otherwise completely impossible like that nuclear dust/fire storm. (I would bet 50 dollars whoever designed the look of that storm was inspired by those John Martin paintings on some level.) And that the practical effects were used to ensure that this was a world that felt real and lived in. So many things came together to make this a world that felt lived in. Little details like the embossed metal detailing of the headliner of the main vehicle. The just right amount of wear and slashdash look of the SKS rifle they rely on. Just too many little things like this to list but the things that turn a dumb action movie into a piece of extremely fine craftsmanship.

 

I liked that the whole movie could have been in Cantonese without subtitles and I wouldn't have had the slightest trouble understanding what was going on. An action movie that can achieve this by the strength of its plot and pacing rather than its weakness is a marvelous thing.

 

This is not some kind of revolutionary film. In fact I could name you a dozen 80s and a few 90s action films in the same vein as this one that do all these same things at least as well and most better. But those are films I would be extremely excited to see if I could for the first time again, and this is one of very few action movies I've seen in a very long time that would rank among them and the action classics, and that's reason enough to be excited for me. Maybe they'll finally get back to making movies this way.

 

This is a very interesting post, I learnt something from it 

[BruceVC]

 

 

Aram, just out of interest would you mind sharing the titles of the older action movies you reference in your (splendid) review?

He is probably referring to the original Supermen movies and Star Wars?

[ravenshrike]

 

You're dodging the question. Would you accept an Alien movie with Ripley assigned to a lesser role and played by a much weaker actress than the main male lead? Hardy is nowhere near the same weight class as Theron.

 

Some random trivia: the original Alien 3 screenplay written by William Gibson, author of neuromancer, had Ripley going off her own way with Newt and the story then following Hicks and Bishop as the two leads. Instead, we got...the movie we got, where everyone is miserable and then dies.

 

Which, given my earlier statement of Mad Max only being in a cameo being an acceptable hook into the MM universe means... what exactly? That Gibson understands how to handle the iconic character in a franchise?

[Monte Carlo]

Ravenshrike, I've not seen the movie yet, but from the reviews I've read I'm beginning to form an idea. And that is Miller fell in love with the Furiosa character, making a conscious decision to use Max as a foil to launch her into the franchise. Max is big enough a presence to do it. It wouldn't be the first time during the creative process a secondary character became a muse, nor a 'secondary' actor stealing the lead's thunder (I give you Alan Rickman, who does it in virtually every movie he graces).

 

Maybe Charlize is just an ultra-hot Alan Rickman. LOL.

 

This, given Miller's age and bona fides, strikes me as a more likely reason why Furiosa is such a big deal in the movie than some sort of SJW conspiracy (and I'm one of those people who acknowledges the ability of SJW types to launch a conspiracy when it suits them).

 

Just a thought.

[sorophx]

I'll repeat myself, but it's nothing new in the Mad Max movies. the only movie where he is the center is the original. he's playing second to the tribe at the oil refinery in Road Warrior, and barely even there in Beyond Thunderdome.

 

anyway, Red Letter Media (the only "critics" worth a damn in today's world, IMO) just released their review, and it's basically 20 minutes of singing praises to Fury Road and Miller. so yeah, probably the best movie of 2015, unless a miracle happens.

Edited May 17, 2015 by sorophx

[Sarex]

Idk, I think Max fulfilled his role in this one perfectly. While I may agree that Furiosa got a little more of the spot light in the movie, Max's story somehow seems bigger to me (hard to explain it). That may be because it wasn't expanded on, where as we pretty much find out everything about Furiosa.

 

Plus the ending

where we see Max melting in to the crowd and continuing his journey as a wanderer and Furiosa settling down and "finishing" her story.

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by Sarex

[GhoulishVisage]

Saw the movie today. Absolutely fantastic.
Visuals were amazing. Action was amazing. Soundtrack was amazing.

Dunno why Hardy seemed intent on doing a Sylvester Stallone impersonation though.

 

Spoilers, yo.

While the movie does focus on Furiosa quite a bit, and Max is more of a catalyst than a verbose character, it is completely disingenuous to say that he was a non-entity.

At the beginning of the film Max is more like an animal than a man. He's been wandering the wasteland alone for years and the events of the previous films have had their toll on him. This is reflected in his non-verbalness and feral attitude, his entire existence was one of pursuit and violence. He only interacts in a non-violent manner with other people when the situation is forced on him.

Through the film as he comes to care about the rest of the characters on the War Rig he is drawn out of himself and becomes more like a man again; he talks more even though it seems difficult for him and he decides to stay with the women and help them to the end of their quest rather than go back to his animalistic ways when given the chance.

By the end of the movie he once again cares about something, where in the beginning he said himself that the only constant on his mind was his own survival.

[Volourn]

Watched this today. Bottom line is that it's a terrrific movie and Max doesn't take a 'back seat' to anyone. Both sides are fukll crap here. Yeah, Furiosa is an important character but no more than Tina Turner's character was in MM3. Besides, many of the  coacstars like the Hot Ladies 5  and Hoult's character 9as well as main villain) are deeper, more inetresting, and more complex than either lead espicially Furiosa. She is, quite possibly, the least complex named character in movie stuill thanks to great acting  she holds her own. It is clear that Max is the main character  with Furiosa as a costar even if it is her chocies that push the main story into action. Plus, Max is clearly the better warrior  and whatnot. It also  clear she looks to him for a lot of help.

\

 

The only SJWing here is that all villains are male.

 

\Still, fantastic action film.

 

Biggest complaints are Max being capture right from the start and the movie doesn't know how to 'set things up'. It's go go go pretty much from the start.

 

 

8/10 Would watch again.

 

 

Sarex: the problem with that thought is that part 2 (5?) is already in progress and it is subtitled after her so obviously she's gonna play a huge role in that. I'm fine with it as long as it still continues to be  Max.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Volourn

[CoM_Solaufein]

I'm going to go see it again tonight. Its a rare thing for me to see a movie more than once in the theaters with the costs of tickets these days.

[Sarex]

Sarex: the problem with that thought is that part 2 (5?) is already in progress and it is subtitled after her so obviously she's gonna play a huge role in that. I'm fine with it as long as it still continues to be  Max.

 

Ugh, did not know that. Well not like I have anything against her, she was a fantastic character, but I do hope the next movie is more Max focused.

 

edit: So it seems that they had a trilogy set up from the get go, that usually makes for a good sequel. Looking forward to the next movie even more now.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Sarex

[Aram]

Aram, just out of interest would you mind sharing the titles of the older action movies you reference in your (splendid) review?

Just off the top of my head: Some very early ones to see are The General with Buster Keaton, Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and a French film called The Wages of Fear, three films that still have yet to be outdone for pure perfection and art. I'd say great modern action started in the 60s, more as scenes within other films. Bullitt is still the best car chase of all time, not because of the speed or craziness of it but for the use of landmark techniques to create the feeling of movement for the viewer. The Train, for similar reasons. The Wild Bunch created the crazy action shootout. Most all the Hong Kong films of John Woo, which while messy at times and responsible for some bad imitations, were exceptionally well filmed. The films of John McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard), Walter Hill (The Driver, 48 Hours, Extreme Prejudice etc), John Frankenheimer (The Train, Grand Prix, Ronin), John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from New York), Paul Verhoven (Robocop, Total Recall), James Cameron before he went wierd (Terminator, Aliens, etc), Spielberg (Indiana Jones, etc.).

 

I'm pretty sure I just typed out a bunch of movies everyone here has already seen. A great action movie tends not to be something that stays obscure. And this list of course ignores the hundreds of western, samurai, war, adventure, and thriller films in which the techniques for filming action actually originated.

[Nonek]

One of my favourite action movies as a young man was John Boorman's Point Blank, really the epitome of post Noir thrillers in my mind. Interestingly enough remade with Mel Gibson as Payback, a far more blunt adaptation in my opinion. Then again I far prefer Lee Marvin as an actor.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Nonek

[Aram]

Point Blank is a great, great, great film but I'm not sure I'd call it an action film.  Maybe just a crime/noir film though obviously there's considerable overlap there.

 

A great Lee Marvin film from that same time that is straight up action is Prime Cut. A man gets turned into sausage. Gene Hackman plays a guy named Mary Sue and sells a naked Sissy Spacek at a cattle auction. Lee Marvin takes her to dinner in a completely see through dress and dares anyone to complain about it. Then he has a giant machinegun battle in a sunflower field. Crashes a truck through a giant greenhouse, survives a redneck trying to stab him to death with a hot dog, and feeds Mary Sue to pigs. Great beyond words.

 

Another is Emperor of the North. Lee Marvin and Ernie Borgnine have Mortal Kombat on the top of a train for an hour and a half, and somehow it's an hour and a half of pure bliss. Borgnine gives the meanest and most fearsome performance I might have ever seen, second only perhaps to the giant shark in Jaws or maybe Godzilla. Sends a hobo underneath the wheels of a train with a blow to the head from a giant hammer. The final battle between him and Marvin on the train might be the most brutal and cringe inducing five rounds ever fought.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Aram

[GhoulishVisage]

So in relation to my theory that Warner Bros would offer George Miller a shot at directing one of their DC films it seems like that already happened in the past.
George Miller was going to direct a Justice League movie titled Justice League: Mortal, but that was cancelled quite deep into pre-production.

Wonder what it would have been like.

Edited May 17, 2015 by GhoulishVisage

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Saw this today. It was quite a lot of fun, and Hardy played Max perfectly. On board for the next film.

 

So in relation to my theory that Warner Bros would offer George Miller a shot at directing one of their DC films it seems like that already happened in the past.

George Miller was going to direct a Justice League movie titled Justice League: Mortal, but that was cancelled quite deep into pre-production.

Wonder what it would have been like.

Better than Zack Snyder's JL.

[Hurlshort]

Wow, that was a thrill ride.  I wanted more of the guitar guy shredding away.  

 

I need to watch it again, for sure.

[ravenshrike]

So went and saw it again, this time attempting to discern the feminist superiority. The only area it's even applicable is the viewpoint of the

harem girls pre-death of the pregnant one. They blame all the evils and violence of the world on men. This however is because of the situation they found themselves in and the teachings of the crazy old biddy in the seraglio(At least, I assume that's how the redhead learned the concept of manifest destiny). It is subsequently overturned by the introduction of the older women. Besides their skills with weapons alone, given that it is improbable to say the least that all men they encountered would have been hostile, the lack of any among them means they pretty clearly had no problem killing any that crossed their territory no matter their intentions.

In any case, it's pretty much bunkem that any significant portion of the movie revolves around it.

 

What I'm going to be interested in is the director's cut because paying closer attention to the cuts present in the movie, it's pretty clear there were rather significant chunks of exposition removed. Having seen it twice, I still maintain it would have worked far better as an AU like Prometheus rather than try to tie it into the original continuity.

Edited May 18, 2015 by ravenshrike

[CoM_Solaufein]

Wow, that was a thrill ride.  I wanted more of the guitar guy shredding away.  

 

I need to watch it again, for sure.

That guitar guy was funny. He's jamming to that guitar while there are bullets flying and cars exploding.

[ravenshrike]

I'll repeat myself, but it's nothing new in the Mad Max movies. the only movie where he is the center is the original. he's playing second to the tribe at the oil refinery in Road Warrior, and barely even there in Beyond Thunderdome.

 

anyway, Red Letter Media (the only "critics" worth a damn in today's world, IMO) just released their review, and it's basically 20 minutes of singing praises to Fury Road and Miller. so yeah, probably the best movie of 2015, unless a miracle happens.

Have you seen Kingsman yet? It's another really good movie that is easily in contention for the position.

[sorophx]

I don't really get the whole spy spoof genre. to be frank, I even hate James Bond movies, Mission Impossible movies, Bourne movies etc. and those aren't really spoofs, they take themselves seriously. 

 

so yes, I did see Kingsman, I came in with low expectations, I didn't like the two leads (I think Firth was terribly miscast), in other words - not my cup of tea

Edited May 18, 2015 by sorophx

[Calax]

Wow, that was a thrill ride.  I wanted more of the guitar guy shredding away.  

 

I need to watch it again, for sure.

Two things that I noticed after watching it last night. One is that it felt a tiny bit to long (although I saw it in 3d and 3d glasses plus perscription = not that great an experiance), the other is that it felt like there was an entire other story or two that we didn't see involving gas town and the bullet farm.

 

Also I wish that they gave the characters more identifiers. Only three names were really known, but there were significantly more characters.

[Monte Carlo]

Miller had a torrid time re-shooting and editing the movie. I vicariously know someone working on the first unit for the shoot in Africa, and they were out there much longer than planned.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Monte Carlo