Mad Max: Fury Road


"My name is Max. My world is reduced to a single instinct: survive. As the world fell it was hard to know who was more crazy, me...or everyone else."    - Max


release year: 2015
genre: post-apocalyptic road battle action
viewing setting: home Bluray 8/8/21 and 5/25/20 and 2/11/17 and 9/2/15 and theater 5/20/15

synopsis: In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, a warlord's greatest treasures are stolen, and he goes after them with everything at his disposal.

impressions: Wow. This was basically one long chase/battle scene with a couple of short breaks. I'm not kidding - of its 120 minutes, at least 100 were occupied by high-speed road-battles. The action was fast-paced and very kinetic, barely giving the viewer time to process what just happened before jumping headfirst into something else. Oddly enough for a film that crammed with action, there was a strong (if simple) plot that touched on some key elements: hope, redemption, revenge, womens' rights. This was the ultimate movie of this genre - it would be impossible to make a better one. There was that much action/fighting/violence, all of it on the road, at high speeds, with every possible weapon and tactic. They did an amazing job making this one.

acting: Tom Hardy is Max, who says little, fights well, and is haunted by the memories of those he couldn't save. Charlize Theron is a warrior woman who defies the evil warlord, and she's got equal or greater screen time than Hardy, and more to say. The guy who played the warlord was menacing, though much of that was due to his costume and mask. Nicholas Hoult (who played Beast in the most recent X-Men movies) is a crazed warrior who calms down eventually. There are a dozen other minor roles that were memorable.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A crazed guy thrashing about with his flamethrowing guitar, on the front of a truck as it drives into battle!

final word: Take everything that was best about The Road Warrior and fill an entire movie with it, and you've got this: an instant classic.

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