Film Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

Move aside Mel Gibson. George Miller’s spectacular example of just how far you can “pimp someone’s ride” comes to us not as another Mad Max sequel, but as an entirely new reboot of the franchise. Mad Max: Fury Road is a film that leaves you with a thirst for more (in some cases literally), not to mention boasting the eye candy that is Tom Hardy. It’s been around two decades since we saw The Road Warrior, but this is already shaping up to be the most anticipated, post-apocalyptic comeback of the year.

Meet Mad Max (Tom Hardy), an ex-copper with the regret of losing loved ones weighing heavily on his conscience. He doesn’t have long to think about it, however, before a war-torn tribe capture and brand him as a “universal donor” before sticking him in a cage for a rainy day. This comes sooner rather than later when he’s taken along for a “midday snack” with driver, Nux (Nicholas Hoult), who has been sent to hunt down Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) after making off with the big boss’s precious cargo. Disaster strikes, Max escapes, and all hell breaks loose. Seeing a common enemy, Max and Imperator team up to become the ultimate driving team.

Desert very much meets destruction derby in this high-octane, action-packed powerhouse. With vehicles going toe-to-toe, suicidal grenadiers, clay pigeon shooting rogue motorcyclists out of the air, and enough mod-cons to shame boy-racers, it will leave men and women alike melting in their chair happily.

The music was an epic and unexpected delight, with a classic and cut-throat orchestral pieces that keeps the blood flowing. It also cleverly pokes fun by using a sociopathic guitarist en scene to play the score which underlines most of the chase scenes (it is actually the sole purpose of one of the pursuing cars to just play music). While a bit on the extravagant side, after seeing some of the other fantastic nonsense, it doesn’t really beg any questions.

Strip everything away from Mad Max: Fury Road and what it’s left with is a simple story which works and flows smoothly, leaving the imaginative and outlandish concept of a war-torn world gone mad to go full throttle. Few movies make loud noises in all the right places, but this one leaves all five of your senses reeling, and you will definitely be okay with this. Even though there’s barely any time to breathe during its run time; Mad Max is a symphony of pace, pluckiness, and dark humour.

8.5/10