Mad Max: Fury Road Movie Review

 "I live, I die! I LIVE AGAIN!"

-Nux

I'm ashamed that it took me so long to post a review for Mad Max: Fury Road when it has easily been my favorite movie of the year so far. I had the immense pleasure seeing this film three times in theaters, all three times on large format displays like IMAX. A little costly? Sure. Do I regret it? Not one bit. I truly feel for the people who did not have the privilege of seeing this in theaters since I feel like the home theater experience just won't compare! George Miller, the mastermind behind the Mad Max series which he created back in the 80's, came back in full force for Fury Road. What do you get when you send a 70-year old man into the desert with 150 million dollars? Mad Max: Fury Road, the action film that puts all summer blockbusters to shame. I'm looking at you Ultron, but especially you Michael Bay, who does not fail to consistently destroy the beloved Transformers series. But I digress. Starring Tom Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron as Furiosa and with a standout performance from Nicholas Holt as Nux, Mad Max delivers on every level.

It's honestly hard for me to decide where to start praising this film. I guess I'll start with the adrenaline rush. From start to finish, save a few moments to breathe, Mad Max is a non-stop, heart-pumping action movie. Vehicular warfare like you've never seen before! With close to no dialogue, Miller creates a rich image of this post-apocalyptic world that the story will take place in, within the first ten minutes. Simply through stunning visuals and character interactions we can see that this place called The Citadel, in the middle of the desert, is ruled over by a tyrant named Immortan Joe. He has claim to a ridiculous amount of fresh water and uses it to control the hundreds of people he rules over. All the young men are raised to be War Boys, simply put they're brainwashed martyrs with the promise of entering Valhalla. They're belligerent and over the top but they are true to their beliefs. We're also introduced to Max as a wanderer with a very troubled past and at the start of the film is captured by a pack of Immortan Joe's War Boys. He is kept as a prisoners and since they discovered he had Type O blood, they used him as a human blood bag for sick War Boys. Enter Imperator Furiosa played by the beautiful Charlize Theron. She is one of Immortan Joe's best warriors despite only having one arm, and is tasked with leading a group to acquire gasoline and ammunition from nearby settlements. She has other plans in mind.

On top of the cruel way he rules over the people, Immortan Joe also has a select few, exceptionally beautiful women locked away with the sole purpose of bearing his children. Furiosa smuggles all of the women out of The Citadel in her war vehicle, without anyone noticing. When Immortan Joe does find out that his "property" has been taken, as he refers to the women, he sets out with every able War Boy to get them back, and this is where the madness ensues. Nux is a sickly War Boy (Holt) whose blood bag happens to be Max. With no intention of sitting around and missing his biggest chance yet to die in battle and enter Valhalla Nux chains up Max to his war vehicle, still connected through an IV! This is when I knew this movie was something I had never seen before. The designs of the war vehicles were also very cool. Tricked out with massive spikes, flame throwers, swinging blades and the works. They were all different and deadly in their own ways, but nothing beats the vehicle that was powered by music. On the back were about a dozen War Boys pounding on drums but on the front was the real MVP! He was this sadistic looking guitar player attached to the vehicle with these bungee strings and I forgot to mention that his guitar also doubled up as a flamethrower. Just writing this makes me feel ridiculous, but seeing it is simply out of this world amazing. I was excited by the creativity and the wackiness and was so impressed by how everything was put together. It also was awesome to know that there was a large amount of practical effects that went into the actions scenes and made everything look and feel that much better.

So Max manages to escape the death trap he was strapped to and he and Furiosa are forced into working together for mutual benefit. Now don't be fooled, the film may be named Mad Max but it is very much Furiosa's movie. She is kick-ass on every level and is proof that Hollywood can have women in action movies take on leading roles that serve more than eye-candy or damsel in distress scenarios. (Michael Bay again!) The two have their strengths and weaknesses but both have good intentions at heart and make a pretty awesome duo, given the horrible world in which they live and terrible circumstances they're put in. How could a movie with over an hour of chase scenes be so incredibly breath-taking? I don't know. The story was by no means flawless, but whatever flaws were present were easy for me to look over. The action was superb, the story was captivating, the characters were interesting, and this music was memorable. I mean what else could you ask for from an action blockbuster? I absolutely loved Mad Max: Fury Road and I am so Glad George Miller got to make the movie he wanted to make. Such a unique experience watching this movie on a massive screen, sound blasting, seat rattling. I easily give Mad Max: Fury Road a 10 out of 10.