"Mad Max: Fury Road" is Frank Miller's reimagining of the original "Mad Max" , which was released in 1979, starring Mel Gibson. Although the original "Mad Max" is recognized as a cult classic, the reboot takes advantage of twenty-first century technology and uses it to create a world and characters that would have been impossible in the original. Due to this new found freedom within filmmaking, the story vastly differs from the original. The film stars Tom Hardy ("The Dark Knight Rises," "Warrior") as "Mad" Max.
The movie's atmosphere includes non-stop action to the very end, which confidently suits the complex plot, a chase through a post apocalyptic wasteland in souped-up vehicular Frankensteins' (imagine a sixteen wheeler plus construction crane). From the opening sequence to the credits this film is GO,GO,GO. At points in the movie it is almost like the characters have been put into a perpetual state of fast forward, with the "War Boys" moving at superhuman speed due to a drug that they huff. The characters that inhabit the film are some of the more memorable in recent memory, especially the main antagonist, Immortan Joe.
The film has interesting way of telling its story, as Max could very well be considered the "sidekick" to the Imperator Furiosa (played excellently by Charlize Theron). Without her Max's adventure would never have been set into motion, and we see her break certain tropes about the "main character" in movies. She is as skilled, if not more so than Max.
A sequel is already being filmed, and if I could make a comparison between "Mad Max" and another movie, it would have to be "Batman Begins". My reasons for this are "Batman Begins" was a solid "starting" movie that set up a world and story that produced one of the finest movie trilogies in recent history. I believe that Fury Road establishes a world and characters that beg to be explored more. It will be interesting to see how Miller expands upon his reinvigorated universe.
The plot of the movie is a bit thin on substance, as I said before. It boils down to a chase in the desert, but crazy characters, backdrops and vehicles make this movie so much richer than that basic plot line. For someone that the characters within in the film, as well as the audience, never truly get to know, Hardy nails his role as Max. Although the movie does drop some hints on it throughout the film.
If you are looking for a summer blockbuster with some substance, "Mad Max" definitely has more to say than the dozen or so super hero blockbusters that are in theaters or will be there soon.
