In a period where underwhelming reboots of 80's franchises are regularly produced (*cough cough Terminator Genysis), it's refreshing to see one that has not only stuck to its roots, but bought the films into the modern day. Fury Road focuses on Max (Tom Hardy), attempting to escape from the dystopia led by Immortan Joe (High Keays-Byrne), joining forces with Furiosa (Charlize Theron) to go on an adrenaline fuelled ride full of crazy stunts that you would never believe were not done with visual effects. The attention to detail in this film is so beautiful to see compared to the ruination of comparative franchises.
From the building of the cars that provided such a big part of the originals all the way to the small details like the pedals and engravings that aren't even seen on camera, there's a sense that more than film props were being created, but a whole new world, it would have been much less expensive to use CGI yet, as a homage to the originals, CGI never went anywhere near the making of the film. Bear in mind some of the stunts that were performed were extremely elaborate, this was some achievement.
Visually, the robust mechanics and the effect of a post apocalyptic environment are perfectly captured with orange colour pellets and desolate landscapes, the sound effects are rough and hard and perfectly encapsulate the world we view in the film. Unlike George Lucas' Star Wars prequels, Miller has understood what made the originals so great and stuck to it in a typical "if it aint broke, don't fix it," attitude and enhanced its effectiveness in a digital age.
Not only are the effects is Mad max refreshingly different, but unlike many blockbusters, the plot is almost entirely driven by Furiosa, rather than the Hollywood norm of having the female characters in supporting roles. You could almost take Max out of the film totally and the plot, even though it's typically simple, would be unaffected.
Overall, Mad Max Fury Road is one of the most refreshing films of the year with a simple plot visualised impressively. A great watch for both fans of the franchise and more casual cinema goers. Every top director should take into account how a reboot should be done and watch this. Just goes to show you don't need to overuse CGI to make a visually brilliant blockbuster. 9 out of 10.
I SO wanted to go and see this, but just didn't have the time. I feel it might be one of those films that needs the cinema to show it in full glory, would you agree? Is it worth watching it at home purely for the narrative construction? Thanks for posting!