Mad Max: Fury Road (4K Ultra HD)

Awesome movie. Lots of outlandish characters and expertly paced action. It's a reeling journey from start to finish, with a great ending. Somehow it's utterly serious and dramatic, while also absurd and insane. Fast paced but good character development through what is basically a straight shot storyline. Beautiful cinematography and stark imagery. And seeing it in 4K with proper HDR was a sight to behold!

I'm a huge fan of the older Mad Max movies, and I was skeptical this movie could capture the originals. But it does, and so much more. Within ten minutes, I realized it made the original trilogy look kind of cheap and chintzy. This is Mad Max in all his glory. Tom Hardy (a highly underrated actor) is a perfect replacement as Max. And the story is the essence of a simple story well-told. Max gets captured and turned into a living blood bank for a soldier of a twisted death cult, run by the truly sinister Immortan Joe. Immortan Joe is kind of like Lord Humungous from "Road Warrior," if he had gathered a larger following. And was more psychotic. Immortan Joe has created an army of suicidal soldiers, and controls the people with regular dumps of fresh water. But when one of his minions, Furiosa, frees his enslaved women (his "breeders) and sets out to take them to a land of freedom, Immortan Joe's legions are in a race to stop her. Of course, Mad Max ends up on Furiosa's side, and joins them in their journey. What all this boils down to is pretty much a two-hour car chase, which is just fine. The racing scenes were always the best part of the Mad Max movies, and this movie is that in spades. You've got people jumping from one car to another, shooting up other cars, bad guys getting run over by cars, and cars smashing into each other almost non-stop. Every now and then, we get a break in the action, but then it's back to car chases again. It works surprisingly well. The only flaw I could find is that the story development is severely lacking. There are so many questions left unanswered. Why is Immortan Joe so obsessed with breeding children? What is the disease that's killing the "warboys?" Why is so much of the Earth "salted?" What is it that Furiosa feels the need to redeem herself from? The original movies didn't explain much, either, but with all the running around, there's room for almost nothing else. But that's okay. A lot of it is implied, and you don't really need a reason to see cars jumping over each other. And I'd also like to add that, even with a shaved head, black smeared on her face, and missing an arm, Charlize Theron is gorgeous. Good movie. Hope there's more Mad Max on the way.

If you have a great 4K TV, this just looks SPECTACULAR.

Although it lacks the emotional depth of "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max" this movie is still well worth watching for its edge-of-the-seat action sequences and the performances by Charlize Therion and Tom Hardy. The story line is straightforward: In a post-apocalyptic world Therion is bent of rescuing a small group of young women who have been used as breeding stock by an aging madman. Pursued by the madman's minions, including the mysterious Max, who is himself being used in a hellish way, Therion and Hardy reluctantly join forces in an effort to save the young women. Hardy brings much of the intensity to his role as Max that a young Mel Gibson did when he originated the character. Therion turns in an excellent performance as the warrior woman trying to rescue the young women. The writers gave her a prosthetic arm in this movie, which she uses to great effect in some of the fight scenes. The dialogue is not award-winning, though I honestly didn't expect it to be given the fact that this movie is essentially one long chase through what's left of the world. I didn't consider this to be a real problem since the production was designed as an action/adventure and not a philosophical ramble through the darkness of some men's souls. The action is vivid, the special effects are extraordinary and together they make up for the lack of pithy dialogue. Not a classic but for action/adventure fans "Mad Max: Fury Road" is both interesting and fun to watch.

This is the best movie ever I had to watch the first two watch the last one and oh my gosh, it did not disappoint at all

I mean my headline says it all, THIS IS THE MANLIEST MOVIE EVER MADE. It is a 2 hour, testosterone fueled action packed extravaganza. Literally everything that is alive and breathing in this movie is completely badass. Watching Mad Max Fury Road changed my life forever, literally. After I watched it, I went in the bathroom to release the case of beer I unknowingly consumed throughout the course of this masterpiece, only to not recognise my reflection in the mirror. I was 1 foot taller, 76 pounds heavier, absolutely ripped, and I somehow grew the most glorious and magnificent beard this world has ever seen. I went to gasp since I was caught off guard by what I saw, but all I could do was bellow a guttural roar that shattered the mirror and made it burst into flames while a brief guitar solo played from thin air. I quickly left the bathroom in a state of utter confusion in an attempt to discuss this with my girlfriend who had also watched the movie with me, however she was no longer in the living room. It was at this time, that I realized our three harmless dogs must have watched the it with us as well, because they had been transformed into massive, ravenous wolves. I quickly charged torwards the front door in an attempt to escape these beasts as they snarled and snapped at my leather boots that had also appeared at some point during the course of all of this. I barely escaped certain death as I slammed the door behind me, but not before one of them had managed to take a chunk of flesh from my shoulder, which I was able to quick patch up with my new found field training abilities. Still in my state of confusion, I peered into the darkness of my normally quiet neighborhood, attempting to gather my bearings and figure out where an insanely loud noise was coming from when BAM! My girlfriend comes flying through the midnight sky, over my house and lands in front of me on a battle worn Harley Davidson with exhaust pipes spewing flames from the back, chains hanging from the sides, and human skulls mounted on each handlebar. Before I could even question this, our newly transformed wolf beasts busted down the door and started charging at the same moment my neighbors house exploded as a convoy of war machine death vehicles smashed through it. I quickly jumped on the back of her Harley and we charged down the street, with the caravan following close behind. I reached down into the saddle bag to find a double barreled sawn off shotgun and a hand full of shells, so I loaded the shot gun, and jumped onto the roof of the war machine behind us, blasted the driver through the roof of the car, and swiftly got inside and took control of the vehicle. With his bloody carcass in the passenger seat, and one shell left in the gun, I smashed the side of the car into another vehicle which was racing along side of me, and shot his front tire out, resulting in him losing control of the vehicle. His car flipped two times into the bloodthirsty wasteland caravan and bursted into a flaming ball of destruction, buying us just enough time to get away and for me to share my review...

Pretty good action movie.

“That was nuts.” That’s my girlfriend’s word-for-word quote on our way out of the theater. She had never seen any of the Mad Max movies before, so she didn’t know what to expect. I have seen all three of the Mel Gibson Mad Max movies, and it’s pretty safe to say I’m a fan. I even put The Road Warrior on my “Should Have Won Best Picture” list. To be honest, however, when I heard they were making another Mad Max movie, I was very skeptical. Thunderdome is better than you remember, but it is the weakest of the first three. Sequels that come out more than ten years after the original are rarely, if ever, good movies. It’s been thirty. It sounded to me like a cynical cash grab. I also read about the delays in production and other problems on set (not the least of which was Gibson’s very public fall from grace) and expected a disaster. Then, I saw this trailer: My mouth dropped, and I was blown away. I can’t remember a trailer that hooked me so quickly, or strongly. (Whoever created it deserves some kind of award.) Then, the reviews that came in were overwhelmingly positive. This, I figured, was the summer movie to see. I figured right. If heavy metal was a movie instead of a music genre, this would be it. (Forget the cartoon from the 80s.) Blood, skulls, metal, motors, fire, spikes, guitars, gasoline, dirt, and scantily dressed babes. That’s metal, and that’s Mad Max: Fury Road. You don’t have to be a fan of heavy metal to enjoy this movie, however. If you appreciate the art of cinema, you will most likely enjoy it. There is so much to love about this movie; I’ll do my best to touch on as many elements as I can remember. Witness me! Pros The action. This had to be number one on my list. The action is almost non-stop from the movie’s start until the explosive finale, but it’s varied enough in intensity to keep the audience invested in the ride. This is a chase movie, after all. The best scene is the one teased in the trailer. It’s the first battle involving a giant dust storm, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I was physically drained after the sequence and I actually breathed a sigh of relief when it ended. The computer effects are blended seamlessly with the practical stunts, of which there are many. The result is pure audience immersion and investment. Any action movie to follow has a tough act to follow. What a lovely day, indeed. The sets/props. The vehicle design appealed both to the ten-year-old kid in me that liked to play with toy cars and to the designer in me that appreciates practical design. These vehicles all belonged to this world, and they all served a purpose (while looking insanely badass). Even the flamethrower guitar and drum truck (which was added out of sheer joy for the sake of being over-the-top, I’m sure) seemed to serve the purpose of boosting the War Boys’ morale. The costumes/makeup. The costumes and makeup design were top notch as well. The villains all looked both human and monstrous at the same time. The War Boys used oil, grease, and chrome as war paint, to a very unique and original effect. The Wives’ costumes objectified them, while at the same time empowering them. The objectification comes from the fact that they were sex slaves dressed by their captor. The empowerment comes from how they wore them, and owned them. Furiosa’s (Theron) robotic arm looked real, and it served a grander purpose (which I won’t spoil here). The editing. I’ve read that action movies are the most difficult to edit. Stay too long on a shot, and the audience will bore. Cut too quickly and they’ll miss what’s happening. The editor here, who I think is Miller’s wife, does a fantastic job of finding the happy medium. The acting. Tom Hardy is great as Max. He doesn’t say much; it’s mostly a physical performance. Gibson is better, but the comparison is unfair as he had three movies to tackle the role, and he had a lot more dialogue. Hardy’s Max is definitely crazier. Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played the villain Toecutter in the original movie, is back in Fury Road as Immortan Joe. He’s absolutely terrifying as an aging tyrant. His performance is a bit over the top, but it needed to be. Charlize Theron’s Furiosa steals the show, however. This is her movie. Her performance runs from badass to heartbroken to hopeless to triumphant in the span of the movie’s two hour run time. She’s the most interesting character, and the one you root for the most. The photography. This is a beautiful movie to look at. One reviewer remarked that the desert looked cartoonish. I disagree. I thought the CGI was blended expertly. The hot reds, oranges and yellows of the daytime battles contrasted beautifully with the deep blue of the night scenes. You could watch this movie and enjoy it just for the cinematography. The sound. The soundtrack jarred my insides. You felt every car flip, every gunshot, every explosion. This is a loud movie, but it’s supposed to be. The directing. Miller waited thirty years for the follow up, but he delivered in every way. The director brings everything together, and he shared his vision like an expert. The audience is truly immersed in this world. I’m impressed. No Gibson cameo. I was afraid there would be a Mel Gibson cameo in this movie, but that fear proved unfounded. A Gibson cameo would have taken the audience out of the world, so I’m glad it didn’t happen. Cons There really isn’t much wrong with this movie; it was a little bit difficult for me to think of any cons. However, I was able to manage a couple: The plot. Fury Road is basically The Road Warrior with a higher budget. Sex slaves have been swapped in for gasoline as the chase’s spark. I’m totally okay with this, but I can understand some moviegoers’ complaint in this department. It’s not Max’s movie (see “The acting” above). Again, I’m okay with this, but I understand the gripes. Furiosa (Theron) is the star of this movie, not Max. I read one review that calls her a Moses character, and Max is her Joshua. I mostly agree with that. The protests over the movie’s feminism are very stupid. What’s wrong with a testosterone fueled picture that also empowers women? Everybody wins, I say. Mad Max: Fury Road is the best movie I’ve seen (so far) this year. It’s a pure joy to watch, and George Miller, once again, thoroughly immerses you in his nightmare world. Although The Road Warrior is still my favorite in the series, Fury Road takes a very close second. Make sure you watch it on the big screen. It’s mad. Story: ★★★½ of 5 Action: ★★★★★ of 5 Visuals: ★★★★★ of 5 Overall: ★★★★½ of 5