Mad Max: Fury Road (FILM REVIEW)
Mad Max: Fury
Road
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Road Warrior Rises to the Occasion in Relentlessly-Harrowing Reboot of Sci-Fi Franchise
Fury Road reboots
the legendary Mad Max franchise which has been sitting dormant for several
decades. This fourth installment was again produced, written and directed by
Oscar-winner George Miller (for Happy Feet) who tapped Tom Hardy to replace
disgraced Mel Gibson in the title role as Max Rockatansky, the highway patrol
officer-turned-intrepid road warrior given to dispensing a grisly brand of
vigilante justice.
Set in 2060 AD, this post-apocalyptic
adventure unfolds in the relentlessly-grim dystopia left in the wake of the
series of global calamities that led to a total breakdown of civilization. At
the point of departure, we find Max haunted by his tragic past and hunted by desperate
scavengers as he drifts around the vast wasteland in a rusty, rattling,
off-road muscle car.
The stoic gunslinger’s
resolve to go it alone is soon tested when he crosses paths with Imperator Furiosa
(Charlize Theron), a fearless alpha female making a break across the desert with
former sex slaves hidden in the hold of her big rig. She’s just freed the traumatized
quintet from the clutches of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a
ruthless tyrant who wants his breeders back, especially Splendid
(Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), since she’s already pregnant and possibly carrying
his first male heir.
The enraged warlord
has dispatched a caravan of bloodthirsty goons who will stop at nothing to
retrieve his so-called “wives.” Fortunately, they’ve found a sympathetic soul
in Max who agrees to join forces with Furiosa upon being apprised of their
plight.
The plan is to drive non-stop across the desert to “The Green Place,” a Shangri-La rumored to be teeming with water, vegetation and other scarce natural resources. But getting there proves to be all the fun, as our intrepid hero and heroine negotiate a relentless gauntlet of evil adversaries in dune buggies outfitted with a very creative variety of deadly military hardware.
The plan is to drive non-stop across the desert to “The Green Place,” a Shangri-La rumored to be teeming with water, vegetation and other scarce natural resources. But getting there proves to be all the fun, as our intrepid hero and heroine negotiate a relentless gauntlet of evil adversaries in dune buggies outfitted with a very creative variety of deadly military hardware.
An edge-of-your-seat,
adrenaline-fueled, high body-count splatterfest that remains riveting from
start to finish despite dispensing with the idea of plot development once the
premise has been set.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R
for disturbing images and relentless intense violence
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers
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