{"id":895,"date":"2015-05-12T16:33:44","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T21:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/culturated.com\/?p=895"},"modified":"2015-05-14T08:03:48","modified_gmt":"2015-05-14T13:03:48","slug":"mad-max-fury-road-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/mad-max-fury-road-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Mad Max Fury Road Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"gmail_extra\">\n<div class=\"gmail_quote\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Roaring, snarling, screeching into multiplexes this weekend,\u00a0<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madmaxmovie.com\"><strong>Mad Max: Fury Road<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/i>does not disappoint.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_extra\">\n<div class=\"gmail_quote\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>It&#8217;s currently sitting at<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/mad_max_fury_road\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a098%+ positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>, and\u00a0the very fact there are so many official reviews permitted days before the film opens is an indicator of the studio\u2019s confidence. So the only real question left about this belated fourth entry in director <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/George_Miller_(director)\"><strong>George Miller<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s post-apocalyptic car-crash franchise remains: Is it better than\u00a0<a title=\"The Road Warrior\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00BLSAM3A\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B00BLSAM3A&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=greglotra0a-20&amp;linkId=ND64TMR6VBGOOQOO\" target=\"_blank\"><i>The Road Warrior<\/i><\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019ll get to that in a second. In the meantime, here\u2019s why\u00a0<i>Mad Max: Fury Road\u00a0<\/i>is the rare entertainment vehicle that actually matches the hype&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hEJnMQG9ev8\" width=\"650\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>First, if they gave Best Cinematography Oscars to movies like this,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1392190\/\"><strong><i>Mad Max: Fury Road<\/i><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0could start stitching its\u00a0tux (fashioned from the flesh of its many dead, perhaps?) now. The film is gorgeous in its depiction of horror, heroism, blood, sweat, sun and sand.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Helvetica;\">Bright, full of color and almost overwhelming visual treats, even during the film\u2019s most freakish and horrific moments\u2014 and there&#8217;s no shortage\u2014 you can\u2019t look away. But you don\u2019t want to. It\u2019s been five years since cinematographer\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0005868\/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr10\" target=\"_blank\">John Seale<\/a><span style=\"font-family: Helvetica;\">\u00a0(Oscar winner for\u00a0<\/span><i>The English Patient<\/i><span style=\"font-family: Helvetica;\">, but also\u00a0<\/span><i>Rain Man, Witness, The Perfect Storm<\/i><span style=\"font-family: Helvetica;\">\u00a0and a slew of other prestige pictures) shot a film, but it\u2019s clear he hasn\u2019t lost a step. Seale brings A-list talent to B-movie\u00a0sensibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_extra\">\n<div class=\"gmail_quote\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>And oh, what amazing action sequences Seale shoots under Miller\u2019s virtuoso direction! The stunt work is staggering, and almost all of the spectacle is genuine. There are a few sequences that rely on CGI effects, and they are far less effective than the real thing.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/mad-max-fury-road-has-a-glorious-new-trailer-video-94002_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-899\" src=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/mad-max-fury-road-has-a-glorious-new-trailer-video-94002_1.jpg\" alt=\"mad-max-fury-road-Movie-review\" width=\"648\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/mad-max-fury-road-has-a-glorious-new-trailer-video-94002_1.jpg 648w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/mad-max-fury-road-has-a-glorious-new-trailer-video-94002_1-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/mad-max-fury-road-has-a-glorious-new-trailer-video-94002_1-330x185.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Miller\u2019s direction is aggressive, but not \u201clook at me!\u201d flamboyant. He\u2019s confident, but never lets the camera work supersede the story. He sagely eschews the rapid-fire editing that too often makes modern action movies chaotic and confusing. Here, you always know who is doing what, where they are and what\u2019s going on. The only time Miller really shows his hand is a terrific tracking shot backwards, as a choreography of cars slip into place, and it\u2019s well worth the indulgence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Everybody\u2019s going to focus on the car chase mayhem, which is admittedly jaw-dropping stuff. But, for my money, nothing tops one glorious fight sequence, early, on the ground, before all the vehicular violence kicks into gear. It left me absolutely giddy, with an escalating number of participants, weapons and wild cards. It brings something new to something that\u2019s been done in movies for more than a century. Later, there are a series of spiraling battles atop moving vehicles that are also super exciting, but for my money nothing tops that first extended fight scene.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Plot-wise, there\u2019s not much to give away because many others already have, and the story\u2019s not very complex. Narratively slotted between the first film and the second (which in itself is pretty cool\u2013 it&#8217;s not a sequel, not a reboot, but an interstitial entry), Max is loosed in the wasteland, where he\u2019s reluctantly thrown together with a badass warrior woman who&#8217;s trying to free a scantily-clad quintet of unwilling concubines from a tribe of brutal male oppressors.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Mad-Max-Road-Fury-7-Charlize-Theron.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-900\" src=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Mad-Max-Road-Fury-7-Charlize-Theron.jpg\" alt=\"Mad-Max-Fury-Road-Charlize-Theron\" width=\"648\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Mad-Max-Road-Fury-7-Charlize-Theron.jpg 648w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Mad-Max-Road-Fury-7-Charlize-Theron-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Mad-Max-Road-Fury-7-Charlize-Theron-330x219.jpg 330w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Mad-Max-Road-Fury-7-Charlize-Theron-296x197.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the warrior woman, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlize_Theron\"><strong>Charlize Theron<\/strong><\/a> pretty much steals the show. This is to her credit, but also becomes the film\u2019s lone failing. You\u2019ll no doubt see lots of \u201cMad Maxine\u201d jokes about her stealing the movie from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0362766\/\"><strong>Tom Hardy<\/strong><\/a>, who replaces Mel Gibson in the title role. It\u2019s true, and it&#8217;s a problem.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I was psyched when I heard that Hardy had been cast as Max, because he&#8217;s got that same brooding, razor&#8217;s edge of implied menace that Gibson did. B<span style=\"font-family: Helvetica;\">ut in reality he\u2019s just okay. Hardy&#8217;s serviceable in a role that needs a lot more; not only because of the legacy, but because Theron&#8217;s character has a more\u00a0interesting story arc that requires greater emotional range.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Helvetica;\"> But\u00a0<\/span>Hardy unexpectedly doesn\u2019t emit the charismatic screen commanding presence of a young Gibson, who was magnetic as the anti-hero even when saying nothing (which was mostly the case, and remains so in the new movie). Instead of a smoldering time bomb, Hardy\u2019s Mad Max comes off sullen and empty, more emotionally dulled cypher than tortured protagonist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_extra\">\n<div class=\"gmail_quote\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/MadMaxFuryRoad.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-901\" src=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/MadMaxFuryRoad.jpg\" alt=\"Mad_Max_Fury_Road_Movie_Review\" width=\"648\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/MadMaxFuryRoad.jpg 648w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/MadMaxFuryRoad-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/MadMaxFuryRoad-330x220.jpg 330w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/MadMaxFuryRoad-296x197.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also debatable whether the film\u2019s nearly technicolor look\u2014 as beautiful and arresting as it is\u2014 is a more appropriate choice than the gritty, washed-out, end-of-the-world look of the earlier films. Well,\u00a0<i>Mad Max\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0<i>The Road Warrior<\/i>, anyway:\u00a0<i>Thunderdome<\/i>\u00a0got more Hollywood-ized, which may be part of the reason it\u2019s generally considered the weakest in the series.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also a valid point to be made that the\u00a0<i>Mad Max: Fury Road<\/i>\u00a0is very similar to\u00a0<i>The Road Warrior,\u00a0<\/i>with hot chicks on the lam taking the place of an 18-wheeler loaded down with gasoline.<i>\u00a0<\/i>But who cares, really?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Finally, as a minor complaint, the film misses a perfect opportunity to be the bridge from the first film,\u00a0<i>Mad Max,<\/i>\u00a0to the second,\u00a0<i>The Road Warrior,<\/i>\u00a0at the very end. Not that big a deal, but I don\u2019t know why they didn\u2019t take it. <em><strong>\u2013Tom Siebert<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>RATING:<\/em> R (for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>GENRE:<\/em> Action &amp; Adventure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>STARRING:<\/em>\u00a0Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zo\u00eb Kravitz<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>DIRECTOR<\/em>: George Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>STUDIO<\/em>: Warner Bros.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_extra\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_extra\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roaring, snarling, screeching into multiplexes this weekend,\u00a0Mad Max: Fury Road\u00a0does not disappoint. &nbsp; It&#8217;s currently sitting at\u00a098%+ positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and\u00a0the very&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/2015_mad_max_fury_road-wide.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5slei-er","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}