Let’s cut right to the chase. I finally saw Mad Max: Fury Road last week and that’s all I want to write about. I already talked about it three times today to people at work, which only served to wind me up and make me more energized to write about it. So here we go.
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MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
I know I am sometimes prone to fits of hyperbole. With that out of the way, I would like to say that Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Yes. I have seen over 2,500 different movies, and Mad Max: Fury Road is easily in the top 10 per cent. Probably even higher.
When a new movie comes out I try to keep my enthusiasm low. How do I know it’s a classic, I say to myself, if it hasn’t stood the test of time? How do I know I’m not just smitten with its newness and will fall out of love with it in a couple of months when something else new and interesting comes along? There’s no way of knowing for sure, I suppose. All I know is when I think about Mad Max: Fury Road, I’m overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of seeing it again. It’s so good that it hasn’t even been a week since I first watched it and I already have plans to see it a second time. It’s so good that every time I tell someone about it I feel myself vibrating with excitement.
I know I’m already spiralling off into the crazy void with this here, so let me try to explain why I love this movie so much.
Let’s start with the one thing Mad Max: Fury Road is not, and that is subtle. It’s an action movie set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of car chases and explosions and also a guy playing a guitar that’s also a flamethrower. I mean, from that description alone I would be buying a ticket to the earliest possible showing I could get to, but I realize to some readers, that might sound a little silly. And to be fair, it is a little silly, but it’s that silliness that allows the movie to make some really powerful statements about life and how we relate to each other. A quieter, more subdued movie would probably sink under all the weighty themes that Mad Max: Fury Road touches on. Instead, we are given a tremendously loud movie in which the filmmakers have the narrative and visual space to examine a number of universal themes — the quest to obtain power and the subsequent and inevitable abuse of it; the unhealthy compulsion to seek revenge; the drive for survival; the deep biological need for a home, family, and community; and the hope that redemption is possible even for those who fear they are permanently broken. It might not be subtle, but it’s got layers.
It’s also one of the most beautiful-looking movies I’ve ever seen. The movie has a powerful visual style, thanks in no small part to comics artist Brendan McCarthy, whom director George Miller brought on to help plot and design the film. Everything about the art design of the film is amazing. There are so many touches that pop out at me, and each of them is in service to the plot or character, whether it be Max’s muzzle, Furiosa’s mechanical arm, or the wives’ wispy dresses. All of the antagonists look like monsters that stepped out of one of McCarthy’s comic books. And then there are the fleets of vehicles, which are overwhelmingly varied and never stop coming. I know I need at least another screening to really appreciate how much time and effort went into making them look like mutant animals forged from twisted steel.
It’s not just the design, though. The cinematography is astounding. I could take practically any frame from that movie, make it into a poster, and happily hang it on my wall. Each shot focuses on the action, so the viewer never needs to look away, which was such a joy when I think about all the terrible action movie techniques used by so many modern action movies — including some titles I legitimately like. Then there’s the way the images were digitally altered for maximum colour and vividness. It’s a movie set in a post-apocalyptic desert and there were times where the colour threatened to overwhelm me. That takes some doing.
The editing, too, is seamless. Plenty has been said about how good the editing is and I won’t bother trying to re-hash it all here, but it is a huge part of the reason Mad Max: Fury Road works so well. When Miller asked his wife Margaret Sixel to edit the film, she said she wasn’t sure she should because she hadn’t edited an action movie before. Miller told her that was exactly why he wanted her to do it, because he didn’t want it to look like any other action movie. And it doesn’t — it’s breathtaking and unique and an uncomplicated joy to watch.
There’s practically no script; the movie is gloriously relentless. Any time the action stopped and the plot kicked in, I could actually feel my heart slowing down. But even in the quieter scenes, there’s still very little exposition. It’s all show, no tell, and the actors take that as a challenge and rise to the occasion.
The two stars, in particular, deserve singling out. Tom Hardy is great as Max. Throughout the movie, he throws in little homages (with his facial tics and mutterings) to Mel Gibson’s performance as the original Max, without becoming a caricature. He gives the viewer everything with physicality. And as Imperator Furiosa, Charlize Theron is tremendously effective. She throws herself into the role physically and emotionally, the limited dialogue playing to her strengths as a performer. The two of them onscreen are electric. They say more to each other with their glares and glances, or how they hold themselves when in each other’s presence, than they could if they had reams of dialogue.
Mad Max: Fury Road is everything I want from an evening at the cinema. It’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, it’s invigorating, and it’s thought-provoking. It’s pure visual adrenaline and I can’t wait to get another hit.
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That’s it for me this week. There will be a Seven Days column next week, but if all goes according to plan it might just be at a different website. So, until next time, come on, why aren’t you already watching Mad Max: Fury Road??? I’ll see you … somewhere … in seven days.
