With having the most impactful trailer for this year's summer blockbusters, Mad Max: Fury Road did not disappoint at all. You would think that the best parts of the movie was in the trailers but this is one wild and crazy ride that nothing from the trailer can prepare you for.
One of the most noticeable negative I have would be this: Having just rewatched the Mad Max trilogy (Road Warrior being my favourite), Mel Gibson was the clear star of those movies. The camera was on him most of the time and he carried the movie on his own.
The new incarnation of Max Rockatansky belonged to Tom Hardy, and he had the least dialogue. Perhaps one way to argue this point would be that after being alone for so long he wasn't used to speaking anymore.
But then again, Charlize Theron shared as much screentime, or even more, than Hardy. And in a lot of scenes, she was the one carrying the movie. What I would have liked to see was Hardy or Max in the forefront more - by giving his character more to do with more character development. Here, there was none.
There were also a couple of lulls in the progression, but this would be me nitpicking. The whole movie just couldn't be action-based, though it almost was.
And that's the craziest thing. This movie was an all-out action flick. And to have a 70-year-old George Miller in the dessert filming all these crazy choreography is just mind-blowing. Right from the start before the "Mad Max" title appeared, it already set the pace of what this movie would be.
The best part of Road Warrior was the chase sequences. And Fury Road took that concept to a whole new level. The whole plot revolved around the chase, from start to finish. I would also argue that this was another minor weakness in the movie, that there wasn't really a strong storyline to back up all the craziness. But what a chase though.
From the set pieces, to the costume design and makeup, to that crazy guitar player strapped to the front of a large vehicle made of speakers, these all added to the tone of desolation and chaos. And let's not forget the designs of the vehicles. Their specific looks to their factions or tribes made the whole thing more interesting too. I couldn't care less about the upcoming Aston Martin that 007 is going to be driving, nor all those cars in Furious 7. But the designs for these cars here, their practicality, I was just astounded.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wasn't bad at all, surprisingly. Nicholas Hoult also surprised me because he really brought out his crazy. He always had this wholesome look to him but not anymore.
Miller always has a knack for creating some weird antagonist. This was probably his best and weirdest one yet, by bringing back the actor from the first movie, Hugh Keays-Byrne, to portray Immortan Joe. Though I didn't understand why he was waiting in the middle of the desert before the final fight because Max wasn't on planning to pass through there again.
All in all, it was great fun to witness such mayhem, desolation and destruction happening. It was indeed a lovely day.
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