This is a very B-movie with a very straight-laced story that, watching today, just doesn't hold up. There's nothing interesting here with no "Mad Max" until the final 15 minutes of the movie. Everything before that was very typical storyline. And this was all before the world turned into a wasteland.
I've seen this movie once, just before Mad Max: Fury Road. And back then this first movie already bored the hell out of me. I guess it was more interesting back then in 1979. But did it even appear to be futuristic?
3) Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
This movie felt like it has three different parts. The first act of setting up the world of Thunderdome was great. And actually the Thunderdome storyline just ended by the end of the first act. Because the second act took us to a whole different world where these kids - who were too young to be worshipping anything from the past - came out of nowhere and derailed the movie.
After a crawling second act, the third act once again returned to what we know about Mad Max, which was those vehicle chase across the desert wasteland. It was action-packed but very inconsistent and incoherent - but it's also what we came to know about Frank Miller's Mad Max franchise.
And why did George Miller make this out to be as if it's not a direct sequel to The Road Warrior.
Also, this was the only time Miller shared directing credits with another director, George Ogilvie. I think it's quite clear which director was responsible for which act.
2) Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Part of the... On second thought, I should say, most - if not all - of the appeal of the Mad Max saga is the wasteland aspect of the world, and that only really began in this movie.
This direct sequel must be the movie that turned the Mad Max franchise into what so many people loved about it. Unlike the first movie, this one really dived into the dystopian and post-apocalyptic wasteland that had mass appeal. The vehicles, though not really given any special attention, garnered pop culture zeitgeist.
There were more spectacular action sequences involving car chases that made the movie exciting - because, honestly, the story had all kinds of holes in them.
1) Mad Max: Fury Road
This was only my second time viewing and I loved it more than the first time I saw it. Not only was this easily the best Mad Max film, but it's actually a top 10 contender if you want to talk about best movies of the last decade. And this movie was made in the editing room. Those impressive looking shots in the third act were beautifully stitched together to make the chaos of the action sequences work.
A quick online search and I'm reminded that this movie won an Academy Award for Best Editing, and it's very clear why. The editor in question was none other than George Miller's wife, Margaret Sixel. And it's surprising because I couldn't fathom that such a violent movie was created by a senior citizen lady with such a lovely smile. I'm just happy she is back to do the upcoming sequel.
And how wild is it that I recognize every one of the "wives" when back then I probably only knew one or two. Most of them have gone on to be bigger than when they did this movie.
Miller finally figured out great action set pieces with good story and dialogue. Unfortunately, Tom Hardy's Max has no character development. It's like he wasn't even the star. Both Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult had better characters written for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment