In the near future, Max (Hardy) is surviving out on the wastelands as he is running from the dead (haunted by visions of the people he couldn’t save) and the living (scavengers).   He is captured by Immortan Joe’s War Boys and branded/ tattooed as a donor.   Meanwhile, Imperator Furiosa (Theron) is planning to escape to the Green Place she remembers from childhood and she is taking tyrant cult leader Immortan Joe’s wives/ breeders with her.  Soon the chase is on as Joe wants his five wives back and Furiosa to be punished before she dies.   Max manages to get free and he reluctantly joins Furiosa in her quest to get the breeders to a safe place.

 

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is an over-the-top action film with an epic music score by Junkie XL.   It is a sight to behold as George Miller has created one of the best MAD MAX films on a visual level.  The first two have more believable plots and even the third one has a plot that doesn’t escape logic as much as the apocalyptic future imagined on a grand scale in this latest film which re-imagines the MAD MAX series.   It flows with a perfect pace as the action is paced with character moments in-between the big action scenes which are a visual sight on the scale you have never seen before in this series.  It was originally imagined as a fourth entry in the series starring Mel Gibson, but after being shelved years ago before filming and some false starts due to very wet Australian weather.   The harsh landscape of the Namibian desert fits the peak landscape of a world gone mad as a few still look for hope in a harsh future after everything has fallen apart.  Every scene is filled with so many details that multiple viewings will reveal more and more what work has went into this production which was a long (and sometimes hard shoot for some of the actors).  I hope another MAD MAX movie does get made soon even if it isn’t on the scale as this movie (which probably has a bigger budget than the first three movies combined).   I think any movie coming out this season is going to find it hard to match the sheer joy I experienced watching a movie that has lived up to the insane trailers.   Don’t miss out on MAD MAX: FURY ROAD as it is probably going to the best popcorn summer action movie of this year.

 

This review is ©5-15-2014 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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