I was able to see Mad Max Fury Road today. I must confess that having seen it, I am not sure how to classify it. It does not fit neatly into the various pigeon holes that Hollywood has created to classify films. Was it a reboot, a sequel, an entry in the mythos of Mad Max separate unto itself? I really don't know. As with all things George Miller, he doesn't play or care about the rules of others.
I have to confess that I was not sure what to expect. There have been some good films in this lineage of film, and there have been some rather odious ones, if you don't know what I mean look up Tina Turner in chain mail and you will get it. I was prepared for it to be bad. Largely because anytime Hollywood resurrects a film series I enjoyed a lot from years gone by, the end result was a total steaming turd more often than not. Starsky and Hutch, 21 Jump Street, Swat and I could go on and on...
I was pleasantly surprised. The film managed to capture the essence of the earlier films, escapist entertainment filled to overflowing with non-stop edge of your seat action. This one delivered on that point and then some. The explosions per minute and car crashes per scene were off the chart. The action was flawlessly done, and the special effects budget was not spared. The bad guys were bad, insidious and foul. And the protagonists were morally complicated. It ticket off the dystopian film boxes neatly in that regard.
On the point of the post apocalyptic films, this one caught the gritty hanging onto life and sanity by a hair's breadth. When I say gritty, I really mean that. The actors all are caked in a solid layer of dirt throughout the film. This wasn't some after the end of the world film where everyone is wearing dashing white costumes that look freshly pressed and neatly laundered. For once on this point I was happy that they got this point correct.
Going back to madness... Some movies hint at madness. Some bring it into view but never go there. Some play at the edge of the gaping maw. This one charged the mouth of madness and takes the viewer on a roller coaster ride through the heart of lunacy before chewing its way back out into the world of semi-sanity. This film captured the Mad part of Mad Max and took it out for a ride.
All of that is not meant to say that this film does not suffer from some rather huge plot flaws. This film certainly has them. It has them in droves, some so big you could literally drive a semi-truck through them, sarcasm intended. Rather than detail them, let me just say it has them, and when you see the film you will get what I am talking about. There are a few other items that serve as pointless distractions in the film, but they were easily ignored.
Let me say that this film is worth a view. I would rate is as a solid B grade on the typical A through F grading scale.
I have to confess that I was not sure what to expect. There have been some good films in this lineage of film, and there have been some rather odious ones, if you don't know what I mean look up Tina Turner in chain mail and you will get it. I was prepared for it to be bad. Largely because anytime Hollywood resurrects a film series I enjoyed a lot from years gone by, the end result was a total steaming turd more often than not. Starsky and Hutch, 21 Jump Street, Swat and I could go on and on...
I was pleasantly surprised. The film managed to capture the essence of the earlier films, escapist entertainment filled to overflowing with non-stop edge of your seat action. This one delivered on that point and then some. The explosions per minute and car crashes per scene were off the chart. The action was flawlessly done, and the special effects budget was not spared. The bad guys were bad, insidious and foul. And the protagonists were morally complicated. It ticket off the dystopian film boxes neatly in that regard.
On the point of the post apocalyptic films, this one caught the gritty hanging onto life and sanity by a hair's breadth. When I say gritty, I really mean that. The actors all are caked in a solid layer of dirt throughout the film. This wasn't some after the end of the world film where everyone is wearing dashing white costumes that look freshly pressed and neatly laundered. For once on this point I was happy that they got this point correct.
Going back to madness... Some movies hint at madness. Some bring it into view but never go there. Some play at the edge of the gaping maw. This one charged the mouth of madness and takes the viewer on a roller coaster ride through the heart of lunacy before chewing its way back out into the world of semi-sanity. This film captured the Mad part of Mad Max and took it out for a ride.
All of that is not meant to say that this film does not suffer from some rather huge plot flaws. This film certainly has them. It has them in droves, some so big you could literally drive a semi-truck through them, sarcasm intended. Rather than detail them, let me just say it has them, and when you see the film you will get what I am talking about. There are a few other items that serve as pointless distractions in the film, but they were easily ignored.
Let me say that this film is worth a view. I would rate is as a solid B grade on the typical A through F grading scale.
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