Mad Max: Fury Road

Thirty years is a long time, and George Miller has left the original Mad Max far behind. Not only is Mel Gibson surprisingly sorely missed, given that Tom Hardy's hesitant grumbling moments simply don't work at all, but Fury Road draws on the worst of the echoes of the original trilogy. Namely, the usual bizarreness, flatness of characters, and the fact that it's mostly just about one city and its fate. The fact that this time it's done in a grandiose way through to the last shot results in an audiovisual delight led by a breathtaking motorcycle raid, but without at least one truly interesting character, it's a massacre that simply doesn't mean anything to me outside the basic action layer. (05/27/2015)

I've never been a big fan of movies with big attractions and effects and it's just something I'm not into. However, every now and then I let myself be enticed by dazzling visuals, as evidenced by my rating of the first Pirates of the Caribbean. However, I need a meaningful story and well-written characters for that. In the case of Mad Max: Fury Road, there is practically no story, the characters' motivations are, to put it mildly, weak, and the characters themselves serve only as tools for the director to shape an endless series of action scenes and evoke the simplest of emotions. They are mere controlling elements of the vehicles, ready to be attackers or victims for the entertainment of the audience. The mythos of the depicted world is highly reduced, and it is clear that the director does not expect anyone to ask questions or, God forbid, use their brain while watching his film. You would search in vain for any logical structure in the world depicted by him. While in the case of the new circus, there is a tendency to build a plot from uncomplicated acrobatic acts, to tell a story, and thus move towards theater and film art, Mad Max, on the other hand, operates on the principle of a classic circus performance. Here, the action genre has stripped away all impurities and exposed itself in its essence. Mad Max will be appreciated by viewers focused on dynamism and action, top-notch acrobatics, and choreography. For the target audience, the film can offer excellent camera work and clear editing, beautiful women, machines with powerful engines, and adrenaline. This is not nothing, and I understand that it can excite many male viewers. But I need a lot more for a film experience. Overall impression: 30%. (08/15/2017)

It seems that someone at Warner Bros must have gone mad because to approve budget in the amount of an expensive blockbuster for a 70-year-old director who has not made any feature film (let alone action or high-budget) for almost twenty years, that even includes bizarre scenes (breast milk, flamethrower guitar!) "from the world after the fall of values" filled with psychedelic metal opera/road movie madness about mad guys (on top of that hidden "remake" of the General), which is a continuation of his own amateurish “Grindhouse-like" cult post apocalypses trilogy, it requires a lot of courage. What is the most surprising is not the above-mentioned but rather fact that the new Mad Max is not a ridiculous dull follow-up or an indecent smooth derivative of the original trilogy, but it is an unusually confidently made straightforward (not to be confused with dull!) "dirty movie" (basically a mix of the ending of the second movie extended to full-length footage, Doomsday, Wages of Fear and Spaghetti Western in an unprecedented and a world that is depicted in detail where madness is the standard and not the eccentricity) with playfully inventive and imaginative non-stop action, which is not just an empty mandatory filler, as it is typical for most blockbusters today, but there is something special about it and moves the story forward; moreover, it way it is shot is captivating, independent and clear. Thanks to which the fourth Max movie becomes an instant genre classic. It will take you back to a time when this type of film did not mean over-the-top CGI adventures with no a stuntman (let alone an actor) at all. On the contrary, this movie has everything that a great movie of 80s show have in all respects. The only difference is the possibilities and budget corresponding to the 21st century and with the best action heroine "who is not just a guy with breasts" from the times of Ripley from the first Alien. It is sad that such a movie is only a kind of unrepeatable studio anomaly, but because of this we should admire (of even love) the fourth Max even more. PS: Refined Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome Edition is a great watch, which is easy to believe that Miller wanted it like this from the beginning. (05/13/2015)

Every year I see dozens of films in the cinema and many more at home, and only some of the new ones leave me with the feeling that I've watched something special; something that will be talked about in ten years. Fortunately, Mad Max: Fury Road is one of those. The trailers didn't bullshit, this is a brutal action ride from start to finish. When George Miller said his film was going to be one big chase, he wasn't lying. Even more interesting than the action itself, however, which is exquisite, thrilling and visually original, is what surrounds it. The director of Happy Feet has managed to make a new Mad Max that must satisfy fans of the trilogy and newcomers alike. Fury Road is an almost physically uncomfortable film. Whereas other post-apocalyptic films usually have clearly defined good and evil, here there is only madness, and thanks to some of the characters (Nicholas Hoult gets a career-best role) it's almost palpable. It's a cruel world with bizarre rules, fascinating and repulsive at the same time. Good doesn't exist, evil doesn't exist either, all that's left is a fierce fight for survival. And you will be right in the middle of it. Mad Max grabs you at the beginning, then thrills you, disgusts you, horrifies you and fascinates you all the time. And by the end of it, you'll feel like you've seen something special. Not just entertaining or interesting, but truly exceptional. (05/13/2015)