The eighties were the era of the cult indy films. There were many classics that became instant guilty pleasures and lasted longer in our collective psyche than they should have. Pulp movies like the Highlander and Robocop still are discussed and remembered fondly to this day and have spawned their own franchises beyond the movies. However, the one that started it all (and Mel Gibson’s career pre-Lethal Weapon) was George Miller’s ‘The Road Warrior’ (actually a sequel to 1979’s ‘Mad Max’, but that did not have the mainstream success of ‘The Road Warrior’). When I heard that they were going to reboot Mad Max after almost 30 years, I felt an almost collective shoulder shrugging across the internet. Reboots are the norm now and the various reboots of nostalgic movies have met with limited success (the respectable, yet forgettable Robocop reboot being a prime example). However; then I saw the first trailer and the names attached to the project and my interest was piqued. ‘Mad Max:Fury Road’ breaks the typical blockbuster formula and delivers an unapologetic R-rated orgy of destruction and mayhem while offering a confusingly beautiful visual opera of a post-apocalyptic future that continues the story of Max, the Road Warrior.
Believe it or not, an argument could be made that Max (played this time around by the flawless Tom Hardy) wasn’t even the main character of this film, rather he was just along for the ride. The film focuses on Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a high ranking warrior in one of the last surviving despotic enclaves of humanity, who seeks to smuggle the harem of a ruthless dictator named Immortan Joe to freedom. I doubt too many other actresses could make a ragged, crippled, head shaven character appear seductive, but Chalize pulls it off. Her gaze is hypnotic with steely determination to deliver oppressed women from the masculine evil, embodied in Immortan Joe, that she feels destroyed the world. She seeks to transport the harem to the ‘Green Place’ she was taken from as a child. Immortan Joe marshals his force of white men (literally white colored men, not a political race statement) to track down Furiosa and bring back his harem. That’s the plot in a nutshell. Nothing complex.
What is complex is the incredible visual feast that George Miller creates. The dialogue is minimalist almost to the point where speech surprises us when it is heard. Miller also destroys the cinematic myth of the lone wolf hero. In life, lone wolves are quickly squashed by the collectives and Max is dispatched early in the film. As Max himself states, he has been reduced to a single instinct; Survival. His escape from Immortan Joe and teaming up with Furiosa’s band is an act of self preservation rather than any heroic act of nobility. As Immortan Joe sets out in pursuit, a 2 hour opera of death and destruction commences with only minor interludes. It does have moments of tedium in the non-stop carnage, but the visuals are so stunning at times, the monotony of violence is forgiven.
One could also make an argument that this is a feminist film. Chalize’s Furiosa is the central character. She is a woman and while that is embraced by her, it is not her overriding defining characteristic. I haven’t seen a character this strongly explored since Ripley from the ‘Aliens’ franchise. Furiosa is strong and determined to deliver innocents from the evil of male oppression, but she takes the world as it is and pushes no other agenda than the freeing of innocents. Her gaze and resolve are unwavering and she is the true hero of the film while Max struggles to keep up in order to find his own ride to freedom.
Nicholas Hoult plays Nux, one of Immortan Joe’s warriors who seeks to prove himself worthy before death. He provides welcome insight into the seemingly generic white warriors in pursuit of Furiosa. Nux and his fellow warriors have been convinced by the megalomaniacal Immortan Joe that the key to happiness is in dying for their leader and waking up in Valhalla (warrior heaven). How else can one explain the absurd lengths in which these warriors flail themselves to almost certain destruction in their attacks? Having grown jaded by a lifetime of action movies, I still found myself breathless by the scope of the action sequences. Far outpacing anything seen in the previous Mad Max movies, the action rises to a level of abstraction and, as I stated earlier, confusingly beautiful.
This film is something we see less and less in the modern blockbusters. Studios these days try to appeal to the largest audience possible in order to maximize the box office dollar. They strive for some edge, but nothing that would alienate the family’s 8 or 80 yr olds. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ is action and mayhem in undiluted hard ‘R’ rated scope and glory. Characters as odd as anything found in a Fellini or Burton film and with no agenda to appeal to Puritan mass audience sensibilities. Dialogue takes a backseat to the stunningly beautiful and grotesque vision of a post apocalyptic landscape. A worthy compliment to the Mad Max franchise even if Max is merely along for the ride. A film not for everyone, but definitely an impressive piece of artistic achievement. This trailer gives an accurate insight into the flavor of the film.
*** 1/2 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment