Alex Merchant’s review published on Letterboxd:
It’s almost too easy to take Fury Road for granted nearly a decade after it was unleashed in cinemas, but George Miller’s stupendous car chase thrill ride should still be considered a miracle of unhinged filmmaking. There isn’t another movie like Fury Road and there probably won’t ever be one. It’s true action greatness.
Mad Max: Fury Road is the very rare reboot that comes from the same creative source as the original work. It feels like the full realization of what George Miller was imagining back in the 80s, particularly with The Road Warrior, except he didn’t have the resources to fully meet his vision for another three decades.
When I first saw Fury Road, the general weirdness of the Wasteland took a little while to get my bearings in. That all seems very intentional as we’re introduced to the wacky horrors of the Citadel, where Max has been captured as a “blood bag” to fuel one of its many suicidal warriors, the War Boys. We want nothing more than to get away from the monstrous Immortan Joe and his band of absolute freaks, but it also makes those first 30 minutes or so totally jarring and difficult to settle into at least on your first watch. That being said, it gives the film a flair so distinct from anything else that it adds to the experience.
It doesn’t take long for the great chase that comprises most of this movie to get underway as Furiosa flees across the desert with Immortan Joe’s “wives”, enslaved women with whom he seeks to breed an heir. Max soon finds himself forced to work with them as he also wants to get away from his imprisonment. And that’s really the movie- a frantic chase/battle through the desert as Max, Furiosa, and the others fight for survival.
The minimalistic way Fury Road tells its story really works for me. Anything we learn about the Citadel’s odd apocalyptic culture or Furiosa’s past is only alluded to. Even the mostly wordless Max’s demons are only hinted at. The mystery of the past is a lot more interesting to me than a whole initial movie where Max dallies about regular old Australia before his wife and kid die is a lot more enticing to me.
Everyone talks about how this movie really belongs to Furiosa and she’s the main character. That’s somewhat true, but I think Max is just as important in his own quiet way. The characters have to work together and forge a bond in order to find some redemption. I liked this idea of these two understanding each other on some deeper level for the atrocities and failures in their mysterious past.
It’s great stuff, and Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron are perfect for it. Tom Hardy infamously was a massive pain in the ass on set and thought the movie was going to be an absolute disaster (he wasn’t the only one), and yet somehow he works really well in the movie as Max for me. Meanwhile, Charlize is great as well and worthy of all the attention she got for the role.
George Miller knew what he was doing in his narrative in that he gets to cast a bunch of conventionally attractive women to be there all throughout the film. And rounding out the group is the War Boy Nux played by Nicholas Hoult, who gets to forge a relationship with one of them and seek some kind of redemption of his own. He also gets to say the famous “What a Lovely Day!” quote which I have a T-shirt of 😀.
The action in this movie is some of the most death-defying, insane stunt and practical effects work you and I will ever see. It’s a true sight to behold, and Fury Road is an absolute feast of vehicular carnage where every scene feels like the best part. The creativity and variety ensures that you never get battle fatigue and remain riveted throughout, with the stakes always high as could be throughout the movie’s absolute thrill ride.
I can’t forget to mention Junkie XL’s incredible score which stands as very unique to what we’re used to hearing in major blockbusters but tends to work very well in context with The Doof Warrior hyping up Immortan Joe’s forces with his sick guitar skills.
Really I could write about this fascinating masterpiece forever, but I’d say that those who already love it should definitely check out the oral history book about making the movie- Blood, Sweat, and Chrome by Kyle Buchanan- which was just a fantastic read which made me appreciate this movie even more. And to anyone who hasn’t seen Fury Road yet, just what are you waiting for?
