Film Review: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Few films in recent times have faced such high expectations, and even fewer—at least judging by the almost unanimous reactions of relevant critics—have met them as successfully as the fourth installment in the Mad Max film saga. When critical acclaim is placed alongside exceptionally strong box office results, Fury Road also stands out as one of those rare achievements whose creators can boast of captivating both art snobs and mainstream audiences alike.
Set in post-apocalyptic wasteland, Fury Road introduces us to Max Rockatansky (played by Tom Hardy), former policeman whose driving and combat skills helped him survive in this harsh, unforgiving world. They are, however, not enough to prevent him from capture by War Boys, cult-like army of tyrannical warlord Immortan Joe (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne). Max is brought to Citadel, Joe’s stronghold which is the only place in wasteland with plentiful supply of precious water and which gave Joe enormous power. When Joe sends Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron), one-armed woman and his top lieutenant, to trade Citadel’s water and supplies for fuel and ammunition, she uses opportunity to escape, together with Joe’s five wives. Max ecomes embroiled in their escape as they face relentless pursuit from Joe's war party.
One aspect of the almost universal acceptance of Fury Road does stand out. Few critics provide their assessments of Miller's latest film in the context of the entire series or, more precisely, its most famous and successful sequel—Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. 1981 film is not only the most well-known in the series but also one of the most successful and influential films of its time. Its title has managed to become a kind of synonym for the entire post-apocalyptic genre; "the world of Mad Max" becomes the most effective description of what might happen to human society if modern civilisation were to disappear.
There are two possible explanations for why critics hesitate to compare Fury Road with The Road Warrior. The simplest is that we are dealing with apples and oranges. These are two entirely different films; Fury Road looks lees like a sequel and more like a reboot of the original series. Attempting to evaluate the new Mad Max in the context of the old makes as much sense as comparing Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire's or Nolan's Batman trilogy with that which Tim Burton began in 1989. In this regard, it matters little that George Miller directed both versions. Miller himself has stated that much has changed over the past thirty years—since the third film where Mel Gibson's partner was Tina Turner. The world has changed, audiences have changed, and so has the way films are produced and distributed.
Miller himself has changed, which is perhaps most significant. The Australian filmmaker has long given the impression that he feels more comfortable in a fantasy world where piglets and penguins encourage audiences to embrace vegetarianism, animal rights, and fight against global warming than in ultra-violent post-apocalyptic wastelands. This new, more caring and gentler Miller has also made greater efforts to be politically correct, aiming to turn one of once-controversial action franchises into a "socially responsible" medium through which positive messages can be conveyed to audiences.
In Fury Road, this was feminism, which was insisted upon with a complete lack of subtlety. Eve Ensler, a radical feminist known for her work The Vagina Monologues, was engaged as a consultant on the screenplay. This is reflected not only in portraying a matriarchal commune as the only hope for any semblance of well-being and happiness for inhabitants of the post-apocalyptic desert but also through radically downgrading the titular protagonist to "second fiddle." Max, simply by being male, cannot be the main hero of this film. The events in Fury Road are driven by Imperator Furiosa, a truck driver who is undeterred by being a woman or missing part of her arm as she stands up against a horde of villains who are all men.
It is easy to imagine that this is one reason why The Road Warrior is rarely mentioned in connection with Fury Road. The new film appears "more politically correct" when considering that Mel Gibson portrayed the main character in its previous three incarnations—an actor who is regarded as an antithesis to "political correctness" due to his sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic outbursts and who now faces a fate in Hollywood similar to that suffered by "unpersons" in Orwell's Oceania. Reminding audiences of The Road Warrior evokes memories of a past many would prefer to forget—especially in Hollywood, which today likes to portray itself as the conscience of global society.
However, another reason for ignoring Max's most significant incarnation may lie in the unlikely prospect that Miller's new film will have an effect comparable to that of The Road Warrior. Even if one sets aside questions about quality—drawing on experiences with two Star Wars trilogies or comparisons between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which always favour earlier works—it is hard to imagine that Fury Road will be hailed as a classic genre film twenty or thirty years from now. Partly this can be explained by objective circumstances that may have had little to do with Miller's talent or inspiration. When Mel Gibson appeared in a post-apocalyptic wasteland in 1981, audiences still fresh from memories of 1970s oil shocks but also feeling apprehensive about an escalating Cold War found such visions not only close but frighteningly plausible futures. This will not be true for Fury Road, no matter how much we admire Miller's directorial skill during scenes of frantic pursuit.
Unlike The Road Warrior, which triumphed through Spartan simplicity and offered audiences nothing but what was absolutely necessary, Fury Road contains details that may seem cool at first glance—like a guitar flamethrower—but ultimately steer the entire film too much toward camp and make it difficult for us to take seriously what Miller intended to convey. In this sense, Fury Road does not differ significantly from typical Hollywood blockbusters, although it stands far above them in overall quality.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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