Well, although that
does describe Mad Max: Fury Road, that does not do it justice.
Because this movie is pure awesome.
I must first admit
I've only seen about half of the original, and maybe 10 minutes of
The Road Warrior. With that said, I can confidently say that
die hard fans (and Die Hard fans) and newbies (like myself)
alike can strap in for the ride.
Perhaps the blood
rushing constantly doesn't allow you to fully process what you
actually just saw, but after checking out the bonus features, you
have to realize that besides digitally removing certain things and
enhancing colors, every stunt you see was actually performed-- and
usually at top speed. I'm talking about blowing up huge trucks,
flipping cars, motorists jumping over vehicles, and so much more. Easily my
favorite are the pole-rider guys; you may remember them from the
trailer on these huge poles to swing from one vehicle to another.
Yeah, guys trained for weeks to be able to do that. And I might as
well say, kids, no matter how cool it looks, I only give you
permission to attempt these stunts as long as you capture it on video
so that I can laugh at you later.
Now I can go on and
on about these epic stunts and explosions and kills and action and
fighting, but even that doesn't give the movie full justice, for it
is one of the most fully-realized movies ever. George Miller had this
brilliant vision, and the product is a story told with hardly any
lines spoken by the main character-- or other characters for that
matter. The women are given strong roles to emphasize their
importance, not feed on weakness, and the message Miller gave his
unit was loud and clear and wonderful: Even though this is a
post-apocalyptic world, that doesn't mean it has to be bleak and
lifeless and bland. This movie is vibrant and beautiful. To put focus
on how humans would actually scramble to find remnants of beauty in a
forsaken world is a great twist that enhances the story and the
experience.
Now let's talk
about the Oscars. And there's a lot to talk about. This film won 6,
all these very technical awards including his wife winning for
editing, and nominated for 4 others. Not only did Fury Road
win these Oscars, but it had to beat The Revenant to do so.
Granted, that masterpiece beat it in directing and cinematography,
but that's rightfully so. I think a lot of people were questioning
why an action flick was winning all these awards from an academy that
is known for excluding action, superhero, and blockbuster flicks. I
am so glad it was recognized that this high-octane movie had such a
vision that came together like nothing else. It's so hard to compare
it to the other Oscar nominated films, but it is also really hard to
compare it to action films in general. Generally, you have the opening action
sequence, background of characters, perhaps a twist halfway through,
then a balance of action scenes and talking scenes with a huge
climax. And that is not Fury Road. My favorite vehicle from
the armada is the huge cargo truck hybrid with drummers beating on
the back and a guitarist suspended with strings jamming out and
unleashing flames (it's an actual flamethrower guitar). That to me
embodies the movie. A weird, weird world full of rocking characters
on a chase set to a score with an equal amount of pounding drums and
quick guitar jams. It's so cool, but still so intricate with the
suicidal half-lives who follow Immortan Joe.
This film changes
the game. The progressively more intense sequences keep piling up for
some of the most fun you'll ever have at a movie. Will other movies
follow suit? And more importantly, how does George Miller create a
respectable sequel after this?
Tomorrow is about a
movie where tomorrow never comes. Yet is today just yesterday's
tomorrow? Anyways, it also stars Tom Cruise, so that should easily be
clue enough as to what it is. It's going to be fun, and I guarantee
more Cruise films in the future. Until then, drive safe and furious.
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