Steven Spielberg once said he thought the best directed
action sequences of all time were by James Cameron for “T2”. I agree—up until
now that is—because a new standard has just been set.
George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” should come with a
warning label. This is a movie that grabs you by the balls, squeezes you, and
takes you on a thrill ride of unrelenting intensity candy-coated in wicked
euphoric glee. And this is not the shoot everything in extreme close-up, shake
the camera, and cut every 0.007 seconds incoherent bullshit that passes for action
directing these days. This is instead an old-school work of art filled with
master shots, wide-angle steady cams, and breathtakingly executed tracking
shots peppered with push-ins and pull-outs zooms amid an orchestra of grinding
metal and dust.
Charlize Theron is absolutely fantastic as Imperator Furiosa,
the heart and soul of this movie. Tom
Hardy is the perfect Max, exuding every bit as much charisma and cool as Mel
Gibson did playing the reclusive, emotionally scarred anti-hero back in the early 80s “Mad
Max” trilogy. The middle part of that trilogy, “The Road Warrior” (1982) is the
best of those films, a cult classic, and one of the best ten action films of
all time. “Fury Road” surpasses “The Road Warrior” in every aspect by tenfold. Really!
It is that good. What is astonishing is that amid the non-stop action, Miller
and company manage to tell a tight, good story with strong character
development and real emotional resonance.
Amid the kinetic movement, there is so much going on here
visually, from the twisted “Beetlejuice” inspired villain, to the “Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom” looking henchmen, to the “Dune” styled production
design. There is even a hefty dose of “The Fast and Furious” here. But make no
mistake, like the original trilogy, “Mad Max: Fury Road” burns with a searing
originality of post-punk retro modernism.
Bottom line: “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a masterpiece of action
cinema.
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