Friday 22 May in Chicago. Apparently there was a need to remake Mad Max as far back as 2011.When I first heard of it, I wasn't that thrilled. However, George Miller, the director of the original trilogy was brought back to helm the re-boot. Miller has directed some very good films like The Witches of Eastwick and Lorenzo's Oil, but between 1998 and 2011 the 3 films he's directed were Babe: Pig in the City; Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two. Not exactly high octane action. The last action film he directed was Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and that was way back in 1985. Which had a lot of problems.
In the newest version, Miller essentially takes several elements of the first 3 films, blends it all together and turns it up to 11. Tom Hardy is Max Rockatansky, the "hero" of few words. We don't get a lot of backstory about Max but he's haunted by the death of a little girl, probably his daughter. Charlize Theron is Imperator Furiosa, a celebrity truck driver in the apocalyptic wasteland of the future (I'm reminds me that I should hang on to my Class A license because there will be a need for over the road drivers in the future regardless of how bad it gets). The normally striking Theron goes through a very dystopian makeover...
She's not to be trifled with by any stretch.
Furiosa is the lead driver for Immortan Joe (played by Hugh Kaeys-Byrne, the Toe Cutter in the original film), the governor of the oasis in the wasteland known as the Citadel. He makes sure that the people get water and that the machinery works. He's got a lot of responsibility and uses his army of fanatical War Boys to help keep the order. These dudes are loyal to Joe and are all too happy to die for him. While Max is imprisoned by the War Boys, Furiosa is off to make a fuel run to Gas Town but it it comes to light that she's betrayed Joe by "liberating" his wives...
It's good to know that in the post-apocalypse, hot women stay hot. Because why wouldn't they?
Suffice to say Joe is not very understanding about Furiosa's betrayal and he goes after her with a vengeance. He's also not very sympathetic about his wives' desire for a better life than just being a breeder. I can see why they want to leave as Joe is not the best looking guy around...
It's been said that women dig power.
The chase is on and it's here where Miller puts the cinematic metal to the cinematic pedal. Max is strapped to War Boy Nux's vehicle, Max's blood type makes him a universal donor and he's in the midst of a transfusion. For reasons that aren't explained, War Boys need periodic transfusions. Whatever. Max manages to escape during a brutal wreck and links up with Furiosa and the girls. Joe has also enlisted the help of the troops from Gas Town and Bullet Farm, leading to a massive chase through the wasteland.
Despite eluding Joe and the pursuing army, Furiosa's plan dissolves as she's informed that her destination, The Green Place, no longer exists. Max comes up with the idea that they should go back and take over the Citadel. Here we go again! "Once more into the breach" as they say. More car chases, more crashes and more death.
Miller did an awesome job at putting the film together. For a guy who hadn't filmed a car chase in 30 years, he pulls out all the stops. The chase scenes from Road Warrior still hold up today and Miller surpasses them. Sure, Miller borrowed heavily from the original trilogy, especially Road Warrior and Thunderdome, but who cares! Everything in this film is more extreme. The acting, what little their was of it due to the lack of dialogue, was really good and the stunt work something else. Hats off the the stunt coordinator and his/her crew because they did some far out shit.
In the original trilogy, Miller went story first, he doesn't do that here and that's ok. I like that he didn't try to make the same film 30 plus years later, he made a film for today's audience based on his old work. I didn't see this film because I thought it was going to be Casablanca, I saw it because I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic films, I was a fan of the original Mad Max and Road Warrior and quite frankly, the trailer looked cool. If you're to see this film, it should be done so in a modern theater because the audio and visuals are stunning. If you're looking for something a bit deeper then I suggest viewing Miller's Mad Max (1979) and The Road Warrior (1981). It's not necessary to have seen the originals to watch this film however. Thank you for your time.
