Movie Review - Mad Max: Fury Road

(Sorry there's been no movie reviews for the last couple of weeks. Between a super late night for Avengers and sickness at home...)

Mad Max: Fury Road

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, John Howard, and many more.

Directed by: George Miller Written by: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nick Lathouris Cinematography by: John Seale Music by: Junkie XL

Premise: Dealing with his own demons, Max Rockatansky is caught and dragged to the Citadel to be used as a blood sack for reenergizing White Warriors. But when an Imperator breaks ranks with one of the Citadel's tankers and some hidden cargo, Max unexpectedly gets one last chance to struggle for freedom - for Immortan Joe, leader of the Citadel, wants the cargo back - at any cost. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Max is definitely mad and Tom Hardy conveys it quite well. Yet in his madness might also be salvation. It was fun watching the almost feral man slowly regain his humanity and self. When he finally says his name, you can almost feel him dragging it back up from oblivion. Charlize Theron is tough, competent, and strong where it counts. Nicholas Hoult was great as Nux - gung ho 100% yet we also see him evolving, proving he is more than what the Citadel made him.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Since the film is written and directed by pretty much the same group of people responsible for the previous Mad Max films, it comes as no surprise that there is a TON of special effects with regards to explosions, cars, flamethrowers, and more! As pimped and crazy as the previous Mad Max films made the vehicles, they still somehow managed to raise the bar again. Booyah!

Fantastic work too on the Citadel, the people powered machines there, and the overall look and feel of the place. Cogs in the machine!

The approaching field of storms in the dessert looked fantastic! And once they drive in between them, and  some of the consequences of doing that - totally fab! The CGI and Cinematography shots of these and other scenes were just gorgeous.

Nice job too on the mutations! They ranged from hardly noticeable to downright disturbing. All the branding and scars looked real as well. Great job!


3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: You get a very fast intro and not much detail as to what has brought the world to this junction. Seemingly, Max was a pre-apocalypse cop, which doesn't exactly jive with the civilization we see at the Citadel - as it implies a longer span of time, like several generations, but I may have missed something. Like I said, very fast intro.

Loved that they actually did try to develop distinct cultures for several of the groups we come across. A lot of it the audience has to put together on their own, but they do give you enough info or visuals to help you get there. Every cog has its place, and every survivor above a specific social strata had a purpose all their own.

We don't see enough of the other groups to put as much together, but the fact they actually are different and conform to their areas in different ways was definitely a plus.

Story was pretty solid overall and just enough to string the action together without getting in its way. There's even some surprises! Which was lovely. The only place it fell apart a little was towards the end. Injuries suffered by one of the characters would in no way actually be overcome the way they showed. This was the only major disappointment, though - the action doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else. :P

Though water and fuel play a major piece of what people want, mother's milk and trying to make perfect children added new layers of complexity and food for thought. Another new and fun bit was the addition of drums and music to the hunt - things that are ancient and traditional - and in the film wove into the actual music soundtrack, tying their reality in with the fiction of the film.

One large bit of kudos to the writers for having a heroine with a prosthetic. Gave a lot of weight to her years of pulling up hill to get to the position she had when she finally made a run for it. Nicely done!


4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Mad Max films would be nothing without stunts - and this film is chock full of them. CGI does play a major part in a lot of them, but there's plenty of real ones as well. Between all the guns, cars, exploding javelins, flamethrowers, hand-to-hand combat, and explosions, I doubt anyone will be disappointed. Great job!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Fury Road goes back to its roots and filmed a lot of the movie in Australia. This rendition, however, also added several locations in Africa to its repertoire. All the locations set the mood perfectly. Awesome choices all around - which got taken full advantage of in the cinematography! Sweet!

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The costuming and makeup departments did great work. From the emaciated rabble at the Citadel, to the Immortan Joe's White Boys and Warrior Boys, they had their own unique looks and were instantly recognizable as to their strata. The tattooes on the blood sacks as well as the carved flesh and scars of warriors and others, and the Citadel's brand on those they claimed for themselves were distinct and added a lot of flavor.

Even more kudos for making the dress, look, etc of the rocky area group and that of the people in the marshes and beyond unique to their own groups.

Conclusion: For fans of the previous Mad Max movies or anyone who loves a good action film - Mad Max: Fury Road totally delivers! Between the great stunts, special effects, and cinematography, there's a lot to enjoy on this chaotic ride.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

Tales From A Lone Star Anthology - Excerpt from the original story "The Tower"

Now that the Future Classics Anthology Tales From a Lone Star is out, I figured I'd give you guys a taste of one my contributions. "The Tower" is a brand new story just for the anthology.

Here's a taste of "The Tower":

            As Lorne skulked towards his faceless victim in his dream, Sharrah watched from the shadows. Jules, the Tower's organic computer, fed her bursts of compressed information, which Sharrah compiled in her mind, waiting for the moment to strike.

            With a cruel smile, the burly boy grabbed the cloaked figure from behind and twisted him around, punching him in the stomach. Lorne then pulled back the cloak's hood, his excitement reaching its peak. Taking command of the bully's dream, Sharrah changed the parameters. The terrified face of the young boy under the cloak suddenly turned hard. His body grew in size until he towered over Lorne, his expression mirroring the latter's exactly.

            This was the sixteen year old's hundredth session. And while previous sessions had at least stemmed the extent of the fantasies he played out while awake, the lessons and empathy she'd tried to instill in him weren't taking permanent hold. This time, she would let it run its full course.

            Lorne tried to pull away as he realized things had changed, but it was too late. The victim now turned predator had him in a tight grip. "I'm going to indulge you with all those marvelous things you had planned for me. Won't that be fun?"

            It wasn't long before the screaming started.

            It was the one thing she hated about her duty – the awful screaming. Not that they'd have cause to scream if they'd just learn their lessons.

            Despite the two centuries she'd intruded into others' dreams and guided them, taught them -- when those who'd earned the nightmares struggled to wake, when they had to experience the very things they'd hoped to inflict, they screamed. And though they deserved it, when they did, it made guilt grate her soul.

            Extraction sequence complete.

            Sharrah opened her eyes, though she had no real need to do so in order to able to see what was around her. With the semi opaque cover over the Thought Union Bath, or TUB, not using her own eyes would let her see better, but sometimes you just had to do without the ocular feeds. She stared at the cover for a while without actually seeing it, then finally sighed and sent the mental command for it to open.

            The thought travelled from her to the green gel covering most of her body on out through the TUB’s interface and into the Tower’s organic mainframe. The cover slid back almost simultaneously, the speed of transference one of the miraculous properties of the gel and the TUB.

            She stared at the room's dark ceiling, procrastinating against what she knew must come next. Yet she never tired of this sight – of seeing the dark metal above her, of the twinkling, multicolored lights flashing through it, each one a life, a thought, a memory of those living and of those who’d come before. There had once been billions of them - breathing, living, loving, hating - who now were no more. Those who’d come from Before – a millennia ago, much farther back than her own extended existence.

            Is everything all right? Do you require assistance?

            Sharrah flexed her throat a moment, forcing herself to speak, though her communications implant would have worked just as well. "I'm fine, Jules."

            Sighing, she caved to the inevitable and raised her hand out of the gel. It slewed off her hand and arm like water, though beneath and to the sides it felt almost solid, just one of the many odd properties of the compound. She grabbed the side of the tank and pulled herself up, assisted by Jules, who remolded part of the container’s bottom to prop her up. The first few moments out of the gel always seemed to seep the heat away from her, leaving her shivering with cold.

            Grunting with effort, she half climbed, half slipped out of the TUB. Her joints feeling stiffer than usual, she hobbled to the fresher. She’d stayed in too long again – a year, maybe two? Jules would know down to the minute, but Sharrah wouldn't ask, she didn't really want to know. But she also couldn't afford to avoid her secondary duty any longer, no matter how much she wanted to. At most, she had three years to teach all that must be taught – and it would barely be enough time – assuming she even found a proper candidate.

Repeating her last failure was not an option.

The mist in the fresher washed her with warm, polarized water to drag away any remaining dead skin and other waste molecules not already absorbed or converted by the TUB into fodder for the Tower. When her time was done, rather than rot in the ground, her matter would be added to the Tower as well, her last contribution to the cause.

            Multidirectional jets dried her skin and she ran a hand over her shaved head, the green goo removing the hair from her scalp as it grew. It’d been one of the hardest things to give up when she’d fully committed herself to the Tower, to her task -- the long, curling brown locks her one true pride and joy. She sometimes dreamed they flowed from her to circle the entire district in a protective cocoon -- which, since it had gone to feed the Tower, it did in a way. The thought made her smile.

            Stepping out of the fresher, she reached for the injector, already prepped and laid out for her use thanks to Jules, and injected the tailor made concoction into her arm. A burning sensation tingled through her extremities for a moment then dulled. Despite the miraculous properties of the gel and everything else about the Tower, only so many effects for the life she led could be overcome or delayed by the TUB.

            You're going out…yes?

            "Yes." As long as they'd been together, Sharrah could easily hear the computer's subtext, even when she pretended to be polite. Jules would be keenly aware of how past due her exit from the tank had been. They both recognized how important it was, and how much more vital it would become -- even though Sharrah continued to try to hide from it.

As amazing as Jules was, the computer wouldn't be able to carry the mission of guiding and safe guarding humanity on her own. The Ancestors had made sure of it. The human element must always be preserved.

            Yet it made her very nervous. The weight of her unfinished task growing each time she left the tank and came back empty handed. The first time she'd chosen had been hard enough, but with all the doubts plaguing her after her first colossal failure, she found herself cowering from a second attempt. A lot of the tests were conducted on their own, but the human factor was the one thing even a machine as powerful as Jules couldn't truly quantify on her own. Yet even with all the information at Sharrah's command, with the fact she could look in on her people's most private thoughts, put them all through psychological tests inside their dreams, she feared making a decision. Her previous failure had already cost them so much time.

            A dull, faded black dress and cloak rose from the floor to where she could easily reach for them. She put them on, enjoying the feel of the coarse fabric on her skin. Mostly made of cotton, there were other organic elements woven between the folds. They made the two garments more than anyone would believe. Because of it, those who saw her wouldn't truly see her, which was as it should be.

            I believe in you.

            Sharrah laughed out loud, hearing more of Jules' subtext. What the computer really meant was for her to get her butt outside and get this done before she'd have to start nagging her about it. She headed to the open elevator and the transport system deep below.

Tales From a Lone Star is currently available at Amazon (Kindle) and Smashwords. Soon a paperback version will also be available. Enjoy!