Movie Review -- Mad Max: Fury Road

Today we have a remake of the old Mad Max movies, Mad Max: Fury Road. Once again directed by series creator George Miller, is it worth watching?

The story begins in the future following the collapse of society. Former cop Max (Tom Hardy) is a man haunted by his failure to save an unknown child. He wanders the wasteland just looking to survive, but one day is captured by a roaming band of wild thugs who work for the sinister Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a local warlord who owns a stronghold called the Citadel. Max is shaved and branded by Joe's minions and put in a cage to await his fate.

Meanwhile, Joe's trusted slave Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads a caravan to Gas Town to...well, get gas. However, she soon goes off-course in her rig, making Joe suspicious. He then discovers his harem of sex slaves have been spirited out of the Citadel by Furiosa.

Joe sets out in pursuit of his escaped "property" and brings Max along as an unwitting hood ornament. A battle ensues, whereupon Max manages to get free in the middle of a massive sandstorm. The car he's on top of crashes when he stops driver Nux (Nicholas Holt) from blowing them sky-high as part of an attempt to secure a sweet afterlife. Max and an unconscious Nux run into Furiosa and the harem who have stopped to freshen up. Both parties then get into a fight but have to join forces when Joe and his band of marauders catches up with them. Furiosa explains that she's taking the women to a place where they can be free, and Max reluctantly agrees to help. Together, they head off towards the promised land, but Joe's forces aren't far behind, and they'll need all the luck (and bullets) they can get to survive the journey.

To answer my own question, Mad Max: Fury Road is absolutely worth watching. It's an exceedingly stylish film, a visual treat. George Miller once again proves he is a prime visionary, delivering a rich setting and wildly colorful characters to the post-apocalyptic wasteland. He is truly in a class of his own.

However, there is a strange lack of diversity in this movie. I don't recall seeing anyone of color in the whole film. As far as I can tell, the future will be full of white people. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome at least had Tina Turner in it, so I'm not sure what happened here.

Still, I don't think it hurts this film too much. Go see Mad Max: Fury Road and embrace the insanity.

"What a lovely day!"