I Cant Believe You Haven't Seen Mad Max: Fury Road

Mel Gibson is a great actor.  He is charismatic and believable in most roles that he takes on.  However, his most convincing role to date is that of washed up anti-semite.  Now, one would think that with the death of an actor's career would also mean the death of the iconic characters he has portrayed.  On the contrary, Max Rockatansky lives on better than ever through Tom Hardy and the genius that is George Miller.

Story:
If there is anything that this film lacks, it is plot.  While it's not direly detrimental to the quality of the experience, the story is pretty simple and congruent of a smash and grab action movie.  We're introduced to the post-apocalptic Australia when Max (Tom Hardy) is being run down by a group of War Boys, under the jurisdiction of Immortan Joe, a dictator clad in armor and a mask made from the skull of a horse.  A man of few words, Immortan Joe is a ruthless ruler who controls the locals by dominating the water supply, and being the sole provider of the cherished resource in this desert land.

Max is eventually captured and brought to the stronghold of Joe, where he is labeled as a universal donor do to his O Negative blood type.  This blood is stolen from "donors" to keep certain War Boys alive.  Max happens to be hooked up to a young War Boy named Nux (Nicholas Hoult),
who wants to go to battle more than anything, but is so weak that he needs to be hooked up to Max at all times to replenish his blood.

When Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a former servant and warrior of Immortan Joe, betrays the dictator and takes off with the colony's horde of women who are considered "breeders," Nux can't stand being left behind while the rest of the War Boys pursue her.  So he hops in his vehicle and brings Max along for the ride with him.  What ensues is some of the most practical, well-shot action ever put to film.  With Max and Furiosa eventually crossing paths and pursuing an end to the Immortal Joe's reign together.

Charlize Theron play's 'Furiosa' in
Mad Max: Fury Road

Characters:
This film should be called Furious Furiosa: Fury Road, but that doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well.  Charlize Theron is really the lead in this film.  She brings a quiet anguish that makes her one of the coolest female action heroes in film history.  Furiosa leads the charge against Joe's usurping theft of critical resources, and sets out to escape and form a better life for herself and generations to come. Charlize Theron steals the show by proving that action movies CAN be female driven (looking a you, Marvel Studios), and the simple plot allows her character to be the compelling attraction that keeps the audience enthralled.

Tom Hardy takes over for Mel Gibson 
in the titular role of 'Max'

Tom Hardy doesn't say 100 words in this film, but he delivers in other ways.  Hardy as a quiet animosity about him, one that is consistent with a grizzled road warrior in a post apocalyptic hell.  Hardy gives a stand offish performance, not in an arrogant way like he doesn't want to be there, but an accurate portrayal of Max being pissed off that he's been thrown into all this ruckus.  This movie further proves that Tom Hardy is one of the most adaptable actors in Hollywood.  From the villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, to a smart and polite criminal in Inception, to a mentally wounded fighter in Warrior, and now being courted to potentially take up the mantle of James Bond and Wolverine, Tom Hardy can bring it in any situation and Mad Max: Fury Road is no exception.

Nicholas Hoult underent cosmetic transformation to portray 'Nux'

I've never really liked Nicholas Hoult.  Not that I don't like him, it's just that he's never really come across as a stand out actor, more of a one-note, typical brown hair baby that looks smart when you put glasses on him.  I still believe those things are true, but he knocked this performance out of the park.  Due to hair and makeup, combined with his righteous portrayal, the character of Nux was just that.  He was Nux, he was not Nicholas Hoult.  As good as their performances were, to some degree throughout the film I was always thinking "That's Tom Hardy," or "That's Charlize Theron."  Nicholas Hoult had me lost in his performance, and it will be remembered for many years to come.

Cinematography:

George Miller has been the mastermind behind all four
films in the Mad Max franchise

There are certain places where particular phrases are deemed unacceptable.  If I am walking through the streets of Dallas singing the Philadelphia Eagles fight song, I'll eventually get punched.  Same thing would happen if I started screaming obscenities about Zac Efron at a middle school girl slumber party.  But if I walked into Albert Einstein's living room and told him George Miller is a genius, I'd like to think Einstein would agree with me.  PRACTICAL EFFECTS! Are you watching and learning J.J. Abrams? You promise us practical effects for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, well here they are, George Miller has brought them to the screen in the most realistic action sequences ever put to film.

This is a beautiful film.  It fulfills the needs of the artistic critics while entertaining and impressing fans of old and new.  George Miller knows how to commit to his vision and for that reason this reboot is a smashing success.

OVERALL GRADE: 8.9/10