Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Revisited

Upon its release last year, Mad Max: Fury Road was met with an extraordinary response from critics and audiences alike, so it was expected that upon viewing it would be the marvel it was. And alas, on that first viewing those expectations were scuppered by a film which seemed to be all action and little dialogue; describing it as "the epitome of a popcorn film". But with nearly a year passing since that first faithful viewing where, admittedly, I was rather harsh on it, the time (and all those award nominations) has come to go back on the Fury Road and see whether that second viewing will take me to the Gates of Valhalla where everyone else resides, deserves to be left in the remains of the desolate world that appears or if it remains the fine but overly flawed picture that just wasn't for me the first time around. 
Due to the decline in water, the world has turned into a gas-guzzling selection of societies living in a desolate sandy dystopia. Max (Tom Hardy), still in a state of emotional turmoil following many of the loses in his life in this other world. Captured and used as a live blood bank for one of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) War Boy followers (Nicolas Hoult), he gets thrown into a road battle when the tyrannical leader's Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) takes away his five "breeders" for their protection. Once Max is free from his chains and the War Boys, he reluctantly helps out Furiosa and the five wives of Immortan Joe as they look for 'the Green Place' – a land of which was one of the few to still be filled with greenery as opposed to the sand dune state the world currently lies in – in one of the biggest and most bombastic summer blockbusters ever made. 
While light on dialogue and opting for the 'explosions everywhere' approach unlike many modern blockbusters, it does give the feel of the entire film a mixture of a standard open world racing game or a classic Looney Tunes cartoon – giving an easy-to-follow feeling towards it as you switch your brain off and enjoy the plentiful explosions and the very idea behind the Coma-Doof Warrior (a.k.a that guy with the flamethrower guitar). Whilst initially viewed as a criticism, the factor that it takes the full-blown action route and does it right compared to its contemporaries does add a sense of gusto to the whole thing – it gives the audience what it wants in the form of car chases and fighting, but provides them in an elegant and beautiful fashion with a story that is easily translatable across the globe. And as far as a dystopian-based story in the current age of cinema goes, it's a well-decided one, albeit one that could do with just a bit more dialogue to it. 

The real star of the whole film is the direction and cinematography, and George Miller (previously Oscar-nominated for Babe and Happy Feet, believe it or not) does an outstanding job. Teamed up with John Seale, the duo create some beautiful shots which could easily take up an art museum solely through screengrabs, whilst each action beat shows off the full effect that Miller has been desiring throughout this fourth instalment's rocky production cycle. Add a rocking score to the mix by Junkie XL and you have the full effect that makes this film gorgeous – steampunk production design, extreme music, and stunning visuals. 
With Tom Hardy taking over the titular role from Mel Gibson, his constant work with gruff voices continues to strive in a role which doesn't leave him with much to do. Not to say that what he does isn't great – it's Tom Hardy, he usually is – but rather his role as a lone traveller thrown into a mammoth battle with reluctance leaves with him with not much to do outside of react to everything and join in with the fight. Instead, the one carrying all the weight is Charlize Theron's Furiosa: a feminist role of sorts in which she fights for the freedom of sex slaves and once resided in a singular form of utopia in the desolate world which was run by plant-growing women. With her single arm, bad-ass make-up and superb skills against the enemy,  many have commented on her being the best female heroine since Ellen Ripley...and they aren’t wrong. Theron gives an award-worthy performance throughout the film, and made the character her own and instantly recognisable. Meanwhile, Nicholas Hoult as War Boy Nut does a great job as he grows from single-minded server to a caring ally; Hugh Keays-Byrne makes for an interesting antagonist ("Mediocre!" he cries, although he's far from that); Rosie Huntington-Whiteley proves that there's more to her than modelling and being in a Transformers movie (practically the anti-Fury Road in the sense that the action is mindless and dull); Zoë Kravitz proves herself as a good actress against the bad choice she made casting-wise that was the Divergent series; and fellow sex slaves/wives Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton and Riley Keough make for memorable if not entirely interesting side characters. There's also a whole array of other characters ranging from the aforementioned Doof Warrior to weird people with nipple piercings and misshaped bodies, but there's so many to count that it would be impossible to go through them all. 

When I first saw Mad Max: Fury Road, I was baffled by all the hype behind it and wondered what I was missing that so many seemed to love. Nearly a year later, and I finally get it – it's a fun blockbuster which isn't mindless nor convoluted in its nature, and basks in its full glory while having a story which makes complete sense. It's not the perfect masterpiece everyone sees it to be, but it's a great one to discover and if you weren't taken by it originally, I urge to give it another chance. I know I did, and now it's earned a higher rating. 8/10.