Release Date: September 1, 2015
Rating: R
Running Time: 120 minutes
Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa. They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.
Okay, so I wasn’t born when the original Mad Max released. but if I were interested in seeing the original, I would have seen it by now. That said, I was very intrigued by Mad Max: Fury Road because of the one and only…Charlize Theron. Yep. She is the only reason I set out to watch this film. And boy did she deliver. She played one of the most kick butt female characters I’ve seen all year. In fact, she probably tops the list. I loved following her character, a fighter, a protector, a true warrior. I was on board following her story from the very beginning and was so happy with how complex this character and her story were. But this is technically about Max…and well, I can’t say that I was all that connected to his story until about halfway through.
But for me to even get halfway, I have to mention that I went to read the synopsis on IMDB of the movie so that I could understand what I was watching. Because what little backstory and plot that there was did not come across as well executed as it could have been so I was a little lost. Thank goodness for the synopsis. There were some moments that were so completely clear and I was so captivated and invested in the story but those moments were inconsistent and too rare. I definitely read a more emotionally charged movie than what I watched so I can say that I 100% know that I would not have enjoyed this as much had the IMDB synopsis not laid everything out for me story wise. I’m definitely glad I didn’t see this in theaters because I would have missed so much in this regard and been so completely lost.
Because the story was lacking and while I like action movies…this…this was basically straight action. So. Not for me. I wasn’t the target audience but I wanted to watch something out of my comfort zone and I succeeded and I think this film succeeded 100% in delivering the goods to its target audience. I believe there is a sequel to this movie. And while I don’t see myself going out to the theater to watch it, I appreciate this world so much that I actually wouldn’t mind seeing it again from the comfort of my own home. So, whether you’re an action fan or not, I’d say give Mad Max: Fury Road because you might be surprised with how much you like if not the entire film than many elements of the film. I’d say it’s worth the watch.
Maximum Fury: Filming Fury Road (Approx. 28 minutes) – In this feature, the cast and crew talk about everything from shooting a film that’s always in motion and shooting a film in the desert to creating the story and blending live action + visual effects, stunts, and more. It’s great. Especially since we do get to see different stages of development and production. I may not have loved the movie overall but I appreciate all of the hard work that was put into creating it and that’s what this is all about. So. Great feature!
Appearing in this Feature:
Director/Producer/Co-Writer, George Miller
Production Designer, Colin Gibson
Principal Vehicle Designer/Storyboard Artist, Peter Pound
Co-Writer/concept Designs, Brendan McCarthy
Producer, Doug Mitchell
Executive Producer, Iain Smith
Co-Special Effects Supervisors, Andy Williams & Dan Oliver
Stunt Coordinator, Keir Beck
Second Unit Director/Supervising Stunt Coordinator, Guy Norris
Visual Effects Supervisor, Andrew Jackson
Technical Continuity, Georgina Selby
Producer/First Assistant Director, PJ Voeten
Fight Coordinator, Richard Norton
Principal War Rig Driver, Lee Adamson
Cast Members, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Hardy, Josh Helman, Angus Sampson
Mad Max: Fury on Four Wheels (Approx. 22 minutes) – Even though I’m not a car person, as a writer, I can appreciate just how much the cars are extensions of the characters, especially in a world like this. So, believe it or not, I was actually quite fascinated by this feature (for the first ten minutes until I grew disinterested) and think that fans of the original film will be especially intrigued as this feature talks about how the designs of many of the cars have evolved and the concepts behind the new cars. This feature is definitely for the car aficionado.
Appearing in this Feature:
Director/Producer/Co-Writer, George Miller
Production Designer, Colin Gibson
Principal Vehicle Designer/Storyboard Artist, Peter Pound
Principal Storyboard Artist, Mark Sexton
Second Unit Director/Supervising Stunt Coordinator, Guy Norris
Cast Members, Josh Helman, Nicholas Hoult, Angus Sampson, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Nathan Jones, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
The Road Warriors: Max and Furiosa (Approx. 11 minutes) – In this feature, the cast and crew talk about Max and Furiosa, casting Max and Furiosa, and embodying all that is Max and Furiosa through the eyes of the director, George Miller. Miller, Hardy, and Theron talk about working with each other, working in the harsh and isolating desert conditions, and more. Hardy was quite entertaining in this feature and aside from that, I really loved how insightful this feature was (as were the other features). My favorite feature, I’d say.
Appearing in this Feature:
Director/Producer/Co-Writer, George Miller
Producer, Doug Mitchell
Cast Members, Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron
The Tools of the Wasteland (Approx. 14 minutes) – I loved this feature because it’s basically a world building feature as we literally see the world built in the lab, the characters’ wardrobe, and so on. It’s fascinating to see how certain pieces of the past have been repurposed for the present of this world and so on. Wonderful feature!
Appearing in this Feature:
Director/Producer/Co-Writer, George Miller
Production Designer, Colin Gibson
Salvage Artist, Matt Boug
Property Master, Andrew Orlando
Producer, Doug Mitchell
Costume Designer, Jenny Beavan
Key Armourer, Lance Peters
Cast Members, Josh Helman, Charlize Theron, Iota, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Nathan Jones
The Five Wives: So Shiny, So Chrome (Approx. 11 minutes) – I especially loved this feature because I really felt for the five wives in the movie so to hear the actresses speak on playing these roles and filming was really interesting and much needed reminder of how much work went into this film that not many people even think about and the bonding that takes place because of all of the above. Great feature, so glad it was included!
Appearing in this Feature:
Director/Producer/Co-Writer, George Miller
Cast Members, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Charlize Theron
Fury Road: Crash & Smash (Approx. 4 minutes) – This is a compilation of pre-production, behind the scenes, and on set shots that are all completely raw. Unedited. No CGI. Basically, if you loved the movie, this is the first feature you should watch. Car action for days. Well. Four minutes. But it’s pretty wild.
Deleted Scenes (3 minutes) – There are three deleted scenes, “I Am a Milker,” “Turn Every Grain of Sand!” and “Let’s Do It.” I didn’t understand “Turn Every Grain of Sand!” so that was an easy pass for me. I did understand “I Am a Milker” but felt it was unnecessary as the gist of an exchange like this and the dire need was told well in the final cut of the movie so that being cut was understandable. Finally, “Let’s Do It” was a fine scene but again, the gist of this was all throughout the movie so this being cut was more than fine. So are the deleted scenes worth a watch? I’d say, skip.
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