Film In Review - Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

* Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne | Written by George Miller

The recent blockbuster film, Mad Max: Fury Road has taken over our screens since the 14th of May and is still proving to be one of the most prominent action films since the beginning of the year. Shot in Namibia the film is made up a combination of green screened and visually stunning shots which are meant to portray a very plausible snapshot of life in the future once we, as mankind, “kill the world”. Many people, including myself, have seen this film from an environmentalist’s point of view, seeing it as a wake up call in a way as to what can, and may, happen to the Earth. Ultimately, the locations that were used provide a large and barren expanse of land for the action packed plot to unfold on our screens which makes this film truly reminiscent of the original Mad Max films.

    Despite the high budget production and the high profile cast the plot appeared to be fast paced but with little substance. This was mainly due to lots of high powered scenes, plenty of car chases and fights which ultimately amounted to very little in the way of story and character development in my opinion. The trailer for me encapsulated the of the entirety of the film, the plot was repetitive and on the surface I found it to be successful in the way of being a spectacle film rather than a film with a successful and substantial plot.

    However that being said it’s not bad for promoting the themes and morals that the film encapsulates. Strong themes of feminism, equality, the corruption of capitalism run throughout the film which for me is an important advancement in film-making as opposed to films which implicitly display society as a perfect and functioning system. The film’s message for me was that we need these changes in our current system to avoid this situation in our own planet.

    Moreover this Mad Max film perfectly captured the style of the franchise with an array of excellently designed clothes. This reboot makes use of a recognisable style which will likely be found on sale for any merchandising or such because of how fully it is able to communicate the ‘Mad’ aspect of the film’s fictional society, or lack thereof. 

    The costume of Max himself plays a key role in ensuring that the audience’s imagination is captured and engaged in this dystopia. The character’s moral values displayed a few times during the film which can be interpreted as a comment on our materialistic society and its faults.  All characters together help portray the harsh reality of the world, in particular the way in which the old women in the ‘green’ place dress and cling to their props. Overall the costumes truly help to make the film and immerse us as the audience into the world of the film.

    Looking from a more technical perspective the film’s cinematography features frequent closeups of the characters help to really intensify all the emotions felt by the characters. This is especially important in allowing the plot to be fully communicated to the audience. Especially because the story itself featured a minimal script comprising of very few words.

    Additionally the camerawork truly helped to direct the audience around the film in a seamless stream of editing allowing us to always remain with a specific party of people to present to us the story as it unfolds, regardless of whether it was Max and his allies or the tribes that threaten their lives. On top of the camerawork one of the most iconic micro features found throughout this film was by far the soundtrack. Following the release of the trailer with its tense and exciting track “Fury Road” becoming very popular with listeners on Apple’s iTunes store.

    In conclusion Mad Max: Fury Road is deserving of its status as one of 2015's best selling films and was worthy of its large budget! I whole-heartedly recommend that you go and see it in the cinema or purchase it for home viewing!