by Joseph Rossi
Hold on tight. Mad Max: Fury Road makes Fast 7 look like a road trip to grandma’s house.
This is a modern masterpiece. Look passed the effects, stunts, action and noise. Look at each frame, each sequence, each cut. It’s all perfection. All sewn up beautifully by George Miller. When was the last time we’ve see such a visceral, beautifully made vehicle that propels us to grip our seats and hold our breath. Miller, who is 70 years old, has created a film that even the techno-geek cinema directors of today wouldn’t be able to craft. Eschewing fast cutting and letting scenes play out — in wide shots — without CGI effects for the most part, is a wonder to behold. Actual stunt work is a lost art and Miller and his crew bring it out in spades.
The film is actually one long chase set in a desert wasteland run by a sadistic ruler named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Five of his wives escape before he could sire an heir and so he leads an army of crazed lunatics into the desert, on massive tricked out vehicles, to find them. Enter desert loner Max Rockatansky and the one armed road solider, Furiosa, played by the sturdy Tom Hardy and the excellent Charlize Theron, to save them. They both have such presence that dialogue isn’t necessary. Their eyes say it all. Who needs dialogue when you got master director of photography John Seale (The English Patient) painting with light on such a massive canvas.
This is the real start of summer people. This is a hell of a great flick that I hope will be remembered come award season. The craft is all there. Theron and Hardy are super. This is one of the great films of the year.
