Summer Movie Reviews: Now with 100% More Flamethrowing Guitars

Mad Max: Fury Road 5/5

Warning: The following review is rambling because my brain could not handle how great this movie was.

Mad Max: Fury Road was terrific.

It was barely 2 hours long and felt a lot closer to like 75 minutes because it just keeps going and going. Its really immersive and I enjoyed how you learned more about the characters through their actions than them sitting back and telling you about themselves.

Using the character of Mad Max more as a vessel into the world than a protagonist was a nice change and it allows everyone else in the movie to shine.

It is essentially a sick as heck two hour chase scene with practical effects, which are my favourite, and hardcore metal designs. Seeing all the weird monster people with robot bits and mutations and tumors is just so enjoyable because all the actors totally buy in. White Darth Vader Bane was a terrific villain and he serves the story very well.

I really enjoy how many properties in the last few years have begun to embrace their “stupidity” that is at play in their worlds. They go full on with the crazy designs like guitar flamethrowers that cause explosions, but then also have things strangely grounded in reality with things held together by scrap materials.

It keeps improving with each scene outdoing the last. It almost makes you wish for a longer film, but I think it is perfect as it is. Any longer and I think the vividness would lose some of its poignancy. The movie is pedal to the metal from start to finish. It feels like the film is basically in real time.

It quite honestly might be the best action movie I’ve seen… ever? I feel like this is going to be the standard to which I hold all action movies, or maybe even movies in general. Its more than just explosions. Its great story telling with great explosions and stunts.

Other reviews

Previously:

• Avengers: Age of Ultron

To come this summer/year:

• San Andreas, May 29
• Entourage, June 5
• Jurassic World, June 12
• Antman, July 17
• Fantastic Four, August 7
• Hitman: Agent 47, August 28
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, December 18

Maybe to come this summer/year:

• Ted 2, June 26
• Terminator: Genysis, July 1
• Pixels, July 24
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, July 31
• Goosebumps, October 16
• Jen and the Holograms, October 23