The slow and rattling death of practical effects in mainstream Hollywood movies touches a raw nerve for many cinema goers. Over the last twenty years the gradual rise of computer generated alternatives to real stunts, explosions and hand crafted monsters has continued, despite cries from many that they simply don’t look as good. One quick look at the summer release schedule seems to confirm this; the ‘not quite there’ sheen of usurping pixels covers most of the trailers from head to toe, from the primary coloured cartoon dinosaurs of Jurassic World to the copy and pasted video-game helicopter battles of Terminator Genisys. I made mention of this tiresome trend in my review of Avengers: Age of Ultron; the stakes can never be high if one’s brain cannot accept the reality of what it is being presented with. Thankfully there are still some directors out there who are content to swim against the computerised deluge; JJ Abrams has stated his intention to use practical effects wherever possible in the upcoming Star Wars sequel and Babe: Pig in the City director George Miller has almost single handedly resurrected the stunt laden chase movie with Mad Max: Fury Road.
It is thirty years since Miller released the last Mad Max film, Beyond Thunderdome starring Mel Gibson. In these intervening years the spectrum of vehicle based stunts has changed dramatically. Not only has CGI de-clawed the physical clout of these sequences in an effort to produce continuing levels of gravity defying spectacle but modern quick cut editing has managed to distract from what makes real stunts impressive in the first place. Thankfully, Miller’s old school sensibilities on display in Fury Road can almost be seen as a ‘how to’ guide for today’s action movie makers.
The story is once more set in the post apocalyptic Australian outback and starts with the perennial survivor Max Rockatansky being captured by a tribe of white washed warriors called the ‘War Boys’. He is taken back to their base, an industrialised oasis in the desert lead by a hideously scarred dictator known as Immortan Joe. Max is to be used as a ‘blood bag’ for an expiring War Boy named Nux who is slowly succumbing to radiation poisoning. However, it quickly emerges that the female head of Joe’s road warriors, Imperator Furiosa has secretly smuggled away his five young brides in an armoured war rig, in an effort to liberate them from their lives of enforced child baring. This sets in motion a huge vehicle based chase sequence as Joe’s entire force take up pursuit, with Max taken along for the ride.
As stories go it is stream lined to the extreme, however, it is the execution which sets Fury Road aside from other blockbusters. Before I start singing the praises of the film too loudly I should point out that there are still numerous problems with Max’s latest venture. One of the main qualms I have with the movie is one of narrative realism. Now, of course this is flawed logic; Fury Road should really be seen as a work of fantasy, however, it is set up to be a continuation of the Mad Max series and taken as such the time line simply doesn’t make sense, especially with a younger actor, in the form of Tom Hardy, replacing Mel Gibson. It is not plausible that in the thirty six years since the first film that a religious hierarchy with the complexity and lore of Immortan Joe’s could exist. Also, no one should be expecting the script to win any awards next season; ‘functional’ would be the best term to describe it. It is lacking the occasional twinkles of humour and levity which were present in the scripts of the earlier films, meaning that the movie’s more light hearted moments are a result of Miller’s eye for the absurd instead.
I have heard accusations levelled at Fury Road that Max isn’t really the lead character; a role taken instead by Charize Theron’s Furiosa. Whilst it is true that her quest to liberate the wives is the back bone of the story, I would argue that this is not necessarily a flaw with the film. Since the second movie the Mad Max films have used his character as a catalyst to tell various tales of the apocalyptic outback; Max is just a wanderer who stumbles across survivors and gets mixed up in their narrative, nothing has changed here. More of a problem is the casting of Hardy as Max. He certainly looks the part and handles the bone crunching action with the physical commitment that you’d expect of him. More of an issue is his delivery. Hardy’s accent veers all over the shop; starting out as a convincing Australian before bouncing around north America and occasionally revisiting his peculiar lisping Bane mumble. It is a grounded performance but does lack the exasperated charm of Mel Gibson’s Max.
Thankfully Hardy’s inconsistency isn’t enough to derail the movie. Fury Road is a thrill ride, plain and simple. It is hard to convey the visceral punch which the action delivers. Miller is adept in constantly upping the stakes and the volume of on screen carnage. This is an incredibly visually arresting film, the deep red of the desert locations contrasting beautifully with ocean blue skies and the rusted iron hulks of the pursuing vehicles. It is these vehicles which really encapsulate the relentless fun of Miller’s vision. The nitro enhanced Frankenstein mash ups of past relics look straight out of Wacky Races, the highlight being a drum covered truck complete with mutated heavy metal guitarist spewing flames from the end of his axe. Miller manages to take such ridiculous elements and make them work in the context of his world. The po faced nature of the script is upended by the boundless fun of his action choreography. If the thought of a two hour chase movie makes you baulk, don’t fear. Miller manages to include moments of down time in his rollercoaster, but never enough to let the pace slacken. In sections of character development and dialogue there is always the nagging presence of the pursuing fleet in the back ground, the larger than life threat of Joe’s carnival of freaks constantly on the horizon. It is when the villains catch up with Max that the film is elevated into the realms of an action classic. Stunt men, spears and cars alike go cartwheeling through the air framed by bouquets of blooming explosions. After the otherworldly gloss of Age of Ultron’s computer generated spectacle these sights come as a refreshing blast to the face. It is so visceral and heart poundingly exciting because it is real. The eye and the brain can tell. As an audience we know that in Avengers Scarlett Johansson isn’t really dropping on a motor bike from a jet ship but in Fury Road the most outlandish stunts are put into a frame of believability.
It would be nice to think that Hollywood has learned its lesson and will return to the glory days of action cinema; a wish that will most likely not come to fruition. Of course there is a large place for CGI in action films, it can be used to compliment practical effects with great success. I’m sure there are numerous examples of this in Fury Road which I have missed as well as those which were obvious but wouldn’t be possible in real life. And that is the point. Computer imagery should not be used to replicate things that are possible practically with invention, artistry and expertise. Although by no means a perfect movie, Mad Max: Fury Road shows how things can be done. It delivers a taut, break neck escape from the inch thick velour of modern event cinema, that whilst flawed, left me grinning with exhilaration.
I give Mad Max: Fury Road eight Pauls out of Critoph.
The Critoph Factor 