Mad Max Tells a Lot on the Fury Road

Release Date：May/15/2015
Genre：Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director：George Miller
Cast：Tom Hardy、Charlize Theron、Nicholas Hoult

Viola's Rating：8.9

After 30 years of waiting, 70-year-old Oscar nominated Australian director George Miller finally gave fans of Mad Max franchise a chance to renew their good old days with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) on May 15, 2015.

Being the fourth feature film of the franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road won nine awards for 21^st Critics’ Choices Movie Awards out of its 13 nominations, and is nominated for Oscar for 10 awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

This critically acclaimed adventurous, sci-fi action thriller sets in post-apocalyptic Australia when Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) rebels against a tyrannical ruler Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) in quest of her homeland with the help of a group of Joe’s five wives-- who were selected for breeding, a sick mutant gang War Boy named Nux (Nicholas Hoult) and a drifter Max.

Previously played by Mel Gibson, the title character Max Rockatansky is played by Oscar nominated actor Tom Hardy in the latest film. Hardy’s British accent suits the Australian background of the motion picture, and his amazing acting skill stands out with Miller’s favorite non-verbal storytelling and got him Best Actor in an Action Movie for Critics’ Choices Movie Awards.

Voted as Best Action Movie, Mad Max: Fury Road not only presents adrenaline-filled action scenes, but also introduces many serious topics through its surreal plot setting.

Unlike most movies, the protagonist in Mad Max: Fury Road is a female character, but she’s not depicted as an archetypal woman, but one with stereotyped male characteristics. Director Miller said besides the feminism he wants to share within the picture, the concept of a man dragging five women away from another man is totally different. Therefore, the firmness and persistence of women and motherhood are created to make the storyline more concrete and simpler.

Besides feminism, a lot of serious topics seen in modern world such as authority and power, environmental issue, objectification, etc. are conveyed in the feature film. By interpreting different interactions between roles, Mad Max: Fury Road doesn’t seem like an exciting flat action movie, but a deep round allegory.

With brilliant costume design, hair & makeup, production design, visual effects and Miller’s wife, Margaret Sixel’s editing, there are more than one aspect to appreciate Mad Max: Fury Road. Both the appearance of the film and the meaning hidden are worthy to explore. Also, since Max wants to tell you a lot on the fury road, second view is highly recommended, especially if you want to review some fantastic Oscar nominees.