The fourth instalment of Kennedy Miller’s post-apocalypse action franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road is style and action over substance. Great visuals and nonstop action was strung along a simple A to B and then back again storyline where Max (Tom Hardy) pretty much plays second fiddle to Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron).
It attracted mainly decent reviews (and the odd dud one) of which you can see some examples of below.
JUDGEMENT
“Extravagantly deranged, ear-splittingly cacophonous and entirely over-the-top: the Mad Max punk western franchise has been revived as a bizarre convoy-chase action-thriller in the post-apocalyptic desert.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
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“The long-incubating Mad Max: Fury Road is an R-rated, rocket-fueled romper-stomper, a nonstop chase epic powered by a reported $150 million budget and Miller’s indisputable visionary genius. One look at Max, and the kiddie fans of Happy Feet would be traumatized for life.” Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
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“In fact, it should really be called Furiosa Road, because the story is hers. Max is somewhat useless, spending the first portion of the movie strapped to the front of a car, then muzzled for the next portion, and when he does get involved with the lorry jumping and pole swinging, he inevitably has to be saved by this team of femmes he’s reluctantly joined forces with.” Matthew Rodgers, Epoch Times
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“But while I enjoyed the film from start to finish, and will almost certainly go see it again, it never quite lives up to the best of the original Mad Max trilogy. It’s my second favorite in the series, but falls short of Road Warrior’s bizarre greatness.” Erik Kain, Forbes
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“The world has gone utterly mad. This fourth installment in the much-loved Aussie franchise is being hailed as one of the very best action films ever made, with adjectives being wheeled out that haven’t been since Orson Welles made Citizen Kane. Once the dust has settled, however, Fury Road is likely to be remembered as a visually spectacular but somewhat boring chase film.” David Edwards, Mirror
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“George Miller’s chase scenes are based on the idea that everyone, no matter how powerful, is only a falling rock or stray bullet away from the same grisly death. By the same token, nobody, no matter how powerless, is harmless. Even if you’re part of a warlord’s harem, there’s a reason you’ve managed to outlive almost every other human being on Earth.” Adi Robertson, The Verge
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“Fury Road rarely relents, but when it does slow down, coiling with suspense or pausing to reflect on all the sprawling nothingness surrounding these benighted souls, the film whispers with an intensity to match the louder stretches. Miller knows when to indulge in a serious slo-mo shot or a moment of sweetness or levity, without sacrificing the larger movie’s grim, propulsive charge.” Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair
What about you? How do you rate Mad Max: Fury Road?
See what CinemaSins saw was wrong with the film here: