Mad Max Fury Road is a direct sequel to the post-apocalyptic trilogy that so many of us grew up with and it hit the big screen in 2015. Following on from the doldrums of a few years of rumour and development it eventually landed with an impressive trailer in 2014 that pitched it as a modern day Road Warrior and now that it has been released we can say for sure that it’s an impressive return for the George Miller series. You’ve only go to take a look at the movie still above to get a taste of the blistering scale of the film, which is shaping up to to be one of the big releases of the year and with Tom Hardy behind the wheel of the turbo charged, V8 Pursuit Special it’s gone on to be a full throttle action adventure.
Release date
While it was originally earmarked for release in 2012, and looked likely to be coming to the cinemas in summer 2014, production took a lot longer than had been expected. It’s US and UK release date eventually took place on the 15th May 2015, and while the lengthy gestation period has been a little on the frustrating side, the end product has benefited from the extra time spent on it, with the film looking every bit the epic post-apocalyptic return fans of the original movies were hoping for.
There’s not much in it in terms of the overall visual impact of the film in either 2D or 3D, so don’t feel like you’ve missed out on too much if you opt to watch is in standard view. The DVD, Blu-ray and digital download release date for the film has been confirmed for the 21st September 2015 in the UK following on from the US release on the 1st September.
Storyline
Little was known about the details of the Mad Max Fury Road plot, however, with the trailer doing the rounds and the film release at the cinemas we’ve finally got a better understanding of what exactly is going on with the storyline. As with the previous films, the latest installment will see Max Rockatansky facing the vicious gangs of the desert in an ongoing bid for his own survival and in the latest installment he teams up with the mechanical-armed determination of renegade big-rig driver, Imperitor Furiosa (Charlize Thereon) to get the job done.
This time around, he’s trying to help a band of runaway breeder wives cross the desert safely, as they try to escape from the villainy of the crazy, white-haired, masked devil of the dunes, Immortan Joe. It’s a brutal chase movie out in the desolate wasteland of post-apocalyptic Australia and Max, Furiosa and their delicate cargo of escapees have got the odds stacked firmly against him.
Cast
Tom Hardy (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2009), The Dark Knight Rises) takes on the lead role of Max Rockatansky, taking over from Mel Gibson, who had the role in all three of the previous movies. Check out the grim adrenaline rush of action in the trailer below to see that his starring role is far from being anything but high impact, with doubts about the prospect of the movie going on to be smashed in Hardy’s relentless wake.
The movie has also cast Charlize Theron (The Road) as the leading lady, Imperator Furiosa. She doesn’t quite put herself through the extremes of a Monster-like makeover, but she’s definitely not been given a glamourous role to deliver. This is arguably a good thing for the gritty nature of the film, and while her performance is strong, we’re not sure it’ll be enough to garner a second Oscar for the actress.
In a pretty cool twist, Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played Toecutter, the leader of the killer biker gang from the very first Mad Max movie, has returned to the series once again to take on the role of yet another baddie, Immortan Joe. Zoë Kravitz (X-Men: Days Of Future Past, After Earth), Lenny’s daughter, has also been cast in the film, along with British actress and model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Transformers: Dark Of The Moon) and Australian fashion model and actress, Abbey Lee Kershaw.
Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) stars as one of Joe’s War Boys, Nux, and WWE wrestler Nathan Jones plays his strongman son, Rictus Erectus.
Production
On top of all this, George Miller, the director of the original three films of the brutal franchise, is back again at the wheel. With positive review and success at the box office, he’s clearly been able to steer it away from the less impressive Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome, which ended any potential that Tina Turner’s acting career had. As a result, he’s managed to create a helter-skelter ride to reprise the legacy of Mad Max and landed the prospect of further sequels in the not too distant future.
His efforts have been supported by the strength of director of photography, John Seale (The Tourist), who’s previous work includes BMX Bandits, Rain Man, Grillas In The Mist, Dead Poets Society, Lorenzo’s Oil, The English Patient, The Perfect Storm and Prince of Persia Sands Of Time, so you can see why it’s gone on to look so impressive. It was co-written by Miller, comic book legend Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris – who also played a mechanic in the original Mad Max film.
Production for Fury Road was originally set to commence in October 2011, but it was hit by a number of location difficulties thanks to the uncharacteristically wet weather in Australia. According to an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, George Miller said that, “The Mad Max landscape looked like Wales”, which probably doesn’t do the best job at portraying a post apocalyptic desert backdrop.
Filming for the film was subsequently moved to Namibia by all accounts to complete the filming in 2012, 2013 and post-production in 2014. Looking at the baked sand dunes and desolate rocky outcrops in the film, the south African nation wasn’t hit with any unexpected rain, green fields and flowery meadows issues. However, the delays in the production of the film do make it difficult to see a sequel arriving any time soon, but we’ll have to wait and see how things pan out now that Miller as got the first return under his belt.
Review
While we may have felt that we were probably being a little naive getting excited about the prospect of Mad Max Fury Road, the end product has more than vindicated our belief in the project. It was obviously never going to be the rough and ready tearaway that the first movie was, but it has managed to capture some of the post-apocalyptic genius that was Mad Max 2. Read our full review for more details.
