Mad Max: Fury Road - MAD Indeed!

Mad Max: Fury Road movie review

 

I am no fan of the Mad Max movie franchise, but I have seen the 1st Mad Max and 1/2 of Mad Max 2 & 3 on television. For as long as 30 years, several people last saw Mad Max on the big screen when Beyond Thunderdome was released, and a lot of changes have happened since then. Not just in what passes for action franchise movie-making today, but also in the world of the post-apocalyptic anti-hero himself. Mel Gibson, the former titular character with the black leather jacket with a tragic past, has now been replaced with English actor Tom Hardy in what is now an ageless role.

When we first meet Hardy’s Max, he’s seemingly stuck somewhere between The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome -- still in command of his iconic supercharged V8 from the former film, but also sporting the long locks of the latter. A chase begins almost immediately -- a mere appetizer for the feature-length pursuit that makes up the guts of Fury Road -- and results in Max being held captive in the Citadel, the mountaineous headquarters of the ghastly Immortan Joe.

Instead of execution, Max's punishment must be more severe!

The ambiguous backstory has been a hallmark for George Miller's series, and this enables him to reset Fury Road effectively. Is this a remake, a reboot, a sequel, or a fusion of all three? It does not matter at that point. The world painted here is reminiscent of that imagined in the previous films, and at the same next level. It took the evolution of the End of the World to its next logical, jarring, yet at times beautiful place.

Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa is a high-ranking warlord of Immortan Joe’s army. The protagonist of the movie, she goes on the run from Joe alongside his Five Wives on a specially-designed War Rig. Max’s equal in physicality, driving skills, and tortured past, the one-armed Furiosa stands at the forefront of a cast full of imposing female characters that also includes “The Wives” -- and a group of gun-wielding, dirt-bike riding grannies who almost steal the show. Of course, Miller has often excelled in such portrayals.
 

Decent movie and all, but someone should've told Charlize she had sh*t on her face the whole time.

What I loved the most about the film is the eye-gouging action sequences, so this means audiences are witnessing non-CGI visual effects on the screen. From several cars crashing and flying in the air to a tanker truck exploding right in front of your face, there is nothing more that anybody could demand for in this action flick! Combined with the feral Australian outback setting and the post-apocalyptic ambience, it is a rollercoaster ride filled with mad action, mad violence, and mad intensity.

Fury Road frequently undermines such expectations. Not that any Mad Max fan would anticipate (or want) romance for the character, but Miller works hard to keep the viewer off-balance in general. A particular arc involving one of The Wives sets up a storytelling trope, then does a 180-degree turn away from that, then sets up another trope before doing yet another 180. And this is all capped off by one of the secondary villains, Nathan Jones' perfectly named Rictus Erectus, delivering a moment of genuine pathos as he yells plaintively into the wind. Brilliant.
  

What a lovely day indeed!

I do wonder how the typical moviegoer will react to Fury Road’s unwillingness to play by 2015’s mainstream multiplex rules. But the trailers for this film have not lied; the action is insane, even more so when one considers that so much of it was achieved through practical means, and that a large part of the movie is made up of that central chase.

The over-the-top stunts and eccentric characters and designs are all hugely important to Fury Road, as are the troubled figures like Max himself and Furiosa, but it’s the overriding sense of the film’s uniqueness. Like the world it creates, it is a thing of beautiful brutality.
Mad Max: Fury Road, from my perspective, undoubtedly and definitely deserves an outstanding rating of 9/10!

Avengers: Age of Ultron - A MARVEL of a Movie!

Avengers: Age of Ultron movie review

I started to become a fan of the superhero film genre ever since I watched The Incredible Hulk on the big screen, which persuaded me to go see later superhero movies at the cinema. At first, I thought that those kind of movies were just a form of mindless escapism, but then I realized that they were more than that. They're exploring the superheroes' backgrounds through dramatic storytelling and action-packed sequences, and that is what I like the most about Marvel movies. So now, I would be giving out about my thoughts on 'Age of Ultron'.

To begin, I was simply astonishined of how the sequel managed to recapture the magic and excitement when Earth's Mightiest Heroes were assembled onscreen for the first time, especially when they appeared in each others' films in the last couple of years. Still, as far as sequels go, -- not traditionally Marvel Studios' strongest entries until Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- Avengers: Age of Ultron is a solid and entertaining followup.

It's ironic because Disney bought Marvel! (if you know what I mean)

It's a small miracle that Age of Ultron doesn't collapse under its own weight.  But ultimately the film's laden with numerous moving parts, some of which call attention to its story mechanics and forced elements.

While 'Age of Ultron' is often comedic with Ultron having his fair share of laughs, the story has an ominous core. This stems from what Scarlet Witch shows most of the superheroes: ''visions'' which simultaneously travel back to the heroes' backstories, from Black Widow's Salt-like past and Captain America's further establishment as a man out of time, while also foreshadowing events for Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 3 films. These revelations begin to show the cracks within the ranks of the team, but it's ultimately the actions of Stark that causes most of the bad blood between team members.
 

My reaction to the Bruce/Natasha romantic subplot

Yes, Natasha now has an interest for Banner, a romance which seems to come completely out of the blue given the aloof nature of her character and her past closeness to both Cap and Hawkeye. We're supposed to believe that they each see themselves as cold-blood assassins so that's the basis for their bond, but the whole star-crossed lovers angle just feels forced.

The widening gap between Cap and Stark seems to set up the main element for Captain America: Civil War and we also get a sense of which Avengers will be on which side of that looming battle.

An epic brofist...of SCIENCE!

The Avenger's new additions, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and the Vision, all get their moments to shine in the spotlight. Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver is definitely a secondary character, but his and his sister Wanda's past drives their evolution from antagonists to Avengers. Olsen makes the most of what she can with Scarlet Witch, a role that doesn't really allow her to show much range until the homestretch.

OK, enough about our heroes. What about the titular villain?  As portrayed by Spader, Ultron is as brilliant as his egotistical co-inventor Stark. He's more a doppleganger to Tony -- one wants to destroy humanity, the other wants to save it -- than the Pinocchio to his Geppetto despite what the film's use of that classic Disney song would have you think. Spader's Ultron owns the screen whenever he's on it. Loki may be the most charismatic MCU villain and the Winter Soldier the most physically intimidating, but Ultron offers a perfect cocktail of the former's charm and the latter's aggression.

Ultimately, Avengers: Age of Ultron can't recapture the charm and majesty of seeing Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembled for the first time. That said, it's still a lot of fun and offers plenty of great action and character moments. Although the movie wasn't as thrilling as the first installment, I would still rate this movie an 8/10!

I literally cheered when I saw this!