There are a few harsh realities to rewatching Mad Max: Fury Road, even though the movie remains a post-apocalyptic masterpiece. The 2015 sequel was directed, co-produced, and co-written by George Miller, who wrote the original movie with Byron Kennedy. Although Australian producer Byron Kennedy passed away in 1983 after working on just two Mad Max movies, Miller continued to lead the Mad Max movie franchise. In hindsight, some elements of Mad Max: Fury Road could have been improved, while other elements may sadly never be recreated.
Miller’s return to the Mad Max universe in 2015 led to one of the best action movies of all time. Mad Max: Fury Road occupies a mysterious place in the Mad Max timeline, for one. It appears to be set a long time after the last Mad Max movie, but Max hasn’t aged. The strange timeframe of the movie indicated a fresh approach on behalf of its makers, who were refusing to be held back by constraints as mundane as linear timing and logic. Fury Road was sort of a reboot that included moments of moviemaking magic and some more questionable elements.
10
Mad Max: Fury Road Can Be Incredibly Stress-Inducing
Fury Road Takes No Prisoners
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Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the most stressful action movies to watch. This is a part of its strategy, but it doesn’t necessarily make it harder to stomach. The movie starts with some nauseating shots of Tom Hardy’s Max trying to escape Immortan Joe, and the pace doesn’t let up from there on. This fast-paced action is enjoyable but is made more aggressive by certain filmmaking tactics.
|
Movie |
Release Date |
Critics RT Score |
Audience RT Score |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mad Max |
April 12, 1979 |
90% |
70% |
|
Mad Max: The Road Warrior |
December 24, 1981 |
93% |
86% |
|
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome |
July 10, 1985 |
79% |
49% |
|
Mad Max: Fury Road |
May 15, 2015 |
97% |
86% |
|
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga |
May 24, 2024 |
89% |
96% |
The movie removed frames from its scenes to create a sense of anxiety in line with what was being experienced by Max. This resulted in a disturbing nightmare of an opening, which was sometimes replicated throughout the movie. This jarring, stilted camera work was combined with the movie’s loud and aggressive soundtrack to build a growing unease. This smart production sometimes felt a little too effective.
9
The Mad Max Movies Glorify Violence
Mad Max: Fury Road Doesn’t Address The Effects Of Violence
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Mad Max: Fury Road has a moral compass but doesn’t always seem to acknowledge the full extent of the impact of its violence. Action movies, in general, aren’t known for taking every death seriously. And, Mad Max: Fury Road actually shines when it takes itself less seriously. Its silliness is one of the best things about it. Yet, there is a chance that Fury Road could have used a touch more consideration of its many deaths.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is rated PG-13, uniquely in the franchise, with every other Mad Max movie rated R.
One of the harshest realities of Mad Max may be the gratuitous violence. This is what makes the franchise Mad Max, but it can sometimes slip into territory that renders it less emotionally believable. The movies were never supposed to be physically believable, but their heart relies on a fundamental ability to relate to the protagonists. Perhaps slightly more acknowledgment of its many tragedies would have benefited Mad Max: Fury Road.
8
Nux Had Inconsistent Character Development In Mad Max: Fury Road
Nux Was Incredible But Occasionally Confusing
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Nicholas Hoult’s Nux had slightly inconsistent character development throughout Mad Max: Fury Road. Nux is unquestionably one of Hoult’s best characters ever, and he was one of the best parts of Fury Road, perhaps second only to Tom Hardy’s Max. However, it wasn’t always easy to understand why Nux was oscillating so wildly between loyalty to Immortan Joe and rejection of his ways.
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Nux looked like Immortan Joe’s biggest fan until he could no longer please him. In giving up the ghost of being Immortan Joe’s favorite, Nux decided to switch sides and help Max and Furiosa. Nux had glorious development, with his arc ending tragically and perfectly. However, the movie could have made it slightly more clear what was going on in Nux’s head and why he switched sides.
7
Mad Max: Fury Road Used A Garish Color Palette
The Movie’s Unique Palette Was Sometimes Jarring
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Mad Max: Fury Road had a very garish color palette, which helped the movie, but sometimes made it harder to watch. Like the movie’s screaming soundtrack and cut frames, its high saturation gave it the feeling of being overwhelming. This suited the movie perfectly, as it was built to be over the top. However, it meant that the movie wasn’t quite the perfect fit for every social situation or every person.
The Chrome Edition gave viewers the option to skip the original’s high-octane palette.
The high saturation of Mad Max: Fury Road made it deliberately comic-book in style, which reflected the Mad Max comics. This made sense but could be difficult on the eyes. Seemingly acknowledging this, Mad Max: Fury Road released a black-and-white version called Mad Max: Fury Road Black & Chrome Edition. The Chrome Edition gave viewers the option to skip the original’s high-octane palette.
6
Tom Hardy’s Max Deserved His Own Sequel
Tom Hardy Max Deserved Way More Screen Time
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Mad Max took 4 movies to finally live up to his name and then got swept under the carpet. Mel Gibson’s Mad Max was wonderful but nowhere near as unhinged as Tom Hardy. In many ways, Max really came into his own in Mad Max: Fury Road. That is why it is such a harsh reality that Hardy’s Max didn’t get a sequel. The franchise followed Fury Road up with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was a great addition to the franchise led by a new version of Furiosa played by Anya Taylor-Joy. This was fun and welcome, but it was still a shame that Hardy didn’t get to lead the Mad Max movie after Fury Road. Tom Hardy was the best thing about Fury Road and he deserved his own sequel.
5
Mad Max Can Occasionally Seem More Style Than Substance
The Movies Could Have More Nuance
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Mad Max: Fury Road has much more depth than many action movies but not as much nuance as some. While the movie’s strength was its style, its substance could lag behind. The violence of Mad Max: Fury Road was beautifully stylized and nicely offset by strongly portrayed themes. Friendship was put to the test in a brutal setting. However, there were long stints of action, and not all of them seemed fully necessary.
The action was, overall, exceptional. Fiercely original sequences put the movie’s post-apocalyptic setting to great use, with War Boys fighting Max and Furiosa across a burning desert. This could, perhaps, have been slightly reduced and refined. This would have made way for slightly more plot development and dialogue. The script of the movie was a huge highlight, so more of this wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
4
Tom Hardy May Make A Better Max Than Mel Gibson
Tom Hardy Makes Former Movies Look Lacking
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Antiheroes are Tom Hardy’s specialty, which may have ended up making him an even better Max than Mel Gibson. This harsh reality actually painted Mad Max: Fury Road in a good light while reflecting less well on its predecessors. The first few Mad Max movies were pioneering, but Hardy made the role all his own and brought it the pure, unfettered rage that it had always needed.
Mel Gibson launched the franchise as Max Rockatansky in 1979’s Mad Max and gave George Miller and Byron Kennedy’s vision a face. Gibson’s memorable turn was hugely influential and paved the way for Tom Hardy. But Tom Hardy’s 2015 movie may have been the best Mad Max movie yet made, making the originals look worse by comparison.
3
Many Action Movies Are More Well-Rounded Than Mad Max: Fury Road
Fury Road Is Simple, Even For An Action Movie
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Mad Max: Fury Road was simple, yet effective, and could be seen to lack certain elements. The movie was funny in a way, which actually only went to prove how much funnier it could have been if the script had focused on this. Nonetheless, the movie’s dark tone made it stronger. In this vein, the movie could have acknowledged the full terror of its implications more.
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The movie, for instance, could have leaned into its tentative explorations of fate and politics. Mad Max: Fury Road was right to not hit viewers over the head with obtuse dialogue, but there was an underlying depth that could have been brought out more. To reach the heights of action flicks like The Matrix or Kill Bill, perhaps only slightly more dialogue was needed to explore character motivations.
2
Mad Max: Fury Road Could Have Done With Fewer Explosions
There Were A Few Too Many Explosions Interrupting The Action In Fury Road
The explosions that occurred throughout Mad Max: Fury Road were a key ingredient but did go slightly too far. The action sequences of the movie needed the explosions to create the drama that they did. However, some scenes got confusing as explosions continued, distorting the clarity of events. Among the well-timed explosions were some pyrotechnics that could have been toned down.
The extended action scenes and explosions were mostly engaging, but every once in a while, it was possible to lose focus. With so much going on in each scene, the explosions sometimes got repetitive and played against the pacing of the action. This was a small complaint, in the grand scheme of things, but showed that even the best action movies could sometimes use some paring down for optimum effect.
1
Mad Max: Fury Road May Never Get A Follow-Up Movie
Fury Road May Not Get A Sequel
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The harshest reality of Mad Max: Fury Road is that it may never get the sequel that it so sorely deserves. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga had disappointing box office returns that did not compensate for its huge expense. This endangered the Fury Road sequel that George Miller had been contemplating. There is always the chance that this movie will transpire, one day, but it sounds unlikely, for now.
Speaking with Forbes, Tom Hardy addressed the Mad Max: The Wasteland movie, which was meant to come after Fury Road. Hardy bluntly commented ‘I don’t think that’s happening,” upsetting many Mad Max fans. Hardy’s Mad Max movie may be the best of the whole franchise. Mad Max: Fury Road wasn’t perfect but its biggest problem, by far, is not getting a follow-up.
Source: Forbes
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21
9.3/10
Mad Max: Fury Road
R
ActionAdventureThrillerFantasy
Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth film in George Miller’s long-running sci-fi franchise, with Tom Hardy starring as Max Rockstansky, a vagabond who lives on the road in an apocalyptic wasteland. When Max comes across a cult group that keeps its people in fear and under control with a monopoly on water and other crucial supplies, he joins up with Imperator Furiosa, a warrior woman leading a rebellion against the cult’s leader, Immortan Joe.
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
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*Availability in US
Release Date
May 14, 2015
Runtime
120 Minutes
Franchise(s)
Mad Max
Cast
Tom Hardy
, Charlize Theron
, Nicholas Hoult
, Zoë Kravitz
, Hugh Keays-Byrne
, Riley Keough
, Courtney Eaton
, Abbey Lee
, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Director
George Miller
Writers
George Miller
, Brendan McCarthy
, Nick Lathouris
Prequel(s)
Mad Max
, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Sequel(s)
Mad Max: The Wasteland
Budget
$154-185 Million
Studio(s)
Village Roadshow Pictures
, RatPac-Dune Entertainment
, Kennedy Miller Mitchell
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
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