Hey Everyone, Bandrew Here. This week we have a guest Friday Night Action Movie Book Club blogger who joins us from The Paper Robots. Per his request, I have included a copy of the Friday Night Action Movie Book Club Theme Song so you can listen to it, and get in the mood to learn about a film that he thinks is TIGHT! Now I will pass it over to Logan.
This weeks Friday Night Action Movie Bookclub is a new release by the name of Mad Max: Fury Road. This is a sequel/reboot? of the 1980s classic Mad Max(1979), I think it takes place after Road Warrior, but that isn't relevant. What is relevant is the production behind the film.
George Miller the director of the original trilogy came back with Fury Road and re-envisions the Mad Max world with the power of today's production value and budget. George Miller might be as crazy and awesome as the movie is on screen. I say this because Fury Road uses a lot of practical effects. The vehicles and weapon (yes guitar flamethrower) all function. Secondly he gave the actors a bare bones script and storyboards to base the scenes on. This lead to minimal dialogue but in my opinion it works perfectly for the action movie. The film runs 2 hours and about 70% is high octane car chase action.
Let me back up and say that the world of Mad Max is a near future wasteland where food/water/supplies are all scarce second some people have been infected by radiation and need regular human blood to survive. Thirdly everything is metal and dirty. The world is run by 3 brothers who control the water, guns and supplies. The main villain also has these sister wives that are basical a baby farm to produce a healthy male lineage. Max (Tom Hardy) is more like a dog fighting to survive the wasteland and gets wrapped into Furiosa's (Charlize Theron) plan to save the woman and bring them to a "promise land" of green.
Now you know the plot and it seems to be full of action movie cliche but it play much more than that, the plot is simple, save the people from the evil guys by running to some better place, right? Well yes but it also has a female lead and Max as her companion Furiosa is a badass with an awesome big rig truck. The plot quickly doesn't matter once you are swept into the action. Note that the film goes to a higher frame rate during these sequences and it adds to the style of the film as a whole.
I can't say much about what I didn't enjoy, there's little talking, and little room for bullshit. You just sit in your seat and watch wasteland warriors fight each to keep control of what little is left in the world. The heroine wants a better world in a place that only wants to survive and that is a compelling enough reason to watch this film.You don't need unique concept but instead a unique take on the concept and Mad Max delivers.
