The Mad Max series has a special resonance for those of us who remember seeing the original MAD MAX at Boston's SF/6. At the time of that showing, very few Americans had seen it - let alone at a nice theater like the Orson Welles (it was dumped into Drive-Ins and Grindhouses for a one-week run). It was like a grenade had been dropped into the theater - WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!! A great Marathon moment.
A little over a year later, ROAD WARRIOR was released stateside and the rest of America caught on to Mad Max. I wasn't quite as blown away by ROAD WARRIOR as most people, but then again, my mind had been "pre-blown away" by MAD MAX unlike most viewers. MAD MAX has shown twice more at the Marathon (Boston's SF/16,SF/26 – the undubbed Aussie Version) and ROAD WARRIOR once (Boston's SF/14).
MAD MAX FURY ROAD is good. The action is astonishing, and at one point, I just couldn't believe how INSANE what I was seeing was. And, you gotta love a gang that brings along it's own guitar and drums accompaniment! The use of real stunts over CGI was refreshing, but I wish Miller had resisted the temptation to monkey with the editing in post with all the digital ramp zooms and jagged editing, and color saturation.
The plot is so thin it could have been written on a napkin. And, some of the dialogue is frankly embarrasing with Theron's "redemption" line being so drearily spot on, I was hoping it was supposed to be "ironic". Hardy is a fine actor, but, doesn't approach Mel Gibson's charisma in the role. And, Miller has sidelined Max to a virtual supporting role alongside Charlene Theron's ferocious Furiousa character.
With THE ROAD WARRIOR, Miller raised the stakes and brilliantly created a World Gone Wild with sublime action scenes - but, some of the central dramatic core was sacrificied. I like THUNDERDOME, but for it's slower, quieter second half with the lost children. It again restored the balance with drama over action. FURY ROAD is ROAD WARRIOR on steroids - bigger, faster, furiouser (
). This time, there is virtually NO drama, boiling down to: Some beaten up dude meeting an Amazon who is leading her truckload of Playboy Bunnies away from an evil warlord. Repeat for 120 (admittedly thrilling) minutes...
I haven't seen THUNDERDOME since it's original release (30 years!), so I will have to re-visit it sometime. For now, FURY ROAD is a terrific action picture in a fine series - but, also, the least dramatically satisfying.