Mad Max and the shivering Swamp Knickers.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Holy shit-balls and shivering swamp knickers jammed to full throttle!

Are you familiar with the original Mad Max film? It's this Australian outback, post-apocalypse, roving gangs of psychotic punks in strange fetish-clothing winds up killing the family of a former cop who has no problem getting a little down and dirty. It’s a crazy movie- it spawned two previous sequels (Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome), all three films featured Mel Gibson as the star, and they were all insane trips through the same wasteland.  But it’s been decades since Max rode through the desert and actor Tom Hardy is replacing Gibson for the latest venture down the Fury Road. If you’re not familiar with those previous films, this latest entry doesn’t actually demand much in the way of knowledge so don’t worry. If you are familiar, this movie doesn’t require you to remember all that much about Max.

Max is a wasteland drifter- he runs afoul of a desert gang, gets strung up on the hood of a car, and winds up involved in the escape of Imperator Furiosa when she tries to high tail it across the desert with the gangs in tow. And once we get the set up, the chase never really lets up. It’s desperation, action, violence, and high petrol from start to finish with a few strong character arcs along the way to add a semblance of weight to the stakes. But never forget this is a Mad Max movie and not everything needs to make an awful lot of sense. 

Case in point?

THERE IS A M’F’IN’ GUITAR PLAYER HANGING FROM THE FRONT OF A TRUCK COVERED IN AMPLIFIERS!!!! Are we clear on that? A man with a guitar hangs from the front of a truck and chunks out a couple of deep riffs while the gangs ride through the desert- and if you’re worried that maybe a single guitar player couldn’t possibly be enough then set your worries at ease; There’s also a bunch of taiko drummers set in the back of the same truck. Because- yeah, it’s the post apocalypse. Why not?!

A word of advice though- Max isn’t really the star of this movie. He’s there, he’s sort of a hero, but he really does take a back seat to Furiosa. This is her story, through and through. This is her redemption, this is her tale, and this is her struggle. Charlize Theron chews up the scenery with her performance and absolutely nails it. This isn’t to say it’s not a Mad Max film- because it is. But much like the Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome, the journey isn’t really about Max- it’s about the people he’s helping. This movie is just a little more centered than the previous entries.

If you're worried, though... don't be. Let me be honest- Tom Hardy is a damnably handsome man. I'd say he's even better looking than Mel Gibson. Dear lord- look, I'm comfortable enough in my sexuality to look at those full lips and deeply soulful eyes and think, "Yep." 

The question has been asked... can we ever just get "Beyond Thunderdome"? This is the answer..  and yes, I was waiting to use that fucking pun and jam it in if I had to use a twenty pound sledgehammer to do it. FUCK YEAH!!! BLATANT PUN!!!! DIG IT!!!! 

5 out of 5.