Recent Releases – Mad Max: Fury Road

After being captured by the brainwashed gang; “The War Boys”, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) tries to escape their clutches as they travel across the apocalyptic wasteland. At the same time, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is attempting to rescue five imprisoned wives. A furious apocalyptic adventure ensues when the paths of Max and Furiosa cross.

I remember watching Gravity in D-Box (simulated seating); and thinking that was possibly the most fun I’d had at the cinema as it felt like a truly engrossing visual experience. I thought the chances of that being surpassed were pretty slim. Watching Mad Max: Fury Road in 4DX (4-dimensional simulated seating) takes that cinematic experience and fires a rusty bullet in its face. The film felt perfectly suited to the format of 4DX but, opposed to Gravity, I could imagine MM:FR working just as effectively in any other setting. A truly incredible movie that excels on a simplistic level.

The fact Tom Hardy replaces Mel Gibson as the titular hero never feels unusual; the film is structured so perfectly that the existence of the three original movies feels slightly irrelevant to MM:FR. It just works brilliantly as a kick ass standalone feature – Something many franchise reboots/sequels/remakes struggle with. The casting of the two central stars in Hardy and Charlize Theron are spot on as they suit the gritty no-nonsense feel excellently. Perhaps it’s to do with Furiosa’s similarly shorn hair but comparisons have been to made to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in the Alien franchise. Excelling in that inspirational tough female role.

All in all, this is most likely to be the best film of 2015. It’s over the top 80’s aesthetic, simplistic storytelling, and all-star cast are proving to be a hit. It’s also great to see a film not heavily reliant on CGI technology; doing things the old-fashioned way – practically. If you get the chance; you should definitely watch this movie in 4DX. You won’t be dissapointed!

5 Double-necked Flamethrower Guitars out of 5 

by Simon Garganera Price