Krishna
Well, I don’t get this movie at all. It could be me, because I know a lot of people who loved it and it got such a good reception that the director George Miller has promised a whole series of these movies but then if you are like me, looking for pure entertainment or some interesting story-line to keep you pasted to your seat, I think that this style of film making where there is a lot of sizzle but no bacon would not interest you either.
What is the story? That is the problem. There is none. On paper, it is about how Max Rokatansky (Tom Hardy in a savage role) who is Mad Max wandering in a post apocalyptic world, having lost his family. A few gruesome flashbacks about them at random times, but I do not think I got the back story of how they died or anything. As a token to remind you that you are watching a fantasy world, they try in the beginning to show you a two headed lizard, which he eats casually after stepping on it, but then they forget all about it. The rest of the story is about a bunch of savages in gruesome makeup chasing him, capturing him, using him as a ‘universal donor’ until he escapes and then they all chase him.
A lot of acrobatics ensure – thrilling no doubt but endless procession of the same – and there is this bizarre scene of a maniacal guitar player providing mood music all the way through until he is slaughtered half way through the movie.
The main villain is an evil dictator who controls the population by occupying the only oasis where water and food is available and controlling both. His name is Immortan Joe and he has a special grotesque mask to set him apart from the grotesque makeup of other people (called War Boys, go figure). He seems to do nothing personally except to look angry and watch his boys try to capture not only Mad Max who has escaped but also a turncoat deputy of his called Imperator Furiosa (no, I am not kidding!) who is played by, the biggest surprise for me, Charlize Theron. What is she doing in this movie? I know she likes to play different roles (remember the fantastic portrayal in Monster?) but this is ridiculous.
Umm back to the story. Furiosa is trying to save the girls in the harem of Immortan Joe and makes a run for it with them in a van. When Mad Max loses his vehicle, he teams up with her and one of the War Boys who has had a change of heart and helps the good people, called Nux.
That is the end of the story part of the movie. The rest is a huge chase where several interesting acrobatic maneuvers are tried by both the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ side apparently regardless of the cost to their lives or even sometimes it seems, the laws of physics.
The twist, such as it is, revolves around the fact that the sanctuary that Furiosa thought was their destination turns out to be no longer there, and what they do, stuck in the desert with no apparent means of food or water for miles around.
The style is deliberately gritty with sometimes exaggerated expressions, reminiscent of Sin City, at least to me. (Directed by another Miller – Frank Miller – no relation to George)
If you like breathtaking scenes of chase and superhuman efforts to catch up with the runaways by the evil War Boys done up in different ways, go see this movie. If you want an iota of story or anything thought provoking, give this one a miss.
2/10
– – Krishna