Okay, I watched the film last night and feel like it's percolated enough for me to form an full opinion of it.
First off, it met my very high expectations but in a different way than I expected. It wasn't the thrills or the action sequences that made it for me; it was the way they were made and executed. This film is packed with good ideas and is able to string them together in an interesting and well-paced way. You do have to suspend your belief if you want to believe that this film could be plausible in today's world but everything makes sense in the twisted Mad Max universe. It doesn't take time to spell out the backstories of these ideas but they just work. You get sucked into the action scenes and only get pulled deeper when it introduces a new element. I feel like this film is going to be great to rewatch. There's a lot to appreciate about the movie, more than you can possibly appreciate with a single viewing.
The characters were all well-developed with their own story arcs. I was particularly impressed by Nux (Hoult's character). It's satisfying both mechanically and emotionally. You can understand his state of mind and how it changes up until his final scene. Furiosa was amazing as expected. Charlize Theron could carry the film on her own but she doesn't have to. Theron better get an Oscar nod for this is all I'm saying. Immortan Joe is a really satisfying villian. He serves his purpose as the film's villian. You can see why he is the leader of the tribe. In fact, all the characters serve their purpose in this movie. None of the characters bring the movie down, even Tom Hardy's okay performance as Max. Guitar Guy was great as expected. Although I should make it clear that his role is really small. Don't know why I expected more honestly.
I saw The Road Warrior for the first time today as a follow up and it's actually made me appreciate Fury Road even more. It's clear that Mel's Max and Hardy's Max are two different beasts. Mel's Max is a much more controlled and deliberate character. He still is haunted by the ghosts of his past but this is shown in a subtler way through his eyes and his actions. Hardy's Max is desperate and kinetic. His past energizes him to action. And I feel that, although Hardy's Max is less fitting to the original character, it is more effective for Fury Road which is relentless in it's energy and momentum.
It seems that many of the ideas for Fury Road had their base in The Road Warrior. Hardy being strapped to the front of the car and battles on top of the tanker are clearly taken from it. But Miller evolves these ideas in a logical way that is ingeneous and meshes well with the Fury Road universe.
The editing of Fury Road is extremely lean and seems even moreso after watching The Road Warrior. I feel this going to bode very well for rewatches and for introducing new people to the franchise. I admit, I did do a lot of research, basically reading the entirety of the Mad Max thread and watching the first movie, before watching this movie so I could understand the backstory of Max and the circumstances of the universe. I did have a bit of a problem with hearing some of the dialogue so I didn't completely understand the allegiances of the faction during the movie but thinking about it afterwards helped me put it together.
I have a lot more to say about the movie but I'm on mobile so I really just wanted to sit down and unload all my impressions. I think the fact that I've been thinking about the movie so much proves that it is so much more than a summer blockbuster. My grade for this movie is an A- and I'm a pretty harsh reviewer if I do say so myself. Go watch this movie and take people to see it with you. The friends that I took to see this movie really liked it despite having no knowledge or interest in the franchise or the movie. Seriously go. You won't regret it.
