Film Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road. Rated MA15+ (strong violence and post-apocalyptic themes). 120 minutes. Directed by George Miller. Screenplay by George Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris.

Verdict: A masterpiece.

It’s been thirty years since we last spent time in the company of George Miller’s ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson). It was 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Before that was 1981’s Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and the ground-breaking movie that started it all, 1979’s Mad Max.

So how do you prepare to experience a film that has been thirty years in the making? After the epic disappointment (in similar circumstances) that was Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, there is always a danger that a keenly anticipated film might not have a chance of being as good as we want, or even need, it to be.

Fear not, because Mad Max: Fury Road is, in a word, magnificent. It is, in fact, beyond magnificent. It is a film of such complete, jaw-dropping cinematic mastery in every way that after the first astonishing twenty minutes, you will find yourself wondering where on earth Miller (Happy Feet 1 and 2, Lorenzo's Oil, The Witches of Eastwick) and his superb collaborators have left to go. The answer is, miraculously, everywhere and back again.

The screenplay is all fascinating, lean, cinematic muscle – creating a world where actions speak much louder than words and manage to say a good deal more. Photographed from every impossible angle by veteran cinematographer John Seale, scored majestically by Junkie XL, and edited to breathtaking perfection by Margaret Sixel and Jason Ballantine, Fury Road also boasts visionary work from costume designer Jenny Beavan and production designer Colin Gibson.

The performances from Miller’s outstanding cast are exceptional, but the stand-out is Charlize Theron. In a performance of immense emotional range, it is Theron’s Furiosa who matches the cars, trucks, weaponry, pageantry and gob-smacking stunt work, blowout-for-blowout.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Happy Feet Two

Happy Feet Two. Rated G (very mild sense of threat). 103 minutes. Directed by George Miller. Screenplay by George Miller, Gary Eck, Warren Coleman and Paul Livingston.

When Happy Feet (2006) won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2007, it came as no surprise to anyone who had seen it. The story of Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) the little tap-dancing, misfit penguin was a captivating visual and musical treat. Without his ‘heartsong’ (the unique song that penguins sing to attract a mate), Mumble’s adult life within the penguin colony would be one of loneliness and despair. This simple and effective storyline powered an immensely engaging film about difference – even managing to incorporate a powerful environmental theme without turning audiences off. And the final scene of Happy Feet is the birth of Mumble and Gloria’s (voiced by the late Brittany Murphy) baby Erik – who is the undisputed the star of Happy Feet Two.

Voiced by Ava Acres, Erik is the epitome of cute – and while Erik’s travails are similar but less compelling than Mumble’s were in the first movie, they are the sequel’s pulse. Matt Damon and Brad Pitt voice the Laurel and Hardy-esque pair of Krill – Bill and Will – while Robin Williams returns as the scene-stealing Ramon and Alecia Beth Moore (better known as Pink) takes over the role of Gloria in fine voice, with her “Bridge of Light” the absolute musical highlight.

When an ecological calamity isolates the emperor penguin colony from their food source and leaves their baby penguins exposed to the feared seabird predators (the skuas) – the plot to free them becomes protracted and, ultimately, tired and tiring. The sequences involving Bill and Will (while stunning in 3D) serve primarily as distractions from the main game, and with only a couple of exceptions, the film deliberately steers well away from involving drama. The story of Sven (Hank Azaria) – which takes up a good third of the film – feels desperately over-worked, while the subplot involving Bryan the Elephant Seal (Richard Carter) and his children is beautifully done.

Ultimately, Happy Feet Two still dazzles with its singular visual finesse, even if the overall result is one of a heavy-handed, unevenness that makes it a shadow of its predecessor and a good deal less memorable.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.