Tag: Nicholas Hoult

Mad Max: Fury Road Movie Review

Oh, what a lovely story it is with Mad Max: Fury Road. Some three decades after George Miller made the third in his Mad Max trilogy, he’s returned to helm this new entry. Obviously, the visual capabilities possible nowadays have advanced exponentially and yet Miller eschews the CGI we’ve grown so accustomed to whenever possible. We also have a new Max in the form of Tom Hardy, who in every way equals the strong and mostly silent charisma that OG Max Mel Gibson brought. And we have action heroine Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who might be the most badass female character in this particular type of genre since Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley.

It is not necessary to know Miller’s original pics to follow Fury Road. Max’s family history from the 1979 original is brought forth, but not explored in any meaningful way. Having said that – if you haven’t seen them, you really should. Instead we have a new story with Max as a captured man in a post apocalyptic world. He’s being held by the evil Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) as a blood donor for an injured War Boy named Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Our main villain controls his land’s water supply and lords over a group of beautiful and captive women that he impregnates to keep his blood line flowing. Hell breaks loose when Furiosa, one of his top errand girls, veers off course on a mission to pick up oil. She takes Joe’s girls with him and Max soon ends up in her presence along with Nux as a near two hour chase ensues.

Along this chase, we learn some fascinating details of Furiosa’s background in particular as this vast and desolate world soon reveals more about itself. And yet the chase rarely stops. Fury Road is an astonishing example of how cinematography, editing, sound, music stunt work, and visual effects can come together. Frankly, it makes most action pictures look small. We have grown highly accustomed to an amazing shot and visual here and there in our Fast and Furious and Mission: Impossible pics and efforts from your Bays and Emmerichs. This is something entirely different and for a fourth feature in a franchise, something that feels completely fresh. For a film not particularly concerned with it, the plot is totally interesting yet Miller and his cowriters know not to spend too much valuable time on backstory.

George Miller and his wizard team hit the gas peddle and fly here. It’s over the top non-stop excitement that is a constant eyeball feast. Fury Road was stuck in what those in Hollywood call “development hell” for thirty years. Who knew it would emerge from that designation as this? An action flick that is truly gorgeously made with characters that we genuinely care about as they hurl furiously down their road back to redemption.

**** (out of four)

Mad Max: Fury Road Box Office Prediction

A franchise will be reborn next Friday when Mad Max: Fury Road is unveiled in theaters. It’s been an entire 30 years since the title character has appeared on the silver screen. The original trilogy of dystopian future action flicks made a little known Aussie actor named Mel Gibson a star.

This time around Tom Hardy (of Bane fame) is Max with Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult in the supporting cast. George Miller, director of the first trilogy which dates back to 1979 (like me), is behind the camera once again.

There is no doubt that a generation or more of younger moviegoers don’t have much of a connection to the Max character. Yet my suspicion is that Fury Road will open very solid and the absolutely terrific trailers only help. The return of Max could yield an opening gross in the mid 40s as I see it.

Mad Max: Fury Road opening weekend prediction: $45.4 million

X-Men: Days of Future Past Movie Review

Some apologies are more sincere than others and X-Men: Days of Future Past may just have the distinction of being 20th Century Fox and Bryan Singer’s most expensive apology ever. Why? Essentially, the seventh X-Men installment (counting the two Wolverine one-offs) renders a lot of 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand moot. That picture sent comic book fans into a frenzy with how sub par it was after Brett Ratner took over the directorial reigns from Singer, who made the high quality first two flicks.

In order for Singer to pull off his most miraculous trick since Kevin Spacey started walking straight almost 20 years ago, the franchise must incorporate time travel. That means we get to see the cast from the original trilogy and those who populated 2011’s X-Men: First Class, which triumphantly reinvigorated the series.

At the center of it all is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who warps back and forth between 1973 and the near future. In the “sort of” present, giant robots called Sentinels are exterminating Earth’s mutant species. Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Erik/Magneto (Ian McKellen) have actually formed a truce (maybe) to fight them. The solution involves having Wolverine go back 40 years to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing Trask (Peter Dinklage), the Sentinel’s creator. Once Wolverine is among the glorious 70s fashion, he has to find younger Charles (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and convince them to work together (no easy assignment) to alter history. Even President Richard Nixon is part of the action, though it’s never established if any of the future dwellers helped him out with that whole Watergate thing.

Along the way, we’re introduced to a new character that inspires the coolest sequence in the picture. That’s Quicksilver (Evan Peters), whose super fast abilities allow for a rather jaw dropping action scene. His presence in the upcoming sequels will be welcome I trust.

To set the future right, Charles can only truly help by giving up a nasty drug addiction that renders his telepathy useless, but allows him to walk. Only by embracing his paralyzed status can he enter the Cerebro chamber and do his Professor X thing. In essence, he’s sort of like the cinematic Bizarro equivalent of Lieutenant Dan.

Besides the company already mentioned, other X-Men favorites (and not so favorites) return. There’s Beast and Shadowcat and Iceman. Halle Berry returns as Storm and, just like in the original trilogy, she doesn’t add much to the proceedings.

For all the time travel gobbledygook, Future Past works best as a highly entertaining action pic spent with old friends. Singer proved himself a great choice for the X material (unlike with Superman) in 2000 and 2002 and that holds true today. We already know how effective Jackman and the fine actors playing young and old Professor X and Magneto are. And with Jennifer Lawrence having become one of the biggest stars in the world since First Class, her role as Mystique is certainly magnified, as would be expected.

Future Past continues the positive trend that the series has been on since First Class washed the bad taste of Last Stand away. Brett Ratner might deservedly feel like a scapegoat once the credits roll here, but you’ll feel pretty satisfied.

*** (out of four)