Mad Max: Fury Road

This is the forth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, coming some 30 years after it's third entry, Beyond Thunderdome.
All four entries (including Fury Road) have been written and directed by Dr. George Miller. Miller is the star here - him and his production team. And it's heartening to see the series creator usher in it's forth entry.
Not having seen Thunderdome I am unable to confirm or deny any and all continuity threads. Suffice it to say, Fury Road works terrifically as a stand-alone adventure.

The film begins at the Citadel - a substantial rock formation housing a dwindling number of the wastelands inhabitants. The Citadel is run by Immortan Joe - a ruler who keeps his people in check by supplying their only source of water as he sees fit. High up in his chambers the only plant life for miles around thrives, as Joe lives in relative excess. Joe trades in gas (petroleum), using breast milk to barter with. Moreover Joe has surrounded himself with beautiful women, so they may bare him a strong human son. Years of inbreeding and exposure to the nuclear wasteland has resulted in oft-deformed men and women. They stay loyal to Joes cause, making up the vast majority of his army (known as the War Boys).

Miller paints this apocalyptic world in broad strokes. The detail is exquisite (high praise to the world-builders here)! However this opening is mere fuel for the two hour chase sequence set to follow.
Speaking of which, the plot finds Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) heading out into the wasteland to make a gas transaction with a nearby town. Furiosa is a leading general in Joes army, entrusted to secure this deal. Rather than do as instructed, Furiosa is seen by the eyes of the Citadel to be driving elsewhere. Clearly defying her masters wishes, Joe sends a cavalcade of War Boys after Furiosa.

In the interim, Max (Tom Hardy) has been taken prisoner by Nux (Nicholas Hoult) - one such War Boy. Keen to prove his worth to Joe, Nux joins the outgoing war party, with Max in toe as his blood supply. Maxs blood is pure, unbridled by disease or mutation. His blood by definition gives the War Boys a kind of natural high.

And so the chase begins, with Max an unwilling participant! What follows is an action spectacular, made for the big screen. This is old-school film-making, direct from the 70's and 80's, given a slight buff and polish by the techniques of today.
Fundamentally Fury Road is a two hour car chase, utilising a plethora of different motor-cars - from monster trucks to buggies, motor-cycles to long haul behemoths. For the petrol-heads out there, this is an unimaginable feast of pistons, manifolds and exhausts. For the rest of us, it's a visual treat, where by the more attractive vehicles of yesteryear have been mounted a top these denizens of smoke and steel!

Fury Road is an action movie utilising expert stunt-work and choreography. There's certainly some digital mastery at work here, but what Fury Road proves indisputably is live action stunt-work and (specifically) the chaos and random acts of human interaction can not be duplicated by computers to the fullest extent. Perhaps the mere fact we're human is the reason we can distinguish between the two?

A testosterone-fuelled action flick Fury Road might be, but despite Hardys nuanced performance, the film belongs to the women. Theron is stunning and captivating as Furiosa - a woman whos agenda is furiously independent of her former leader. In her charge are similarly independent women (former brides of Joe). all looking for an oasis in the wasteland - which few believe even exist.

Once again, Fury Road is a classic cinematic experience. Despite the minimal plot, there is much to ponder - not least is a fully realised world which we're (frankly) all heading towards.
Miller has pulled out all the stops here. Along with his cast and crew he has produced a film which will be long remembered and oft-copied.
A follow-up is in the works. It'll be quite something to see Miller better his efforts here. The wasteland is ripe for exploration however and certainly worthy of revisiting!

4/5


Poster image courtesy: http://www.ollieboyd.com

Ex Machina

Ex Machina is the directorial debut of Alex Garland. Having made an early career as a novelist (The Beach, The Tesseract, The Coma), Garland adapted The Beach for director Danny Boyle. This relationship was obviously a good one, as it spawned several other collaborations for the pair, including 28 Days Later and Sunshine.
Establishing himself as a significant screenwriter, Garland went on to write Never Let Me Go and Dredd. Directing seems the next logical step for this talented writer, who employs distinctive themes with each project.

Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) is a computer programmer working for Bluebook. We meet Caleb early on and are subject to his winning of an in-house competition to spend a week with Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) - Calebs boss and head of Bluebook.
Rather than head to the top floor of his building, Caleb is flown to an undisclosed location, where Nathan works in isolation on classified projects.

Calebs destination is hidden and secretive, yet clearly well financed and self-sufficient. We're soon introduced to Nathan. A middle-aged academic with an assured sense of self-discipline.
It would appear this competition is an opportunity for Caleb to pick the brains of a billionaire CEO, witnessing first hand the benefits of creating the code for a successful search engine at the tender age of thirteen (as is the case with Nathan).

Nathan is seen exercising and eating well throughout the films duration. Nathan likes his alcohol too, but as each new day dawns he is never idle.
From Calebs perspective Nathan is a formidable individual, who demands respect. In contrast, Caleb might be good at his job, but is presented as an inferior man, clearly ill at ease with his isolated surrounds. This is a purposeful dynamic which puts both Caleb and the audience on the back foot.

After presenting Ava to Caleb (a significant step forward in the world of artificial intelligence), Nathan puts forward a scintillating challenge. In an effort to distinguish the full extent of Avas capabilities, Nathan would like Caleb to give Ava the Turing Test - a test conceived by Alan Turing to distinguish true, independent thought.

Ava is a fully functional female robot. She is beautiful and inquisitive - fascinated by the sudden appearance of Caleb. The Turing test begins resulting in significant data - all appears to be going well. The laboratory suffers random power failures however - the problem never isolated or solved. The power fails several times during Caleb and Avas interviews, leading Ava to disclose secrets about Nathans full intentions.
Without warning Garland has thrust us into a game of cat and mouse - and robot! Both human and artificial relationships are put to the test. Manipulate(e) and manipulator befall each of the principle players.

Despite the single local and minimal cast (Nathan has a single assistant named Kyoko), Ex Machina is incredibly captivating, with the claustrophobic environs adding much to the mounting tension.
Ex Machina is a terrific addition to the robot/A.I. sub-genre. Garalnd has devised and executed a stylish and taught drama. A thought provoking sci-fi which brings questions about our humanity and it's future to the fore. Along with Blomkamps Chappie, Ex Machina looks at consciousness within the digital realm - and the implications of it's existence.

If our betters exist by our own design then where does humanity go from here?!

4/5


Poster image courtesy: http://insidetherockposterframe.blogspot.com.au
Illustration by Jock