Okay, it's been almost two days now and I cannot get this movie out of my mind. So I'm gonna write a small review for it quickly.
You see, the art of cinema is totally about immersing yourself into a make-believe fantasy world. The characters, the visuals, etc. It has been a long time since I felt this way. I mean hey, I love the Marvel movies immensely. They are a window into the comic books I grew up reading and so on. However these movies have been going on now for some time and I pretty much know what I'm getting in terms of characters, visual effects, and all that. Again, there's nothing wrong with it but there's a reason why I was looking forward to Mad Max more so than Avengers, Ant-Man, or even Star Wars to a certain degree. From the trailers alone, Mad Max looked different and somewhat crazy. And it was.
If you don't know this by now, you know that Quickie has a certain aversion to CGI. It's definitely necessary, but sometimes it's not needed. It's easy and it can take away from the feel of a film. Bad CGI can take you right out of a movie, as can bad creature costumes and such. The best comparison I can look at is the difference between the movie Aliens and the movie Alien: Resurrection. In one movie, the Xenomorphs look and feel alive and scary/exciting. In the other, made years later, it does not. Granted, the latter flick would have still been awful with practical creature effects, but at least they'd get points for basic cinematography. Quickie is right. While certain things need CGI, just about everything uses it nowadays and it can feel stale at times. There is a lot to be said for just incredible make up and knowing something is built by hand instead of just computer images and the like.
Mad Max: Fury Road is what happens when you have the budget of a big blockbuster and decide to use as little CGI as possible and just say "[tornado fang] it, let's go nuts!" This movie is nuts. It's suppose to be nuts. It feels nuts. The crazy car designs in this movie are real. They are built and they work. The stunt work is insane and incredible and real. No CGI. The pyrotechnics are real. Things are actually on fire. The [spoiler]FLAME-THROWER GUITAR AND AMP TRUCK USED AS A 'LITTLE DRUMMER BOY' SCENARIO TO RALLY THE TROOPS INTO BATTLE [tornado fang]ing WORKS. IT PLAYS GUITAR AND SHOOTS FIRE![/spoiler] It feels dangerous and crazy. It immerses you in its psychotic, post-apocalyptic world. The tagline is "The future belongs to the mad!" and you will feel that while watching it. The cinematography, the stunts, the costumes, the music, the everything just bring you into an insane world and it is glorious. It's over-the-top and we all win because of it.
This movie is what I've been wanting from pure action schlock for so very long, and that is simplicity. The crux of a good plot is if you can explain it and break it down to one, simple sentence. Action movies do not need to be complicated. They need to have a simple plot, interesting/likeable characters, and adrenaline pumping action. A fuckton of action movies nowadays simply try too hard to be more than what they are. This movie is just one long, intense chase scene with over-the-top insane, beautiful stunt work. Little to no CGI. It feels real and intense. If you love action movies, you really owe it to yourself to see this. It's the best action movie in the past 10-15 years, and one of the best of all time.