8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
An apocalyptic story set in a stark desert landscape, where humanity is broken and everyone is fighting for the necessities of life. Two rebels might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and few words, haunted by the memory of a tragic loss; and Furiosa, a woman of action, who believes her path to salvation lies beyond the desert.
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh HelmanAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 93% |
Adventure | 87% |
Thriller | 41% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
It isn't often I don't know how to begin a review. Or that I leave a theater at a complete loss for words. And not just once.
Four times. Four separate bouts of speechlessness; shaking my head in bewildered awe, my poor mind incapable of
wrapping itself around the entirety of a film. But here goes. Director George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road is a
stunning, revelatory triumph of post-apocalyptic blood, bone and steel. It's thrilling. Jaw dropping. Mind blowing. An
unassuming spectacle somehow steeped in minimalism and excess. A blistering two-hour chase without a break in
action or a lull in storytelling, because action and story are one. A visionary melding of reboot, reimagining and loosely
connected sequel that requires no foreknowledge of previous Mad Max films yet builds upon everything that comes
before it. A brazen dual-character piece confident enough to allow its title character to ride shotgun to a far more complex
female antihero. A wildly inventive, beautifully brutal comicbook adaptation without a comicbook to adapt. A bold, breathtaking
feast of incredible practical effects and death-defying stuntwork. A bold crossroads of old and new, where CG is used sparingly
to enhance rather than create. It is, in a word, astonishing.
Is Miller's brash, unrelenting style divisive? Sure. Is Fury Road for everyone? Absolutely not. Does it matter? Not a
bit. I've heard they don't make movies like this anymore more times than I care to count, but there's just one glaring
problem with that sentiment: they've never made a movie like Mad Max: Fury Road.
Faithful to Miller and cinematographer John Seale's every last intention, Warner's 1080p/AVC-encoded 2D presentation and
MVC-encoded 3D experience are magnificent. The screen bleeds brilliant colors and bold primaries. Visceral reds, rusty oranges,
savage yellows and stark, inky black levels, brought to life with vivid contrast and breathtaking visual punch. Detail is terrific
too. Edges are razor sharp, textures are wonderfully resolved, delineation is excellent, and the finest veneer of filmic grain is
present. Pore over the tattered costumes. The tumorous prosthetics. The welded steel hides of the wheeled war rigs and battle
beasts. The dust. The dirt. The grime. The stubble. The scars. The wires. The bolts. The sparks. The hurtling debris. All without
significant artifacting, banding or other issues getting in the way of everything that's on display. There are slight hints of ringing
here and there, but it was present in the theatrical presentation and has nothing to do with the encode.
The 3D experience can be a bit disorienting just by the very nature of the film's hyper-kinetic, rapid-cut visuals. Some will find it
more difficult to enjoy than others, so consider yourselves warned. On the technical front, though, the 3D presentations holds
up very well and even impresses, without succumbing to a deluge of distracting gimmick shots. The biggest exception being a
climactic crash that hurls a guitar and steering wheel at the viewer. Depth of field is extremely convincing,
with cars and vehicles popping against the vast emptiness of the wasteland. In other sequences, canyons tower overhead, war
trucks loom high above the ground, gun barrels punch into the foreground, explosions balloon and billow, and bits of steel and
chrome scatter beautifully in three destructive dimensions. Even night scenes look great thanks to digital color grading that
prevents the darkness from flattening the image. Moreover, aliasing isn't a problem and ghosting (for those whose displays are
prone to crosstalk) is kept to a minimum. All told, the 3D Blu-ray release of Fury Road boasts two of the most striking
video presentations and one of the better 3D experiences of the year.
The Blu-ray release of Mad Max: Fury Road features a thunderous Dolby Atmos mix -- core: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround -- and it sounds every bit as good as it should. Engines scream. Explosions rip through the soundscape. War cries are blood-curdling. Metal flies in every direction, and through it all, voices are carefully prioritized. Dialogue isn't always intelligible, particularly whenever the War Boys attack Furiosa's rig or gunfire erupts, but it also wasn't designed to be. The film's sound design creates an experience rather than a comfortable, cozy soundfield, and Warner's Dolby mix follows suit. The track is wonderfully immersive, with head-turning directional effects, disarming cross-channel pans and enveloping ambience, and LFE output is as aggressive as it is commanding. Dynamics are spot on too, as is the Junkie XL score, which proves as full and operatic as the film's nonstop action. If I have any complaint it's that I have yet to get my hands on Atmos gear so that I might hear Fury Road in a whole new way. For now, though, Warner's Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround track is more than enough.
Mad Max: Fury Road isn't for everyone. I know. But that doesn't mean I understand how anyone could come to Miller's masterwork and walk away unimpressed. I couldn't get enough and cannot wait to see where Miller takes Max next. Warner's 3D Blu-ray release is almost as impressive, despite whatever small disappointment may come from the studio's admittedly solid but less-than-overwhelming supplemental package. The BD's video and audio presentations are outstanding -- some of the best of the year -- as is its 3D experience, which is fitting since Fury Road is one of the best films of the year. Highly recommended.
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
Black & Chrome Edition
2015
with Ready Player One Movie Money
2015
Iconic Moments
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
Corrected Disc / Mad Max 2
1981
2020
1985
Collector's Edition
1979
+BD with the 3 versions
1991
2019
2018
2018
Director's Cut
2009
2015
Collector's Edition
2013
3 Disc Edition
2012
2017
2010
2014
2018
2005
2013
2009