And so it was… a really lovely day. Because I got to see the best action movie of all time (subjectively). And here I was, thinking that the action-chase movie genre was dead since Speed or Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I have never been so wrong…

A movie so fine, so awesome, such a mind-fuck it turns into an experience and changes conceptions about how you perceive cinematography as a whole…

For the last 20 years, ever since good old Steven Spielberg came with the technology to create living breathing fossils in Jurassic Park, the world went Mad with CG.

After the success Cristopher Nolan had with his Dark Knight trilogy, or perhaps even earlier with Sam Raimi’s Spiderman, the whole world became into a frenzy of superhero movies.

What needed to happen for the summer blockbuster has happened. And, weirdly, it happened in the form of a sequel/remake/re-imagining no one really knows except the Master himself George Miller.

Mad Max: Fury Road was my biggest cinematographic surprise of the decade… Why?

It’s because it exceeded all of my expectations of what a summer blockbuster should be… I always presumed a summer blockbuster should put you in your seat and show you things, interesting things, accompanied by a pretty cool soundtrack, something more like Marvel’s The Avengers (2012). Not anymore!

When I first saw the trailer, I’ll admit I was impressed, but highly skeptical…I mean how could a 2 hour movie hold up to as much action as it’s trailer? Simple, you have to put passion in your work. Miller has been working on this project for 17 years, He even asked his people from his original cast of the Mad Max trilogy such as, Mel Gibson as Max and Hugh Keays-Byrne as the main antagonist Immortan Joe (whom originally played The Toecutter in the first Mad Max). However, Mel never got to play in this movie unfortunately . Unlike Hugh, whom actually played one of the best antagonists I’ve ever seen, read, played, or heard about

What really impressed me was the lack of CGI. Real stunts, and real explosions, all filmed in 72 continuous days in the arid Kalahari desert in Namibia, with all cast and crew present. That takes conviction and love. The type of conviction, that convinced me to sit idly for two hours in the seat of the theater while my retinas, ears, sense of smell and even taste were constantly pounded by pure, epic, hardcore action.

But wait! Have I told you about the social messages hidden within the movie? “We are not things“. Nor the power of the female characters ( The Splendid Anghaard, not to mention The Dag)… I swear Imperator Furiosa, played by Oscar winner Charlize Theron, is my new favourite female charater in cinematography, after Mia Wallace (personal thing with me and Uma). The maddening world of a post-apocalyptic Earth “If you can’t fix what’s broken, you’ll go insane” , so that might explain the existence of the Doof Warrior, as something normal in that Universe…

My point is, everything has a backstory and everything makes sense…you just have to be Mad enough to get it.