It’s new comic book day tomorrow. We’ve got lots of previews already posted, but stay tuned for our picks and some reviews!
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This first of a four-part miniseries kicks off this week, expanding upon the world of Mad Max: Fury Road. Mad Max: Fury Road: Nux & Immortan Joe #1 features writing from Nico Lathouris and Mark Sexton, who collaborated with George Miller, and lifts the curtain a bit to show off the “origin” of two of the key characters in Fury Road, Nux and Immortan Joe.
Published by DC Comics’ imprint Vertigo, the first issue is pretty decent, even with the high expectations coming out of the movie it’s based off of. It’s funny because after seeing the film, the thing I really wanted to find out about. I expected we might see more in future movies, but then again, maybe not. So, lo and behold, my wishes have been granted as this kills two birds with one stone.
The issue is broken into two parts, with Nux’s story getting the shorter treatment, which is fine because his isn’t the more interesting of the two characters. I will say that Nux’s background is interesting though, and explains some of what we see on-screen.
Immortan Joe is the big thing. How’d he come to take over and rule these people? How’d he take control of the citadel? Who was he before the collapse of everything? We get all of those answers and more diving deep into his background. The story is actually pretty cool, and fits well into the world of Mad Max, a world I’ve always wanted to find out more about.
The art throughout is pretty cool with a look that I’d expect from Vertigo. The style fits the world as well with a slight dirty/scratchy look. It’s art we see in quite a few Vertigo series, almost their “house style.” There is also a lot of small detail in the panels that stood out for me, such as the boils and growths, something that’s prevalent in the new movie. The downside is the lack of motion in the comic, something that Sexton has going against him in translating the film to comic. The entire Mad Max series is very much about the movement, and the cars, and to bring that over into a static image is a bit difficult.
Overall, the first issue did exactly what I’d hope it’d do, give me more information about some of the characters from the film. None of it is shattering, and I’d actually recommend going to see the film before reading the comic, but as far as a “movie” comic, it’s an entertaining first issue.
Story: George Miller, Nico Lathouris, Mark Sexton Art: Mark Sexton, Leandro Fernandez, Riccardo Burchelli, Andrea Mutti
Story: 7 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
It was reported before the film hit theaters that Tom Hardy was signed on for three Mad Max films, and sequels would be coming if the first film did well. Well, it looks like Mad Max: Fury Road‘s $44.44 million debut was good enough because the next title in the film franchise has been announced.
Director and writer George Miller said “there’s more Max to come” and during the podcast The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith, the filmmaker also divulged the title of the next film, which is already written.
Mad Max: The Wasteland will be the title of the next film. I’m being coy with calling it a sequel, because some sites are reporting the next two films will actually be prequels to Fury Road. No matter if they’re sequels or prequels, if they’re close to the quality of Fury Road, we’re in.
This past weekend at the box-office was a triumph for women, and a blow to misogyny. Pitch Perfect 2 ruled the weekend earning $70.3 million domestically while Mad Max: Fury Road earned $44.44 million. The two films helped make it a record breaking weekend, but also had two films that had kick-ass women in it.
Pitch Perfect 2 was especially impressive earning about 5.5x the original film’s opening weekend. But should that have been a surprise? The original film found a huge audience after its initial theatrical run.
About 72% of the audience for Pitch Perfect 2 was female, and 57% was younger than 25. Mad Max: Fury Road was 60% male and 64% older than 25. While 51% of the population is female, 52% of moviegoers are women according to the MPAA.
Facebook shows us these general trends, the Pitch Perfect series has many more female fans while Mad Max skews more male. Both performed better than their stats though in their “opposite” gender of the majority of fans. More men attending Pitch Perfect 2, and more women attended Mad Max. That could account for their dual solid openings, as each gender brought the other to the cinema. Each fan page also does better in their weaker gender than previous films in the series.
No matter the why, each film shows that women shouldn’t be discounted when it comes to the cinema.
A big question going in to this past weekend was what film would be on top when it was all up. Pitch Perfect 2 was on top when the weekend settled, earning an estimated $70.3 million in its first weekend. The original film earned $14.8 million its first weekend and ended with $65 million domestically. Internationally the film earned $38.1 million for a total of $108.4 million its first week. That’s almost as much the first film earned its entire run.
Mad Max: Fury Road had to settle for second place with a solid $44.44 million. The film was rumored to be troubled, and early testing was poor which led to reshoots. The film is being praised, so whatever they did in between clearly worked to fix things.
With two high-profile films opening up, Avengers: Age of Ultron dropped to third in its third week. The film added $38.84 million to its domestic total. The film crossed the billion dollar mark worldwide. Its foreign total is $770.5 million. The film has earned a total of $1.143 billion so far.
In other comic movie news Kingsman: The Secret Service continues to earn at the box office. The film added another $191,000 domestically. The film has earned a total of $402.9 million globally.
So far Furious 7 holds the top spot globally earning $1.4888 billion. Age of Ultron sits at the top spot domestically.
Next weekend sees Tomorrowland and Poltergeist debut during the long holiday. Pitch Perfect 2 currently has a 69% rating on RottenTomatoes, Mad Max: Fury Road is an impressive 98%, and Age of Ultron is at 74%. It’ll be interesting to see what holds steady and what drops when the dust settles this time next week.
In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
36 years since the first Mad Max film, and 30 years since the last George Miller returns to pen the script for (with some help) and direct the apocalyptic world he created with a new actor to fill the role of Max Rockatansky, actor Tom Hardy. Mad Max: Fury Road is a throwback film to many ways, but with a modern sensibility about it. Joining Miller and Hardy is a fascinating cast but most notably Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa and Nicholas Hoult as Nux. It is through Hardy, Theron, and Hoult’s three characters we get the crux and much of the theme of the film.
Much has been made about the film being a feminist plot, but after watching it, the film could be called an environmentalist plot, a call for redistribution of wealth, a condemnation of blind and fanatical faith, and a look at post-industrial society. It’s a political film no doubt, but if this is what you’re focused on, you’re probably missing the visual assault and pulse pounding action. The fact is, the film doesn’t raise the women above the men in any way as characters, they hold their own in even footing, the way life and a film should be. The women play both warrior and damsel, but so does Max, and so does Nux. I don’t want to focus too deeply on the political subtext, that’s a post for another day.
The film is brilliant in many ways, Miller clearly had a vision and the film is unequaled so far this movie season. The script maybe contained 500 words between the cast, instead this is a film of action, both through the movement of the actors, but the movement of the machinery. The film at it’s most simple is a chase and disaster film with Max and Furiosa pursued by Immortan Joe and his disciples.
The visuals are the draw here, as you’re thrown directly into the action for a sequence that goes on for quite a while before a proper break. It’s an assault, in a good way, pushing visuals in front of you that left my jaw agape. The film takes us back to practical special fx, forgoing computer animation as much as possible, it’s both refreshing and exciting to see it all again on the big screen.
There’s not much to say about the acting. It’s good, not great, but there’s also not a whole lot there as far as dialogue. There’s lots of grunts and looks, but we’re not talking Shakespeare. While dialogue isn’t prevalent those three main characters of Max, Furiosa, and Nux each have interesting arcs taking them each from subjugation through liberation. It’s all fascinating and gets into the themes of the film.
By the end of the film, I felt spent, the length felt like a perfect amount of time that had me drained when the credits rolled. Miller hasn’t lost a step in his time away, and when you take the story, visuals, direction, fx, and characters it all feels revolutionary in many ways.
30 years later, and Miller has returned at what he does best, and has put Hollywood on notice of how to do a film right. It’s my favorite film of 2015 so far. What a lovely day. What a lovely film.
Overall rating: 9.5
DC Comics has announced that their imprint Vertigo and Mad Max: Fury Road director, producer and co-writer George Miller on two upcoming projects based on the film. The first is a Deluxe Edition hardcover entitled Mad Max: Fury Road: Inspired Artists, in which sixty-five top artists will create art inspired by the world of Mad Max: Fury Road. The second is four comic book stories that follow four main characters of the film and tell their prelude stories leading up to the film’s opening scene.
Mad Max: Fury Road: Inspired Artists will contain double-page spreads from 65 visionary artists bringing their own unique style to the world of Mad Max: Fury Road. Each of the artists’ work will be inspired by Miller’s post-apocalyptic wasteland. These spreads will range from spectacular action sequences to haunting character portraits. Artists participating include Lee Bermejo, Dave McKean, Cliff Chiang, Nicola Scott, Stephanie Hans, Tara McPherson, among others. This book is due to hit shelves on May 6, prior to the film’s May 15th release.
In addition, George Miller, Nico Lathouris and Mark Sexton are writing four prelude stories that follow leading characters Nux, Immortan Joe, Furiosa, and Mad Max, whose story will be in two parts. This miniseries will release one issue a month, starting with Mad Max: Fury Road: Nux & Immortan Joe #1 releasing on May 20, followed by Mad Max: Fury Road: Furiosa #1 and Mad Max: Fury Road: Mad Max #1 & #2. Nico Lathouris served as a co-writer on the film while Mark Sexton served as storyboard and concept artist for Mad Max: Fury Road. Interior artists working on these projects include Riccardo Burchielli, Leandro Fernandez, Tristan Jones, and Mark Sexton, while covers will be illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards.
