Science Fiction

Mad Max: Fury Road

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mad Max: Fury Road
  • IMDb: link

Mad Max: Fury RoadReturning to his creation for the first time since 1985, director George Miller‘s Mad Max: Fury Road is highly-stylized insanity that is easily one of the most visually-stunning movies of 2015 so far. More engaging than fun, Miller delivers something akin to an action art film rather than summer popcorn movie. And, despite Tom Hardy getting top billing, it’s one hell of a star vehicle for Charlize Theron who proves to any doubters out there that a woman can indeed be the lead character in a big-budget action adventure.

Taking place an indeterminate amount of time following the events of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Max (Hardy) is captured by a cult known as the War Boys, led by the bizarre Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), who decide to put the wanderer to use as a universal blood donor. A series of events involving Imperator Furiosa (Theron) stealing Joe’s most precious cargo loaded up in one of the warlord’s war rigs provide the opportunity for Max’s escape and an uneasy partnership with Furiosa and Joes concubines (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton) as the small group attempts to stay alive in harsh desert with enemies in every direction and a mad man’s army chomping at their heels.

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Princess Leia #3

/ / Comics

Princess Leia #3Princess Leia‘s mission to unite the survivors of Alderaan leads Leia and Evaan (who spends the issue wearing Luke’s jacket from the celebration at the end of Star Wars) to Sullust where the pair are met with a good deal of distrust and animosity by the group’s leader Lord Junn.

Despite the arrival of Imperials, which Juun first blames Leia for, the princess does manage to make inroads with the survivors. With only two issues to go from here the storyline doesn’t appear to have much room to develop much past this point, especially with the Empire now tracking Leia down.

Although I still have mixed feelings about the inking of several panels, Terry Dodson’s art continues to be one of the highlights of the five-issue mini-series which, at least to this point, seems to have bitten off more than it can chew in such a short run. The only real question now is will Evaan survive the final two issues and pop-up somewhere else in Marvel’s current Star Wars run? For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Samurai Jack #18

/ / Comics

Samurai Jack #18The single-issue tale from writer/artist leads Samurai Jack to a marketplace where the temptation and chance to return home to the past puts the warrior in the middle of a trap laid by the evil that is Aku.

“Samurai Jack and the Fallen Four” pits our hero against a resurrected robot army Jack much face and the legendary four fallen warriors who won the battle also temporarily returned to life. After providing art for many of the previous issues of Samurai Jack, Suriano does double-duty giving us an action-packed issue that, while enjoyable, does lacks the humor of some of the best issues of the series. The twist of the Fallen Four joining Jack’s side also leads to an anticlimactic conclusion as Samurai Jack is largely a bystander in the climax of the battle.

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Darth Vader #4

/ / Comics

Darth Vader #4Aphra begins her work for Darth Vader by leading the Dark Lord of the Sith back to Geonosis to find Vader the droid army he needs to rebuild the power base lost to him after the destruction of the Death Star. The mission is a little more dangerous than the pair expect finding the remaining queen of the exterminated Geonosians has turned to robotics to rebuild her lost race.

While showcasing the deadly abilities of Aphra’s two droids (who do quite well against the queen’s creations and torturing useful information out of a bounty hunter in the darker moments of the issue) Darth Vader #4 foreshadows what the scientist might be able to create given the resources Vader can provide.

The comic also foreshadows the end of the pair’s relationship which the scientist realizes can only end in her death while pushing the pair towards Vader learning more about who currently has the Emperor‘s favor and setting forth to learn how his new army might change the score. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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