Content / Criticism
In the year 2050, the earth has become an almost uninhabitable planet, droughts and famines have finished off humanity. Only a few have survived these difficult times and are now fighting bitterly to somehow make ends meet. So far, Sarah (Lindsey Marie Wilson) was lucky. But this seems to be over now, she was seriously injured in a fight and now urgently needs medication. Since she is no longer able to do it herself, her two daughters Naomi (Chandini Shah) and Greta (Preet Kaur) to undertake the journey. Dangers lurk everywhere, brutal looters are on the loose and are just waiting to attack unsuspecting victims. Her path crosses that of the unscrupulous warlord Shane (Vernon G. Wells) …
The Asylum strike back
No name is as closely associated with the concept of the mockbuster as that of The AsylumOf course, the American budget studio also has its own developments. But it is mainly the films that pretend to be big blockbusters that establish the studio’s “fame”. Films with similar titles and similar settings so that a less informed audience buys them, assuming they are the original. In recent years, there have been such glorious copies as Bullet Train Down and Planet Dune where the templates are very obvious. Road Wars: Max Furythe latest cinematic crime by the notorious filmmakers, the reason is also hard to miss. Somehow they wanted to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga which was released in cinemas in May.
So far, so normal. Okay, the fact that the latest part of the end-time saga would be a flop was probably not taken into account. But given the low budgets that The Asylum works with, it is likely that the profit was higher than with the original. What is unusual is that Road Wars: Max Fury theoretically a sequel, which is an absolute rarity in the mockbuster area. In 2015, there was already a Road Warswhich at the time – what a surprise! – Mad Max: Fury Road However, the story is not continued here. There are no actual references to the original anyway. This will not come as a surprise to an audience familiar with the studio’s working methods. It is never about the content, but merely a superficial deception with minimal requirements.
Wasting time in the wilderness
The problem is not so much that the director and screenwriter Mark Atkinswhose career was spent almost exclusively on The Asylum, has presented a sham. What is worse is how terribly boring the films of this studio are. Since, as mentioned, they hardly have a budget, the scope for action is limited, which is noticeable in all areas. For example, Road Wars: Max Fury officially an action film. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that there are action scenes. Only rarely does anything actually happen. Most of the time the two women sit in their car and talk. It’s something special when they talk to other people. But that doesn’t make the lousy dialogue any better.
If you want to say something positive about the film, you have to look for a while. There are some nice settings when the crew is traveling in a real desert area. After all, there is no need for special effects for that. Some will also be happy that Vernon Wells plays the villain, who also played in Mad Max II – The Road Warrior had a bigger role. He actually tries to make something of his limited role, unlike some of the others in the ensemble. But it’s not really enough to make up for everything else. Road Wars: Max Fury can be used as a sleep aid at best. Otherwise, there is no need to waste your time on this.
English review
In the year 2050, the earth has become an almost uninhabitable planet; droughts and famines have left humanity with its last legs. Only a few survived in these difficult times and are now struggling bitterly to make ends meet. Sarah (Lindsey Marie Wilson) had been lucky so far. But this now seems to be over; she was seriously injured in a fight and now urgently needs medication. Since she is no longer able to do it herself, her two daughters Naomi (Chandini Shah) and Greta (Preet Kaur) decide to take the trip. Dangers lurk everywhere, brutal looters are up to mischief and are just waiting to attack unsuspecting victims. Her path crosses that of the unscrupulous warlord Shane (Vernon G. Wells)…
The Asylum strikes back
No name is as closely linked to the concept of the mockbuster as The Asylum. Of course, the US cheap manufacturer also has its own developments to show. But it’s mostly the films that act as if they were big blockbusters that establish the studio’s „fame“. Films that have similar titles and use similar settings so that a less informed audience will buy them assuming that they are the original. In recent years there have been such glorious copies as Bullet Train Down and Planet Dunewhere the originals are very obvious. With Road Wars: Max Fury the infamous filmmakers’ latest cinematic crime, the occasion is also hard to miss. They wanted to somehow benefit from Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagawhich was released in cinemas in May.
So far, so normal. Okay, they probably didn’t take into account that the latest part of the apocalyptic saga would be a flop. However, given the low budgets that The Asylum is working with, there is a good chance that the profit was greater than the original. What’s unusual is that Road Wars: Max Fury is theoretically a sequel, which is an absolute rarity in the mockbuster world. There was already a Road Wars in 2015, which at the time – what a surprise! – was based on Mad Max: Fury Road. However, this story isn’t continued here. There are no actual references to the template anyway. This won’t come as a surprise to an audience familiar with the studio’s workings. It’s never about the content, just a superficial deception with minimal requirements.
Wasting time in the wasteland
The problem isn’t so much that director and screenwriter Mark Atkinswhose career took place almost exclusively with The Asylum, presented a deceptive package. What’s worse is how terribly boring this studio’s films are. Since, as I said, they hardly have a budget, the scope is limited, which is noticeable in all areas. Road Wars: Max Fury is officially an action film. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that there are action scenes. Only rarely does anything actually happen. Most of the time the two women sit in their car and talk. Sometimes they meet somebody else to talk to. But that doesn’t make the lousy dialogue any better.
If you want to say something positive about the film, you’ll have to look for a while. There are some nice settings when the crew is traveling in a real desert area. After all, you don’t need any special effects. Some people will also be happy that Vernon Wells is actually playing the villain, who also had a larger role in Mad Max II. He actually tries to get something out of his limited role, unlike many others in the ensemble who just happen to be there. But that’s not really enough to balance out everything else. Road Wars: Max Fury can only be used as a sleep aid. Otherwise, you don’t need to waste your time on this.
Credits
OT: „Road Wars: Max Fury“
Land / Country: USA
Year: 2024
Director: Mark Atkins
Screenplay / Screenplay: Mark Atkins
Kamera / Cinematography: Mark Atkins
Cast: Chandini Shah, Preet Kaur, Lindsey Marie Wilson, Vernon Wells
Buy / Stream
Amazon (DVD„Road Wars: Max Fury“)
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