Mad Max: Fury Road

DreamWeaver · May 15, 2015

Wow. I really, really enjoyed the new Mad Max film. I am still trying to figure out, after watching what basically boils down to a 2-hour action sequence, why this and some other action movies work for me, but others leave me cold. Or worse, bore me to tears.

This one definitely didn't bore me. Despite the movie having almost no dialogue, I got invested in the characters and in the outcome. Tom Hardy did a wonderful job, and Charlize Theron was basically the heart and soul of the movie. For smaller touches, the band truck was inspired. And I can't remember going to a movie before and thinking, "That is one badass pregnant woman." (No, not Charlize Theron. Amazingly, this movie has more than one distinguishable female character.)

Captcha · May 15, 2015

I'm intrigued by this one. The original movies were a big part of my childhood, and I'm a bit afraid to ruin that... but... it looks really good!

c.e.lawson · May 15, 2015

Captcha said:
I'm intrigued by this one. The original movies were a big part of my childhood, and I'm a bit afraid to ruin that... but... it looks really good!

Captcha, I heard this movie reviewed on the radio today on our local public radio, and one of the reviewers said the original Mad Maxx was one of his favorite movies of all time, and he went into this one with the same concerns as you. He said this exceeded all of his expectations. He absolutely loved it. It has an extremely high Rotten Tomatoes score, too - 99%!

DreamWeaver · May 15, 2015

Captcha said:
I'm intrigued by this one. The original movies were a big part of my childhood, and I'm a bit afraid to ruin that... but... it looks really good!

I don't think you need to worry very much. I'll fess up...I saw The Road Warrior in its original theatrical release and loved it. I had some of that same concern. But after seeing the trailers, I couldn't stay away, and I'm glad I didn't. :Thumbs:

ETA: If it helps your decision, the Chris Klimek review for NPR.org says Theron should be up for an Oscar. And I don't think the remark was tongue-in-cheek. Of course, action movie/little dialogue/summer blockbuster = never happen in a million years. But it's a nice thought.

EATA: My favorite review so far, from Clint O'Connor in the Plain Dealer:

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is a shiny toy that does not require elaborate instructions other than these: Hold on tight. Don't let go. Beware of sharp objects.

Helix · May 15, 2015

It's got great reviews so far.

I'm looking forward to seeing it, even if Max has suddenly become a Pom and the whole thing has been transported to Namibia. I watched the American release of Mad Max after I'd seen the original and it was a bit disconcerting. But I'm sure I'll soldier through.

Zoombie · May 16, 2015

I loved it!

A fun, stylish, fast paced action movie with above average acting and characters, amazing set and character design, and loads of balls to the wall insane set-pieces that were impressive and practically done.

Also, FLAMETHROWER GUITAR

Once! · May 16, 2015

I sooo need this to be good. I loved the first three (yes, even including Tina) so it would be a travesty if this was another Crystal Skull. Please, please, please let it be good.

Fitzandrostand · May 16, 2015

DreamWeaver said:
And I can't remember going to a movie before and thinking, "That is one badass pregnant woman." (No, not Charlize Theron. Amazingly, this movie has more than one distinguishable female character.)

Now that really makes me want to watch it!

DreamWeaver · May 16, 2015

Helix said:
It's got great reviews so far.

I'm looking forward to seeing it, even if Max has suddenly become a Pom and the whole thing has been transported to Namibia. I watched the American release of Mad Max after I'd seen the original and it was a bit disconcerting. But I'm sure I'll soldier through.

LOL! I missed the theatrical release of Mad Max, but wanted to see it after I saw The Road Warrior. So I rented the import from one of those now-defunct mom & pop VHS rental stores (this was the early 80s). It had the original, Australian accent audio. A few years later it showed up on TV, and my head almost exploded when I heard the American accents. It just sounded *so* wrong. And I'm an American :greenie

.

Albedo · May 16, 2015

Lucky for you there's no shortage of Australian accents in this one. Apart from Theron's unaltered American, and Tom Hardy's Petyr Balish grade accent-unknown-to-linguistic-science, most of the speaking cast seems to be Australian.

This was loud, ludicrous, and spectacularly bloody awesome cinema aimed at the twelve year old boy within us all. It will be the favourite popcorn movie of 2015 easily, and I'm saying that in a year Jurassic World and Star Wars: Hey Look, It's All Your Old Favourites are coming out. Like, I ate a whole tub of popcorn. One of the big ones.

Cyia · May 16, 2015

I'd brushed this one off, but I don't think I've seen a single bad review for it. I may have to reconsider!

Aggy B. · May 16, 2015

Mr. Aggy and I saw this last night and it was fantastic. It is an action movie in the extreme so the "feminist" plotline that has all the misogynists in a tizzy was brought home with a sledgehammer, but it's still awesome. So much explosions. I might have to go back for a second viewing.

Filigree · May 16, 2015

I had completely disregarded this movie up to now. May have to sneak off to see it.

Aggy B. · May 16, 2015

DreamWeaver said:
And I can't remember going to a movie before and thinking, "That is one badass pregnant woman." (No, not Charlize Theron. Amazingly, this movie has more than one distinguishable female character.)

Fitzandrostand said:
Now that really makes me want to watch it!

Amazingly enough, I think there are more distinguishable female characters than male. (I count the war-boys as undistinguishable, along with about half the women of the Vulvina tribe.)

snafu1056 · May 16, 2015

The "men's rights activists" bitching about how Max has been "emasculated" obviously haven't been paying attention. He's always been kind of a victim. A badass victim, but still usually a victim. In the Road Warrior he got his ass kicked multiple times and ended up being used as a patsy by the people in that refinery so they could slip away unmolested. He also wasn't very in charge of things in Beyond Thunderdome either. As tough as he is, he's always been kind of a passive figure bad things happen to. He's like a post-apocalyptic Ziggy. The plot of this movie doesn't sound like too radical a departure from that.

DreamWeaver · May 16, 2015

To no one's surprise, I went and saw this movie again today. This time in 3D.

I think this is only the second movie I've watched in 3D. It really didn't add all that much; I thought the 2D was just as good. YMMV, but for me, that distinction was a wash. However...

One thing I adore in movies is beautiful construction; when they are built in such a way that the "bricks" of events or character development interlock instead of simply forming a line or pathway to the denouement. Where actions or situations that you think are stand-alone events, or character development tools, or even set dressing, show up again in the movie in a more pivotal role. Sort of, "see, we showed you this earlier and you thought it was just itself, but it was actually leading to this..." I saw at least three of those in this movie, this time around. And I have the feeling more viewings (possibly when it comes out on home video, I'm not made of money :greenie

) will probably discover more. I think I missed them the first time because I was pretty overloaded just trying to keep up with the action

.

Aggy B. · May 16, 2015

Max always exists outside the societal groups he encounters. He tends to provide them with the leverage they need to accomplish a goal, but at the end, he is never incorporated into the group. In that fashion he has never been the hero, only an anti-hero because there is no reward for him when he saves the day. (And he tends to only step up when he is forced to in order to survive, not because of some grand goal or ethical compass.)

Also, the idea that women and their children are not the property of the men who impregnate them shouldn't have to be a feminist message, but it doesn't really surprise me that it's being perceived that way.

Zoombie · May 16, 2015

Aggy B. said:
Also, the idea that women and their children are not the property of the men who impregnate them shouldn't have to be a feminist message, but it doesn't really surprise me that it's being perceived that way.

I say this about a lot of things our culture considered "refreshingly feminist."

DreamWeaver · May 16, 2015

It would actually be refreshing if I heard the words "refreshingly feminist" more often, since I can't say that's anything I ever hear around here. Though, to be fair, "kick-ass" is considered a compliment when applied to a woman so it's not all you-must-be-helpless. :Shrug:

Helix · May 16, 2015

It's a nice touch to cast Hugh Keays-Byrne in this one.

Manuel Royal · May 16, 2015

snafu1056 said:
The "men's rights activists" bitching about how Max has been "emasculated" obviously haven't been paying attention.

God, those MRA guys are idiots.

Saw the movie this morning; very pleased. George Miller, now 70, has lost none of his ability to direct furious non-stop, yet coherent action that retains the human element. Tom Hardy was a great choice as Max, Charlise Theron is fantastic, and all the characters get to be individuals. The "Breeders" aren't just objects of desire, they have agency and make decisions (not always good ones).

Although there was some necessary CGI, mostly I saw expert driving and very impressive stuntwork, and a lot of practical effects and crazy bolted-together vehicles and implements of destruction. New South Wales must be a magical place.

I'd love to see George Miller (or another director of similar gifts, if there is one) take a crack at adapting Roger Zelazny's novel Damnation Alley. Forget the stupid 1977 Jan Michael Vincent thing; a great movie could be made from that book.

Albedo · May 16, 2015

I'm so ensconced in the gynocracy, apparently, that it didn't even occur to me that real true manly men would find this movie problematic, or worse, emasculating. Really? All it takes to en-nobble MRAs is an action movie with more than one female speaking part? Are their genitals attached with rubber bands and craft glue??

I thought it was awesome that an elderly (IMBb says the actor playing her is 79) lady gets to kick some legitimate arse in this movie. In how many action movies has that happened before?

Helix · May 16, 2015

[Trigger warning for link]

Here's a link to the piece in We Hunted the Mammoth: Furious about Furiosa: Misogynists are losing it over Charlize Theron’s starring role in Mad Max: Fury Road

If you're unfamiliar with WHtM, it "tracks and mocks the New Misogyny online", so enter with caution. The story has been reported in other outlets, with the more revolting stuff removed.

Roxxsmom · May 16, 2015

OMG, I had no idea that this movie was supposed to be about feminism. I want to see it now.

But this made me giggle:

Hollywood is a garbage propoganda machine which spews out this feminist drivel filth into the minds of today’s young audience.

Is this why 70% of speaking roles go to men in Hollywood movies? Something tells me that if someone writes an article or makes a documentary about this issue, these guys would suddenly be defending Hollywood and saying that it's obviously making sound business decisions and making the kinds of movies most people want to see.

Countering the idiocy, George RR Martin has given the movie his thumbs up. I guess he's one of them there manginas.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/427311.html

V1c · May 17, 2015

Went to see this yesterday. Absolutely adored it. Gotta say what tipped the scales for me seeing it is the backlash against it being 'feminist' and I think the director knew what he was doing. Because I loved the first scene where you see the brides, so steeped in male gaze with them scantily glad and hosing each other down and the leering camera running up their legs. . . .to them then cutting off the bindings of male entrapment/ownership. I knew I was in for something special right there. And the whole film so fueled my punk sensibilities - just non stop action yet still with character growth and meaning and the idea of 'redemption' almost felt like it was going over to the action genre as well, a film to redeem the action film for how it's treated women all these years. I did cry at one point just because there were so many women on screen with agency, and I didn't realize how much I needed that.

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