MovieChat Forums > Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Discussion > FINALLY watched this movie after avoidin...

FINALLY watched this movie after avoiding it for long...

posted 7 years ago by Riding_With_The_Valkyries
18 replies | jump to latest

I watched the first two Mad Max sequels just to get to Fury Road. My reaction was - "It's cool, I guess". Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the look of them. Living in a post-apocalyptic desert-rock wasteland wearing death metal warrior getup and riding a kickass armoured car feels worth the apocalypse. I very much am a fan of this genre.

Road Warrior doesn't live up to the hype, IMO. I didn't expect a smart movie, but there were gaping dumbness in Road Warrior that I simply couldn't reconcile. To reiterate, I have NO ISSUE with people riding spiky death metal vehicles at breakneck speeds in a post-apocalyptic desert; but if you're going to have that, you sure as hell shouldn't be using the whole "war over petrol" plotline. I mean seriously, in a world where the value of petrol has hit the roof of the Empire States Building, those bandits sure do have a LOT of things that run on them. And they ride it pointlessly around and around and around as if petrol is something you can get out of a tap anytime you want. People have pointed out this problem many times over, but just can't look past it. It's dumb. And I'm the guy who likes dumb movies like "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters". Road Warrior is set in the near future; they could have used a number of excuses to have people riding around on armoured cars. How about nuclear batteries? Does that sound dumb? It's not dumb as the actual premise. The war could have been over something that made more sense in a post-apocalypse - like water.

Beyond Thunderdome had a good first act. Again, loved the look of the whole thing. Barter Town was an interesting place with interesting people. Tina Turner distracted me a bit, 'coz I couldn't really see anything else to the character but Tina Turner. Maybe they should put Lady Gaga in a sequel. Unfortunately, those frikking kids showed up and the whole thing just turned dull. I was much more interested in the politics and conflicts of Barter Town.

So Fury Road is my favourite out of the three sequels. It's got the same awesome look - in fact it looks even more fvcking METAL. It's also got some awesome action and a story that doesn't go to a really dumb place. It also probably has better developed characters than the previous two, especially Nux and Furiosa. Max has always been the Knight Errant character in the three sequels, he comes into somebody else's story, saves the day and fvcks off. He has the same sort of arc as Thunderdome - "No I won't help you...ok I'll help you." No major development but consistent with the character. And Tom Hardy...boy does he do a perfect Mel Gibson impression. I totally bought the act.

The whole "feminist" hype has put me off watching this for long. The feminist elements are there, but not as overt as I thought, and didn't bother me on the most part. It's will please feminists, but it's not truly made for them.

Ghost dancers slay together and you're just in my grave

[–] RomaVictorrrr 7 years ago

And they ride it pointlessly around and around and around as if petrol is something you can get out of a tap anytime you want.

I thought Humongus's group was a band of immature, crazy, homicidal scavengers that irresponsibly wastes their own resources and so have to keep looking for more productive and responsible people like Pappagallo's group in order to steal from them and maintain their alternative lifestyles...

Nice to hear a compliment for Tom Hardy, but...was he doing a Mel impression?

[–] Riding_With_The_Valkyries 7 years ago

Yes, I thought he was, and it was AWESOME. Well, I meant to say he played Mel Gibson's personality (and voice) as Max. This is supposed to be a direct sequel to the Gibson films, so it makes sense he'd play it like that. He even did the shifty eyes that Gibson always does.

Ghost dancers slay together and you're just in my grave

[–] RomaVictorrrr 7 years ago

That shift eye thing is a Gibson quirk. To have Hardy do it, coupled with puzzled looks and strange grunts, with other weird little mannerisms, made him look mentally ill. Not "Mad," but kinda stupid-looking.

Glad YOU thought he was awesome, though.

[–] drunkbear 7 years ago

'Road Warrior' is still my favorite; it explains little, and shows much.

I didn't go see 'Fury Road' in the theatres, because I was dreading what I would see. After the pure action of 'Road Warrior' and the more introspective 'Thunderdome,' I figured that any movie following those two could only be a letdown. But friends who knew my particular movie tastes, and especially my opinions on the original MM films, kept telling me how great FR was. So, I tried it...

Oh, how I regret not seeing FR in the theatre.

It managed to combine the gritty, up-close sense of RW with incredible modern cinematography. And the producers went all-out, specifying that all of the vehicles should be REAL, drivable machines.

My main fave is Immortan Joe's 'Giga Horse' monster double-Cadillac. But I'm a backgrounder, and I would just like to draw your attention to 'The Black White,' AKA 'Bones:' the black White semi truck pulling a car carrier trailer. You only see it once or twice, but I'm a sucker for tough, no-nonsense vehicles, and The Black White is definitely one of those.

I never saw a whiff of a feminist 'message' in the film. It's just a fantastic action film. There are men, there are women.

The only 'messages' I took from FR were: 1) Sexual slavery is bad. 2) Totalitarianism is bad. 3) Fighting for freedom is good.

- Oh, SOMEbody asides me is gonna RUE this here particular day...

[–] vojkan087 7 years ago

Is Fury Road a sequel really? It doesn't follow the timeline and reuses certain events at will, some would say for fan service. I think Miller himself spoke about 'alternative timeline'. In other words an 'artsy' tribute to his work that is both teenage and feminist friendly, because you can't really make money today without the first and can't survive without pleasing the second. Also, you can't win an Oscar for a 35 year old movie.

I won't comment too much on what is more or less 'metal' since that is a personal taste. I do find cartoonish exaggeration not to be very appealing. Enemies in original Mad Max movies were creative, varied and believable. Even when ridiculous as in Thunderdome. Enemies in FR are either generic clones or over the top villains with flaming guitars and ridiculous skeleton masks. In music terms that is as metal as NU metal.

However, I find it strange you were bothered by 'fuel issue' from MM2 (Humungus was more than certain he would get his hands on a permanent source of fuel after all, expecting the siege to come to an end any moment, so the waste of fuel isn't that problematic. Max has completely different way of treating fuel during the entire movie) but weren't bothered by completely ridiculous plot of Fury Road including the exaggerated (as everything in Fury Road is) version of 'fuel issue' from Road Warrior - water issue.

Water is being wasted everywhere relentlessly (not to mention fuel) and the only semi-functioning system for its distribution is destroyed by all of the water being wasted at the very end of the movie, announcing an end of their lives that would inevitably come soon after. At least patriarchy died sooner, right? There is nothing that made any sense in that movie, including the reason why Max was in it.

And Tom Hardy...boy does he do a perfect Mel Gibson impression. I totally bought the act.

I understood this as a sarcastic comment. I hope I'm not wrong.

[–] rich_bruce 7 years ago

Water is being wasted everywhere relentlessly (not to mention fuel) and the only semi-functioning system for its distribution is destroyed by all of the water being wasted at the very end of the movie, announcing an end of their lives that would inevitably come soon after.

I don't know what this refers to. That's surely not how the film ends.

What no man Can give ya. And none Can take away.

[–] vojkan087 7 years ago

Was one of the final scenes showing four or five enormous women just draining the aquifers or did we watch different versions of the movie (it would explain why I can't understand all the praise)?

[–] alwaysannoying 7 years ago

An aquifer isn't a big tank that can be drained...

...here is little Effie's head
whose brains are made of gingerbread

[–] vojkan087 7 years ago

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140819-groundwater-california-drought-aquifers-hidden-crisis/

[–] alwaysannoying 7 years ago

Pretty certain that that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. I am quite interested to know why you think water was in short supply? Joe clearly uses water as a means of control, which in and of itself suggests quite the opposite to be true.
You don't waste thousands of gallons on the little people if supplies are low. And aquifers are still not tanks to be drained.

...here is little Effie's head
whose brains are made of gingerbread

[–] Riding_With_The_Valkyries 7 years ago

I do find cartoonish exaggeration not to be very appealing.

If you find FR "cartoonish" and "exaggerated", then you ought to feel the same for all of the previous films. The Mad Max universe is grand and operatic, and there's plenty of over the top things in all of the movies. All FR had was a bigger budget. Whatever CGI effects it might have had, there were alway more practical effects.

However, I find it strange you were bothered by 'fuel issue' from MM2 (Humungus was more than certain he would get his hands on a permanent source of fuel after all, expecting the siege to come to an end any moment, so the waste of fuel isn't that problematic.

I got the impression that Humungus was supposed to be a madman, but not a moron. Would someone this stupid gather such a huge following? If he was so confident that he'd have the oil refinery, then why try to bargain? Not to mention, he hasn't got he oil yet. His supply would have to be limited. The siege has been going on for days, with his goons riding their vehicles around and around at stop speeds all day long. This feels like a pretty stark contrast to Max trying to preseve every drop of petrol at the beginning of the movie.

Water is being wasted everywhere relentlessly (not to mention fuel) and the only semi-functioning system for its distribution is destroyed by all of the water being wasted at the very end of the movie, announcing an end of their lives that would inevitably come soon after.

Really, I got the impression that Joe was hoarding water like a dragon hoards treasure. He seemed pretty economic on the fuel part as well. Vehicles are only used when he needs supplies, whether that's fuel, bullets or blood banks. The only time they got all the cars out was when Joe realized his concubines were missing, which would very much tip him over the edge.

I understood this as a sarcastic comment. I hope I'm not wrong.

The expressions, the voice. He was Mel Gibsoning it.

Ghost dancers slay together and you're just in my grave

[–] vojkan087 7 years ago

If you find FR "cartoonish" and "exaggerated", then you ought to feel the same for all of the previous films

I was referring to visual style. The world in Fury Road was over designed, overdone. It resembles Thunderdome in that, which was, until now, the worst Mad Max movie. When you look at costumes for example, they are too elaborate and too carefully designed for that rag-tag world. And more isn't necessarily better. Even its grit was somehow super polished. Instagram filter didn't help either.

If Nolan's Batman movies suffer from being too realistic and lacking atmosphere, this is an example of a movie not being realistic enough. It just tries too hard in many places, and it shows.

I got the impression that Humungus was supposed to be a madman, but not a moron. Would someone this stupid gather such a huge following? If he was so confident that he'd have the oil refinery, then why try to bargain? Not to mention, he hasn't got he oil yet. His supply would have to be limited. The siege has been going on for days, with his goons riding their vehicles around and around at stop speeds all day long. This feels like a pretty stark contrast to Max trying to preseve every drop of petrol at the beginning of the movie.

You can argue certain plot points make more or less sense, but at the end it isn't such a gaping plot hole. Especially when compared to plot of Fury Road.

Hugh Mungus :) tried to crush the tribe morally, and riding wildly was a part of his intimidation tactic (and I wouldn't exaggerate their riding time anyhow). His bargain and impatience was probably reflecting his limited supply of fuel you mention. Also, Max is in a very different position from goons, and isn't close to fulfilling his plan for permanent petrol source, but they clearly strive towards the same goal.

Really, I got the impression that Joe was hoarding water like a dragon hoards treasure. He seemed pretty economic on the fuel part as well. Vehicles are only used when he needs supplies, whether that's fuel, bullets or blood banks. The only time they got all the cars out was when Joe realized his concubines were missing, which would very much tip him over the edge.

Joe. Everyone else acted very differently, from supermodels acting all carwashy with hose to the flood at the very end. It makes no sense.

Flaming cars and guitars aren't very economic.

The expressions, the voice. He was Mel Gibsoning it

He may have tried to, but he failed. He was Bronsoning it...

[–] king_cooler 7 years ago

there were gaping dumbness in Road Warrior that I simply couldn't reconcile.

You can't accept a bunch of psychos burning as much fuel as they wanted but you can look passed the dumbness in this? How about those rocks being completely cleared for the vehicles? Joe's men would sure as hell make good road sweepers. What about Joe using most of his men and leaving his Citadel open to be attacked?

And Tom Hardy...boy does he do a perfect Mel Gibson impression.

Mel didn't play Max as retarded.

Max has always been the Knight Errant character in the three sequels

Ah, that old chestnut. Here's the difference. Road Warrior was first and foremost about him and his character arc with the oil refinery situation secondary. Not the other way around.

He has the same sort of arc in Thunderdome.

No major development but consistent with the character

He actually has a huge development in Thunderdome in context with the previous movies. It's the first time he actually puts his life on the line with nothing in it for himself since he was a cop to save the kids.

[–] T-eschberger 7 years ago

ah, that old chestnut. Here's the difference. Road Warrior was first and foremost about him and his character arc with the oil refinery situation secondary. Not the other way around.

Correction. The Road Warrior is primarily about Max and the Oil Refinery. Just as Fury Road is about Max AND Furiosa.

[–] MoviemanCin 7 years ago

Too bad you wasted your time on a boring film.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] vicky_lc2001-1 7 years ago

What's your username? I accidentally put you on ignore and I can't undo it because I don't know your username.

[–] deadpixel128 7 years ago

Riding_With_The_Valkyries

If you can't defend a movie without bashing another, you will be put on ignore. No exceptions.

[–] Pistachio-Disguisey 7 years ago

I guess the value in petrol is pronounced for a roving gang of marauders. They seem to have a lot of it, but in this wasteland, they are the wealthy ones. Still the refinery would be the holy grail for them. Conceivably with that, they could venture out and plunder everything and be a veritable empire. The Humungus strikes me as someone with that kind of scope.