Mad Max: Fury Road - Buzz is good

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**Big Mac**

Totally badass movie, they should paint their skin green and grunt the whole time. There are so many ork elements in this, battlewagon grabby claw, tankbustas, flash gitz, bikers, all sorts of orkky vehicles.

The plot is great too, though watching for the 1st time you may have missed some of it. GW need a movie like this.

**Frazzled**

Vehicles explained:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-12/every-killer-car-in-mad-max-fury-road-explained

**Manchu**

Here’s the thing.

I am what’s called a fetal amputee. Fancy way for saying I was born with a missing limb. I’ve written about this on here before, but it’s been a long time and I’ve gained a lot of new followers recently (hai guyz) so it might be news to some of you.

I finally wound up going to see this movie Monday night after work, by myself, cause I was too thirsty for it and couldn’t wait for my friends to be available. Everyone was out of town this weekend for various reasons, so I figured I’d just wait for someone to go with, but then Facebook started talking about how amazing it was and I just couldn’t put it off any longer. So that’s how I ended up in a theater last night, completely by myself – not another soul in the room, sobbing my eyes out.

Because you guys. I am turning 30 years old next week. I’ve been a fan of action film my entire life. And I have NEVER seen a physically disabled, kickass, female lead character in a Hollywood movie EVER – not once, until yesterday.

(SEMI-SPOILERS AHEAD)

I am just about the biggest advocate for “representation matters” there is, but as a white woman I never really felt it applied to me all that much. Watching Fury Road, I realized how wrong I was. I’ve been this way my entire life and I’ve never felt “handicapped.” I’m disabled, yes – there’s gak I just can’t do, but an invalid I am not. For the most part I’ve always approached life with a “figure out how to do it and just get it done” attitude; I am loathe to admit I can’t do anything and I never give up without exhausting all the possibilities available to me. Watching Fury Road, I felt like I was watching my own struggle brought to life (albeit in a very fantastical setting), and I don’t think I ever realized how truly profound that could be for me.

Watch Furiosa load a shotgun. Watch Furiosa punch Max in the face, with her nubbins. Watch Furiosa drive a semi tractor trailer. Watch Furiosa fire a long shot, using Max’s shoulder to stabilize the gun barrel, as an alternative to using two hands! Watch Furiosa do anything you can do, but better, and with half the number of fingers.

The effortless manner in which this film has presented a character’s disability is incredible. I literally could not ask for anything more. It’s ubiquitous. No big deal. Her body is never a plot point. It is simply allowed to be. Let’s have some bullet points:

- The existence of her missing hand is never mentioned in dialogue. Not once. I find this simple fact so powerful.

- It is not made into something ludicrous for the lulz a la the gun leg in Grindhouse. Her prosthetic is realistic – it looks like something a real amputee would actually wear and use.

- There’s no reference made to any tragic backstory regarding her limb. We have no idea how she lost it, or if she lost it. It may very well be a birth defect. More on that later, cause that’s totally my interpretation.

- NO. ONE. EVER. FEELS. SORRY. FOR. HER. BECAUSE. OF. HER. DISABILITY.

Let’s compare this to characters like Ephialtes from 300. Though Leonidas treats him with kindness, it’s made pretty clear that Ephialtes is a cripple. He’s not going to be a soldier. He is ultimately worthless to the cause of the Spartans. Pretty sure if Furiosa had shown up in that story, she would have taken one look at him, shook her head at Leonidas for shame, and set to work building Ephialtes a custom set of armor and a robot hand to hold his shield in proper Spartan formation. There, problem solved, bb. Now get yourself off to war and have a good time.

In addition to being a total badass, the TRULY amazing thing about Furiosa is that she is also KIND, EMOTIONAL, AND COMPASSIONATE. The main plot of the film is her struggle to help these women escape abuse and slavery, to return to her homeland and family, and find peace in a simple life, away from war and suffering. She transcends the female action star stereotype of the unfeeling hard ass. It’s as if she were an actual human being, with real emotions and struggles, not reduced to a caricature of human existence. Buh-whaaaat?

In conclusion. This movie is feminist. It is powerful. It presents ability in a realistic, beautiful way.

Now, I better go. If I don’t cosplay this character immediately I’m pretty sure all my friends will riot.

http://nospockdasgay.tumblr.com/post/119381643753/my-reaction-to-mad-max-fury-road-and-the-utter

**whembly**

That was an awesome review.

Still hadn't seen it yet...

All my friends has and been giving me the lowdown.

**Manchu**

Get to the theater man! You will honestly hate yourself for missing this one on the big screen.

**Frazzled**

Agreed.

**whembly**

Manchu wrote:
Get to the theater man! You will honestly hate yourself for missing this one on the big screen.

It's on the agenda!

**SilenzZzz**

Frazzled wrote:
Agreed.

-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG

sorry i just read your sig after seeing your profile pic ... being the caretaker of numerous daschunds... i had to laugh... a lot.

**Manchu**

SilenzZzz wrote:
Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag

Careful now.

whembly wrote:
It's on the agenda!

I'm trying to figure out how/when to see it again. It's the kind of movie where you can dig a lot deeper on the second go, because the first time you're too busy being floored.

**Hyglar's Hellraiser**

See this movie. It's OTT...I love road warrior...first ten minutes I wasn't sure what to think.
It was amazing I keep trying to get people to watch it. It wasn't perfect...but man was it good.
So utterly awesome.
I'm going again now.
Haven't done that for years!!

**Easy E**

Everyone has commented ont he Feminist angle, but I am surprised about how political this movie is.

I mean, the main bad guy is a strong advocate for literal trickle down economics. That's just the start of the political deconstruction you could go into. This could be interpreted as a very liberal movie.

That's the great thing about post-apoc movies. Done right, they allow us to hold up a twisted mirror to our own world and culture.

Edit: I hope Ridley Scott and George Romero were taking notes on this flick.

**Manchu**

Easy E wrote:
the main bad guy is a strong advocate for literal trickle down economics

"Do not become addicted to water. It will take hold of you and you will resent its absence."

**whembly**

Easy E wrote:
Everyone has commented ont he Feminist angle, but I am surprised about how political this movie is.

I mean, the main bad guy is a strong advocate for literal trickle down economics. That's just the start of the political deconstruction you could go into. This could be interpreted as a very liberal movie.

That's the great thing about post-apoc movies. Done right, they allow us to hold up a twisted mirror to our own world and culture.

Well... George Miller is a proud flaming lefty...

In fact, most of his movies are like that.

<shrugs>

Doesn't matter to me, as he's fantastic writer/director. Especially for his love of practical effects. He's re-setting the bar....

The Thunderdome™ and the flame-throwing-guitar scene is f'n metal!

\m/

**A Town Called Malus**

Just got back from seeing it with my girlfriend.

We both thought it was amazing and think it is going to be regarded as a classic.

Theron was absolutely phenomenal as Furiosa, totally badass and also incredibly real. There's nothing she does where you have to suspend your disbelief to think that she could actually do that. She was the star of it for us.

**hotsauceman1**

Well, Im going to the matinee this weekend. No papers or finals for the weekend.

**sebster**

I walked in to Fury Road wondering why they haven't made another Mad Max for the last 30 years. I walked out wondering why we bothered making anything but Mad Max movies for the last 30 years. This film is simple, pure action movie gold.

Obviously the stunt work is the core of the film, and its not only done perfectly, but with great imagination. And of course, there's a hell of a lot of it. I didn't count, but maybe 2/3 of this film is people crashing cars in to other cars, shooting cars from other cars, or flying off exploding cars. Great stuff.

The script is simple and sparse, and lets action and spectacle do all the work. But at the same it never lets the action get meaningless - each action scene is moving the script forward.

And the world building was perfect. A handful of lines and some great visuals were enough to set the scene and let our imaginations make up the rest if we wanted.

And it had Quentin, and Megan Gale got run over by a truck.

The film wasn't without problems, of course. The politics was vague enough that it could have been ignored, but it was so unsubtle that was hard. Probably the bigger problem was that the last action scene was the well made, and the ending after that was perfunctory - what should have been a relief after all that carnage felt flat. But those are nitpicks. This was a fething great movie.

Manchu wrote:
http://nospockdasgay.tumblr.com/post/119381643753/my-reaction-to-mad-max-fury-road-and-the-utter

That's a great review and a strength to the film I didn't realise at all. Thanks for posting that, Manchu.

whembly wrote:
Well... George Miller is a proud flaming lefty...

In fact, most of his movies are like that.

<shrugs>

Doesn't matter to me, as he's fantastic writer/director. Especially for his love of practical effects. He's re-setting the bar....

Yeah, there's an old guard in Australian film that's are basically socialists. It was interesting to see the veteran actor John Howard show up as one of the big villains in this movie, he's another one with political views very similar to Miller. I mean, they're probably mates. Miller seems to employ the same group of friends in all his movies - it was interesting to spot actors in this who'd showed up in a bunch of Miller's other movies, including earlier Mad Max movies.

But as you rightly say, when the film is made really well, none of that matters at all.

**Manchu**

sebster wrote:
Manchu wrote:
http://nospockdasgay.tumblr.com/post/119381643753/my-reaction-to-mad-max-fury-road-and-the-utter
That's a great review and a strength to the film I didn't realise at all. Thanks for posting that, Manchu.

It came to me courtesy of judgedoug. I also didn't think very hard about Furiosa's disability while watching the movie. Even something as, in hindsight, obvious as this

Watch Furiosa fire a long shot, using Max’s shoulder to stabilize the gun barrel, as an alternative to using two hands!

just flew past me, at least as a matter of her only having one hand.

**generalgrog**

SilenzZzz wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
Agreed.

-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG

sorry i just read your sig after seeing your profile pic ... being the caretaker of numerous daschunds... i had to laugh... a lot.

You know he's quoting me right?

GG

**KiloFiX**

Saw it, liked it.

Slight digression, are there any sites or magazines where I can immerse myself in more of this post-apocalyptic culture? Style, clothing, gear, cars, setting, events, fiction, etc.? Simply as entertainment of course.

**Manchu**

You could try http://postapoc.net/

**AegisGrimm**

Watch Furiosa fire a long shot, using Max’s shoulder to stabilize the gun barrel, as an alternative to using two hands!

You, title character! You can't shoot for crap- take a knee so I can use you as a bipod and wreck your hearing!

**hotsauceman1**

Well to be fair I saw that happening a mile away when "It only has 4 shots" line showed up.
I know alot of people like this, but at first I didnt.
Why?
The first 30 minutes are pretty much action with no meaning.
We barely know furiosa, to the attack on the convoy is meaningless. as is madmax being strapped to the hood of a car(Why did he need to be a blood bank again?)
After that it got better, with the action having stakes, people actually dying.
It was ok at best, action was good, but a 3rd of it had no consequences.

**jasper76**

Sequel information (sorta):

'Mad Max: Fury Road' Sequel To Be Titled 'Mad Max: The Wasteland'
by Benjamin Moore, Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminmoore/2015/05/19/mad-max-fury-road-sequel-wasteland/)

Mad Max: Fury Road is a filmic fever dream of high-octane action perfection. From start to finish, it’s thrilling, it’s funny, it’s gorgeous, and it’s wonderfully weird, and despite an incredible dearth of dialogue, it’s actually quite moving in places, too. Where other movies would develop character and build worlds and move the plot forward with pages upon pages of expository dialogue, this one does all of the above with just a handful of words, some incredible visuals, and a whole lot of facial expressions. Basically, Fury Road is a masterpiece of minimalistic storytelling, and the most satisfying movie I’ve seen in years.

And if it’s successful enough, God willing, it’s going to get a sequel called Mad Max: The Wasteland.

Co-writer/director George Miller was recently on The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith (via The Playlist) podcast, where he talked about Fury Road and its potential sequels. Here’s what he had to say:

We’ve got one screenplay [for the second film] and a novella [for the third]. It happened because with the delays [on 'Fury Road'], and writing all the backstories, they just expanded. [The second one] is called ‘The Wasteland.’ ‘Mad Max: The Wasteland.’

The fact that George Miller has already begun developing sequels to Fury Road isn’t really news. Indeed, we’ve known that was the case going back to 2010, when Miller said that two sequels were in the works – as a result of creating backstories for the characters in Fury Road – and that the second one would be titled ‘Furiosa’ after Charlize Theron’s character.
ADVERTISING

Mad Max Fury Road Sequel Titled The Wasteland

So the news here, then, is that the next film is (apparently) no longer titled Mad Max: Furiosa, but will instead be titled Mad Max: The Wasteland. Whether or not that means it’s an altogether new idea/film or the same idea/film with a new title is unclear, though one presumes there’s some connection. After all, Miller’s been a bit too busy making Fury Road to craft an all-new script for a follow-up.

I’m sort of torn on what I want to see in a sequel. On the one hand, I loved Furiosa – and Charlize Theron’s performance – and would love to see that character return to the big screen. Furthermore, there’s something really enjoyable about Theron and Tom Hardy’s chemistry onscreen together (I’m not talking about romantic chemistry) that I’d love to see explored further.

On the other hand, no Mad Max film has ever seen Max cross paths with characters from a previous film, and I kind of like how the character just gets caught up in different people’s stories from time to time. It adds to his power as a mythological figure in the apocalyptic world that George Miller has created. Having him essentially return to – and extend – the story of Fury Road seems a little too conventional for these films. But whatever – at this point, Miller has earned the right to make whatever kind of Mad Max movie he wants.

The only question now is: Will Fury Road make enough money to warrant a sequel? An opening weekend box office haul of $45 million domestic (and $109 million worldwide) for an R-rated sequel to a 40-year-old franchise is impressive, no doubt about it. But Fury Road was a not a cheap film. Its reported production budget is $150 million, and with reshoots and the time it took to get to theaters, I wouldn’t be surprised if that number is closer to $200 million.

Hopefully, universal critical acclaim and excellent word-of-mouth will give the film some staying power. But hell, even if we never see a sequel, at least we got – legitimately – one of the greatest genre movies ever made out of the deal.

**hotsauceman1**

Y,know. Is it bad to say, this movie seemed like a mild pg13?
I mean, what did it have that warranted an R that avengers didnt?

**BobtheInquisitor**

Probably language.

Also, mature content.

**hotsauceman1**

Ehhn, Ithink felt the same as a pg13 to me. It seemed like it didn't warrant an R.
also, funny note. Supplemental material names the leader of the bullet farm. His former name was major kalisnikov. And he was a subordinate to immortan Joe during the oil wars.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, joes car, the giant one in the end fight.
Those are two coup DE villas 1959s on tbere. It made me sad because those where two fused together. Such a waste of a caddy.

**jasper76**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
Y,know. Is it bad to say, this movie seemed like a mild pg13?
I mean, what did it have that warranted an R that avengers didnt?

For starters, pseudo-realistic violence.

And then women forced into chattel slavery for breastmilk.

R

**Easy E**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
We barely know furiosa, to the attack on the convoy is meaningless. as is madmax being strapped to the hood of a car(Why did he need to be a blood bank again?)
.

Max had to be a blood bank because the War-boyz are all dying from radiation poisoning and the only thing that allows them to keep going is frequent blood transfusions.

Also, the first 30 minutes we know that Furiosa was a trusted LT to Immortan Joe, and she decided to go rogue. Therefore, the stakes/suspense is finding out why she is going rogue in the first place, AND how will Max get out of being imprisoned by the War-boyz.

**trexmeyer**

Saw it with the GF and I wasn't impressed and to be honest I'm downright shocked at the reviews it is getting. It's really just an OTT action movie that looks like it borrowed heavily from Warhammer 40K Orks. Far too ridiculous of a spectacle to ever be taken remotely seriously. As a pure popcorn action flick it's great, but as anything else...I just don't get the hype.

**judgedoug**

Ah so you accidentally saw Pitch Perfect 2.