Mad Max: Fury Road

[oball]

...it's just still seemingly miraculous that someone said, "Hey, let's make another Mad Max movie" and it reportedly turned out great. I guess I have really low expectations for remakes/revisitations these days.

This wasn't a case of a studio going "we're all out of ideas, better remake one of our old movies", though - George Miller had been working on it and trying to get it made for over a decade. If they'd just tried to reboot the series with Michael Bay or Zach Snyder it probably would have been awful, but this was the original creative mind behind the first one making a movie he had been thinking about for years.

I saw this last night and loved it, and especially loved all the little uniquely Australian bits in it. FANG IT!

[The Glyphstone]

So in case this movie wasn't badass enough, apparently the old ladies on the motorcycles were doing their own stunts, including the 78-year old leader.

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/15/406731...minist-mad-max

[comicshorse]

Hold it ! We've reached the second page and everybody likes the film.
That's just................weird

[Thanqol]

I want to say this is a joke, but given what I do know about Australia I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't.

It's the little stuff. Things like Australians pronouncing 'Valhalla' as 'Walhalla', removing our steering wheels from our cars when we're not using them, and the traditional four drummers on the back of the boombox car instead of the ridiculous pop culture six or eight.

[Sith_Happens]

removing our steering wheels from our cars when we're not using them

That's actually a thing? Why?

[Thanqol]

That's actually a thing? Why?

It's what Australia's car manufacturers used instead of car keys back when we still manufactured cars. Nowadays most modern cars are imports and come with keys instead but anything made locally before 1990 probably has a removeable steering wheel.

EDIT: And a lot of people have their wheels modified to be removeable because that's what they're used to.

[Lethologica]

Just saw it. Great set pieces, great aesthetic. Doesn't mince words in its exposition or storytelling. Enough to analyze that I don't feel like the explosions were the point, per se. Nine out of ten.

[GolemsVoice]

Having four drummers and not six is an Australian thing?

[BWR]

Having four drummers and not six is an Australian thing?

That's the wrong question. The right question is "is it common for Aussies to have giant drums with drummers on the backs of big-ass modded trucks?"

[Sith_Happens]

That's the wrong question. The right question is "is it common for Aussies to have giant drums with drummers on the backs of big-ass modded trucks?"

I'm not an expert on Australia, but I imagine the answer depends largely on whether you're more or less likely to agitate the bulldog ants that way than if those same drums were on the ground.

[YossarianLives]

I wonder why a culture where gasoline is an extremely rare and valuable commodity insists on having jets of fire on their cars and instruments.

[Excession]

I wonder why a culture where gasoline is an extremely rare and valuable commodity insists on having jets of fire on their cars and instruments.

Perhaps to demonstrate how rich and powerful they are.

[Yanagi]

I wonder why a culture where gasoline is an extremely rare and valuable commodity insists on having jets of fire on their cars and instruments.

1. Of the three antagonist gangs we've seen in the Mad Max films, Immortan Joe's is definitely the best situated for resources, and the best equipped. The Immortan's gang also seems to be doing much better set up than their local rivals--what with having a town that produces it (maybe that means a refinery? The distance shots sure suggested a refinery.) so they're in a position to use it more extravagantly. So it's a display of power and kind of conspicuous consumption.

2. Given the kind of car-to-car combat that's depicted. the burn weapons are a tactical choice. Vehicles are armored up in ways that stop bullets and make boarding attacks hard. The flaming gas jets...well, it's burning liquid, so it infiltrates any gap. But in addition to the obvious "it burns people" element, it also functions as a terror weapon, and the copious smoke/flame it produces obscures the vision of the driver of the car that, you know, just got set on fire.

3. Immortan Joe is operating a cult which incorporates a lot of car imagery. Engine blocks, steering wheels, and chrome are all present as iconography, which suggests that gasoline would also have significance to his War Boys. The morale and faith of the War Boys is a critical asset to controlling resources in the Wasteland, so rituals and spectacles can be viewed as tactical in the military sense.

Then again, sometimes a flamethrower guitar is just a flamethrower guitar.

[LaZodiac]

Something the director said that influence the design of the movie is the (quite accurate) belief that in a true apocolyptic scenario, people would try to make really neat, colorful things as a sort of reminder of the old days. Everything's drab because the world's been destroyed, so lets add a little color to this place. Thus we get vibrant flaming guitar man.

[GolemsVoice]

From the movie, I also got the feeling that they are not THAT tight on ressources, seeing how everybody has a whole fleet of endlessly driving vehicles. So it was all about showing off.

[Rodin]

Just got back from watching it. I loved it to itty bitty gasoline-smelling twisted car bits.
It got everything right. It was simply beautiful in all its exaggerated post-apocalyptic glory. It had blown AoU out of the water with minimal effort by the time they hit the sandstorm and proceeded to get even better. Best damn action movie in years.

I felt the same way, and it took me a little while to parse out why.

Avengers 2 just felt...formulaic. Insert evil AI here, add romantic sub-plot, have generic action scene against army of mooks, shake and serve.

Fury Road on the other hand just knew what it was going for. The design for it seems to have gone:

Car chases are awesome! But not awesome enough...ADD SPIKES! Still not awesome enough...add flamethrowers! Meh, still kinda mundane...add heavy metal flamethrower guitars!!!!

I didn't feel pandered to, in other words. They made an hour and a half long car chase and then filled in the plot around the edges. And it was awesome.

[Callos_DeTerran]

That's the wrong question. The right question is "is it common for Aussies to have giant drums with drummers on the backs of big-ass modded trucks?"

Then again, sometimes a flamethrower guitar is just a flamethrower guitar.

Thus we get vibrant flaming guitar man.

ALL HAIL THE DOOF WARRIOR!

Spoiler: Doof

Show

More movies need eyeless freaks whose sole purpose in life if to play a flaming guitar as a source of morale for marauding mutant War Boys.

...I also really liked this movie. I also really liked upon further examination that aside from touching up some of the flame effects (to make them even more spectacular) all of the care chases were done entirely with practical effects...with cars made for this movie (some of which sadly did not survive the movie), and that many people chose to do their own stunts (like the group of badass grandmas and Charlize Theron).

Oh what a day! What a LOVELY day!

I enjoy CGI quite a bit...but practical effects and talented stunt doubles will always hold a special place in my heart.

...And again, all hail the Doof Warrior and his mighty Doof Wagon (yes, that's really the name of him and his vehicle)!

[Fawkes]

Huh, I'm amazed then. From the ads I figured it was just Road Warrior redone again with a bigger budget, which isn't enough of a reason to spend money on it for me.

It's similar structurally and thematically, but it tells a new story and has all-new characters (aside from Max, of course). It's close enough for familiarity, but different enough to be exciting.

[Yanagi]

It's similar structurally and thematically, but it tells a new story and has all-new characters (aside from Max, of course). It's close enough for familiarity, but different enough to be exciting.

I've been told that there's a George Miller interview where he says that "Max" isn't actually the same guy, he's an aggregate hero in the folklore of the Wasteland.

Which actually makes a bunch of sense, given how each movie past the first has included a coda in which a third party (Feral Kid, the Ewok Kids, the History Man) tells us about Max. So the pattern of the stories might be intentional.

It also fits with the film's larger approach to showing mythology and ritual in a post-catastrophe society. The villains are all consciously larger-than-life: their choices of costume, their language, the argot they share with their followers. Humongous, Auntie Entity*, and Joe are all actively cultivating awe and mystery as a path to power. Max, as we, the audience, see him, is the new culture hero archetype: a tyrant slayer; a man that chooses not to rule; a broken person who nonetheless does not view "survival" as a zero-sum competition.

* Beyond Thunderdome wasn't a good movie, but Bartertown with its ritualized rules and very distinct watchwords was an interesting concept. An arid Port Royal.

The Ewok kids were also kind of anthropologically interesting...kids with little to no direct knowledge of before, much more explicitly mythologizing the past, with lots of cargo-cult-type recreations of tech they have no direct experience of. Sadly, they were not interesting-interesting.

In a better world, you could make two good Mad Max movies out the concepts in Beyond Thunderdome.

[Blackhawk748]

So in case this movie wasn't badass enough, apparently the old ladies on the motorcycles were doing their own stunts, including the 78-year old leader.

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/15/406731...minist-mad-max

And this movie just went form a 10 to an 11.

Also, all hail the Doof Wagon!!!

[Muz]

Any Farscape fans notice Melissa Jaffer (Noranti) as the bad-ass woman with the bag of seeds?

So along with Virginia Hey (Zhaan), now that's two Farscape actresses in the Mad Max series. (Plus Bruce Spence had a single episode role...)

I saw this movie last night. Nearly complete action save for a few (well-done) quiet moments, but done in such a fantastic way that I didn't get action fatigue. Very, very pleasantly surprised.

[Muz]

Most of all, this film was one of the best examples of show-don't-tell. Almost all of the world-building and character development came from visual cues rather than dialogue. In fact, you could almost cut out the dialogue entirely and not lose much of the total experience. I say that as a compliment. It's almost a silent movie.

I especially liked the scratching/filing at the mask. *nodnod* :)

By the way, this is an absolutely awesome review on SBNation...

[Hazzardevil]

I was looking at it as the story being told primarily through action and not dialogue. The numerous scenes make relationships clear between the characters and you never need a scene that is just two characters talking, without something directly plot related happening.

[DigoDragon]

A friend linked me a Mario Kart parody of the Fury Road trailer. It's pretty funny.

You guys are torturing me. It's running in the local theater and I don't have time to go see it.

I don't have a sitter, so I'm outta luck for at least 3 weeks. The movie might not be around by then.

So in case this movie wasn't badass enough, apparently the old ladies on the motorcycles were doing their own stunts, including the 78-year old leader.

Wow, that really is badass. Awesome!

It's what Australia's car manufacturers used instead of car keys back when we still manufactured cars.
EDIT: And a lot of people have their wheels modified to be removeable because that's what they're used to.

Steering wheels don't really fit in your jean pocket though. :/
Do they hang them from a chain off their belt?

ALL HAIL THE DOOF WARRIOR!

"Doof" keeps making me think of the mad scientist from Phineas & Ferb.

[Yanagi]

Any Farscape fans notice Melissa Jaffer (Noranti) as the bad-ass woman with the bag of seeds?

So along with Virginia Hey (Zhaan), now that's two Farscape actresses in the Mad Max series. (Plus Bruce Spence had a single episode role...)

I saw this movie last night. Nearly complete action save for a few (well-done) quiet moments, but done in such a fantastic way that I didn't get action fatigue. Very, very pleasantly surprised.

Immortan Joe is the same guy that played Grunchlik, so that's another Farscape tie-in.

[Muz]

Immortan Joe is the same guy that played Grunchlik, so that's another Farscape tie-in.

Holy dren! He was tripping some sort of familiar switch in my mind, but it didn't even occur to me. Awesome!

[Kalmageddon]

ALL HAIL THE DOOF WARRIOR!

Spoiler: Doof

Show

More movies need eyeless freaks whose sole purpose in life if to play a flaming guitar as a source of morale for marauding mutant War Boys.

...I also really liked this movie. I also really liked upon further examination that aside from touching up some of the flame effects (to make them even more spectacular) all of the care chases were done entirely with practical effects...with cars made for this movie (some of which sadly did not survive the movie), and that many people chose to do their own stunts (like the group of badass grandmas and Charlize Theron).

Oh what a day! What a LOVELY day!

I enjoy CGI quite a bit...but practical effects and talented stunt doubles will always hold a special place in my heart.

...And again, all hail the Doof Warrior and his mighty Doof Wagon (yes, that's really the name of him and his vehicle)!

HAIL!
If I had any doubts that the movie was awesome, they were destroyed the instant the Doof Warrior appeared!

[jere7my]

Holy dren! He was tripping some sort of familiar switch in my mind, but it didn't even occur to me. Awesome!

He was also Toecutter from the original Mad Max.

[Blackhawk748]

He was also Toecutter from the original Mad Max.

Holy crap really?? I guess you never actually see his face, which is why i didnt recognize him. Also yay Farscape!

[Lvl45DM!]

I caught a glimpse of this movie while working at the cinemas. I saw the Doof Warrior playing his flaming guitar.
I immediately resolved to see this movie.

It. Was. Amazing.
EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS AMAZING!
Feminist action movie in the original meaning of the word. Women are equal to men. Everyone treats them equally. Joe enslaves his men as warriors and his women as breeders but has physcially useless men and badass women doing jobs that suit them.
Perfect action. No shaky cam, no random explosions just long perfect shots and explosions that make sense. Insanity and badassery to spare while building a world you can infer rather than telling you.
And the effects! The crashes! The practical impracticality of the cars! I want to make a game system around it now its so goddamn great!


OTHER GOOD THINGS
seriously i cannot stress how much i love this movie!