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Darkshade Forum  /  Reviews  /  Mad Max: Fury Road
Posted by: Diddly, May 31, 2015, 4:00pm
Mad Max: Fury Road is pure adrenaline.  There's about 60 seconds at the start of the movie where there's no action, but from that point on you're riding shotgun in the ultimate car chase in movie history.  Okay, it does pause occasionally to let you catch your breath, but in all seriousness after seeing it I was pumped and on the way home felt like I should be driving like I was in the movie.

Okay, so it's just mindless action, right?
I went in expecting that, but there is a story.  The characters have motivation to do what they do, and every character we come to like actually has a story arc!  They start out one way, then through their choices and events grow to become someone more whole.  Awesome work for a 2hr car chase.

I heard this was a feminist movie... so the men must all be wimps
It's a poor writer who can only make women strong by turning men weak.  Such a writer completely misses the point.  A strong female character doesn't mean she has to kick a** (although Furiosa does do plenty of that), it just means she has control over her own story.  There are some women in this movie who wouldn't last a day without a protector, but it's shown they are like that because they were locked away all their lives and don't know what it's like in the real world.  It's not because they are women.  Even they, useless as they know they are, still have agency and make decisions that aren't just to add conflict or mere plot devices.  They act as real people.  That's all.  So yes, in that vein this is a feminist movie, but really shouldn't every movie be so?

What's with the dude playing a flame throwing guitar on a truck?
Although REALLY not practical, that dude serves a very important purpose.  He sets the expectations of the audience.  This world is insane.  You can't see something like that and not think it.  In fact, since there's very little dialogue in this movie, the audience has to be informed in other ways.  This guitar playing nut-job is one example.  Another example is how the two tiered society at the Citadel is literally two tiered (with the upper class being physically elevated above the common folk).  We're shown what we need to know, and not outright told through exposition.  It's great, and helps the movie keep rolling without getting bogged down explaining things.

Mad Max: Fury Road currently has 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  I think it's earned it.

The Good: High octane action.  Excellent story telling.  Believable characters we care about.
The Bad: I didn't understand the significance of spraying silver paint in your mouth before going kamikaze.  It's a religious thing, but I missed the point.
The Ugly: The carnage.  I winced a few times.. although it wasn't overly gory.  You could really believe the hits / cuts / tears / etc.
Posted by: Danmick, June 2, 2015, 2:18am; Reply: 1
I actually assumed that the spray paint was either:
a) Symbolic of the leader's mask (the followers were fanatically devoted to him), and/or
b) Getting stoned before going out (I heard somewhere once that gold & silver paint are the choice of huffers because they contain the highest concentration of the chemical that produces the high).
Posted by: Diddly, June 2, 2015, 11:04am; Reply: 2
In an interview (can't find the link now), the director said the silver (or more specifically chrome) paint was inspired by war rituals from history, as a doomed warrior would prepare themselves for heaven.  In this case, Immortan Joe had associated shiny chrome with Valhalla.  Also (as Danmick has pointed out) the huffing high would make them more willing to act suicidal.
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