Title: Mad Max: Fury Road
Release Date: May 15th, 2015
Director: George Miller
Writer: George Miller+
Starring: Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Hugh Keays-Byrne
Genre: Action, Sci-fi
First off, I'll start with continuity of entire film as it sits within the Mad Max series. I'm not a huge, die hard Mad Max fan, but I did enjoy the first few just because they made great stylistic choices and created really funky, gross, never-before scene characters. I loved the creation of an entire universe that the audience can get completely immersed in. In that, they did an excellent job at Fury road, creating new lingo and short hand which was the strongest part of the dialogue. The art direction was amazing. I'm glad I saw this film twice because I found myself caught up in trying to make sense of character relationships and story the first time (why I walked out unimpressed) and the second time I was able to rest the supremely analytical side of my brain and just enjoy the visuals and details within them. What really stood out to me was makeup, costume, and car design.
The makeup was brilliant. It wore off as it would realistically and was reapplied within the story (Furiosa using oil from steering wheel to create forehead paint). The scars on all the warboys were amazing and consistent. I was keeping an eye out, trying to spy any cracks, but they were always looking good. The "natural" makeup on the breeders was surprisingly great, they weren't afraid to make these girls look (strategically) ugly. I appreciated that. Finally the hair was perfect. Beards were realistically dirtied and dreaded and the women's hair was perfect reflections of 'class' and personality. And that chrome spray! So shiny! So chrome! That was an excellent visual cue and contrast within a very gritty world. Just the all around rust, metal, leather, and clay/sand color scheme left me drooling.
Costumes were amazing as well. The attention to detail was unmatched. Jackets were worn in, belts were cracked, and dresses ripped. I thought the breeders all white-cream-beige color scheme was a little played out at first, but after some consideration, the choice was a smart one. It helped me better understand the extent of the symbolic nature of the breeders(wow how poignant) and really pushed these traditional ideas of purity. And honestly, at first I was annoyed by the white gauze, water covered, drapery because it was coming off as some played out Sports Illustrated shit, but the more it sits with me the more I see it as a statement on cliches then it actually playing into them... hopefully.
The cars were great. Really post apocalyptic and greasy. One thing that really stuck out to me was the pieces constantly flying off. A lot of times films will act like cars aren't made of separate parts and when there is a collision nothing falls off. But Fury Road played into within the story, shrapnel flying off and interacting with people, places, and things. Shrapnel and Charlie Theron had competing screen time. It was great.
Things that took me out of it? Shitty writing. Just shit. Sometimes they said these great poignant things just to be ruined by a stupid one liner that bombs in the theater. Ugh. Just bad. Also some of the forced interactions between characters. Max and Furiosa go from 0 to 100 (I did appreciate that they didn't make it romantic because, y'know, different sexes can in fact be "just friends"), it's a bit jarring when they are suddenly buddy buddy after being so not about each other. But that's nit picky because the real problem was complete lack of character development. I think they got distracted by the filling a ratio thing with female "character development" but ended up not committing and creating half-assed characters all around. In my opinion the most dynamic character was the creepy doctor. And he was only on screen for like 4 minutes total. I think static characters are great and useful in a story, but we had all that and more with Immortan Joe and his clan. Don't over do it guys. The forced love story between the Red Head breeder and the Warboy was unbearable, unnecessary, and uncomfortable. It was so tacked on to create more of an attachment with the Warboy character. It was obvious this was written by people who were still stuck in 1979. Those one liners don't cut it anymore. But a saving grace was the silence that Max existed in. I super enjoyed that. I think the dialogue he did have could've been stronger(especially in the final act *grunts*) but great nonetheless.
Yay! Technical stuff, effects, and sound! There were some very important factors that I think they laxed on a bit. The sound was very actiony, I'll give them that. Explosion, explosion, smash, fire. Cool. But don't overpower dialogue people. A lot of thoughtful little banter was made indistinguishable by loud effects sounds. Maybe that's what they were going for? A sense of actually being on Fury Road? Eh, we could still use some context via words. Score was great though. I found the strapped in guitar player funny at first then sort of obnoxious then funny again then waste of air time. I loved what he brought musically but you don't need to show him like 8 times throughout. He loses his shock/kitsch factor very quickly.
Effects and scenery were amazing. The sand storm was very well done. The first time I watched it I could not handle those PTSD flashbacks with the young girl, but by the second time I found them very fitting and a great visual way to tell more about Max, without all the sappy, lifetime movie dreamy gaussian blur flashbacks. The effects they used to create these were obvious but I think it added to Max's instability. I also thoroughly enjoyed the CGI beetle and lizard eating. Very good source of protein and distinguishing factor between people existing within the film and modern audience.
The filming style was, well, very blockbuster, but they did a great job in small places like the truck cab and the interior on the prison Max is in during the opening scenes. Also the road shots weren't as nauseating as I thought they would be, and, I love the little peaceful driving shots they included. Gave the audience time to take a breath. I could ramble on, and even get into the feminist theory aspect of this film, but I feel like this is a good wrapping up point for what I'm doing here.
TLDR; Great action film, makes interesting points about gender and social class that this genre sometimes is afraid to touch. Aesthetically incredible, the attention to detail within the costumes, makeup, and props exeeds the actual story. Writting is dated but sufficient to make sense of the plot. Character relationships are forced and sometimes unbelievable, and there is little to no substantial character development. Great music and decent effects that fit the physical scenery. Very loud and bright, don't watch if your very sensitive to migraines or are looking for a dialogue driven film. All in all, definitely worth a watch.
Love, Shannon
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