Holy. Shitballs. Mad Max: Fury Road had been the tiniest of blips on my entertainment radar until a few weeks ago. Not only do I have very little love for "action movies" generally, I've never even seen the other Mad Max movies in the franchise.
But, my sisters and brothers, I have seen the light, and it is SHINY and CHROME! Mad Max: Fury Road is so goddamn awesome I want to scream. The film opens with zero exposition, yet you don't need to know the backstory to enjoy the film. Max is immediately captured by the denizens of the Citadel--a city in a gas and resources-deprived futuristic wasteland ruled by Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was also in the original series), a fleshy despot who doles out water to the desperate masses one dribble at a time and raises young boys to be kamikaze warriors, ready to give their lives in service to the Citadel at a single command.
Max (Tom Hardy--he of the sexalicious lips--taking over the role from Mel Gibson) is enslaved as a "blood bag" for young, eager warrior Nux (Nicholas Hoult, still a cutie pie under all that white, hideous makeup). The fact that Max, who is ostensibly the main character, spends the first third of the film either hanging upside down while his blood is forcibly drained into another man or tied the front of a souped-up vehicle driven by Nux is significant in how unusual it is. How many other action movies spend so much time with their heroes helpless and enslaved? I'm sure you've read the reports of MRAs going apeshit over what they perceive to be "feminist propaganda". Indeed, the film explodes so many tropes of action films while embracing others that it should be lauded for its inventive take on the genre.
Basic plot: Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) drives a war rig to collect gasoline. On an otherwise typical trip, she goes off route, much to the confusion of the rest of her party. It turns out that Furiosa is smuggling five of Immortan's Joe's wives (aka breeding and sex slaves) out of the Citadel and to a "green place" where Furiosa was born. When Joe figures this out, he leads a war party to capture her and take back his wives. Max, as I mentioned above, is strapped the the front of Nux's car and is along for the ride. After a number of car chase-battles, Max manages to break free and joins Furiosa and the wives on the rest of their trip to the green place.
So what makes Mad Max: Fury Road so awesome and unique? For one thing, Max is essentially a supporting character in his own movie, or at least he shares equal screen time and action sequences with Furiosa. The two are forced to work together and contribute equally to their perilous voyage. There are also a ton of women in this movie. Furiosa, of course. The five wives, whose desire to escape baby-making servitude drive the plot. And then once the group reaches their destination, they are met by a clan of motorcycle-riding women, the Vulvalini (yes, really), who join in their quest for freedom.
Tom Hardy was asked by a reporter if he thought "Why are all these women in here? I thought this was supposed to be a man's movie." Hardy replied "No. Not for one minute. I mean, that's kind of obvious..." What's interesting is that the movie isn't made up of *exclusively* female characters, just an approximately equal number. But gender equality in a so-called "man's movie" is so bizarre that many people (including myself!) feel compelled to comment on it and ask what the significance of it is. Maybe the significance is that director George Miller wanted to create a realistic dystopian society: one that would certainly be perilous for many women (see: the wives) but where strength and cunning would be valued regardless of gender (see: Furiosa).
Another unusual, yet very pleasant surprise was (SPOILER) Nux's redemption. Nux starts out as a brainwashed War Boy, raised by Immortan Joe to give his life in battle (with the promise of a Shiny Chrome place in Valhalla). He is nearly killed in the chase to capture Furiosa, but he lives. He stows away in Furiosa's truck and is accepted into their group when he is discovered. In any other movie he would either aim to kill Furiosa, or be killed once discovered. In Fury Road, he is given a shot at redemption and he takes it. It was a beautiful character arc in a movie that otherwise pays little attention to character development.
Finally, the way Fury Road is filmed is just completely nutso. The film is frenetic, with certain scenes played much faster than the usual 24 frames per second. The action is almost non-stop from the beginning to end, but the action sequences are so unusual that it never feels boring. For example, during one chase scene warriors are tied to long, flexible sticks so that they can swing over Furiosa's gas rig to grab a wife or stab Max. And of course, there is the infamous Doof Warrior, a guy whose job is to play a guitar that spits out flames while he is bungee-corded to the front of a war vehicle. I guess he does this to rally the troops, kinda like those little kids who played the fife during the Revolutionary War?
Part of Fury Road's appeal is its insane part-steampunk, part-horror film images, from souped-up vehicles to the many characters with missing limbs, or with rather interesting--ahem--bling, such as that bad guy who wears nipple clamps and a metal nose. Although I wouldn't exactly call Fury Road "beautiful", it certainly is eye candy. Or eye sriracha.
For its sheer uniqueness, as well as its treatment of women as an equal part of its insane world and the many gentle, humane touches amidst otherwise violent action sequences, Mad Max: Fury Road is a visionary film as well as a good, old-fashioned popcorn movie. There is nothing like it, and I give it my highest recommendation.
Grade: A+
Hannibal Lecter-type bondage only makes those lips more kissable...*sigh*
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