Just returned from watching Mad Max Fury Road. Thrilling entertainment. I was not disappointed. The editor is Margaret Sixel. As reported in a Vanity Fair interview, George Miller, the director of all the Mad Max movies said to Margaret, his wife “You have to edit this movie, because it won’t look like every other action movie”. It doesn’t.
I have not seen the previous Mad Max movies and have been, up until this moment, immune to their allure. I rarely see any movies anymore, though I do go to a few each year. I am usually left unsatisfied and so sink deeper into the comfort of my prestige episodic television series late night couch viewing with husband, dog and parmesan popcorn. Almost nothing can touch it for dramatic artistry, pleasure and viewing satisfaction.
But Mad Max Fury Road was totally engrossing. I spent most of the movie with my hands on my face in a physical and archetypal expression of deep alarm. Here’s why I think it worked so well.
- It made sense within the logic and parameters of it’s own universe. I am my father’s daughter and I need stuff to make sense.
- It was cool looking. I like good art. The art was good. I don’t normally give a rat’s ass about cars but this movie turned me temporarily into into Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. I finally get it, hot rods are cool. So are explosions. Respect.
- Superlative cinematic vision. You could follow the action, it was tense as hell and the violence was legion but not gratuitous. Also the sound design was awesome. I might watch it again just to pay attention to this.
- It was tense because something was at stake. In an action movie, you have to care about the outcome. You have to be deeply and genuinely wanting something to happen and passionately wanting something else not to happen. Otherwise it gets terribly boring, no matter how much shit is slo mo blowing up. The degree of tension is predicated on this balance, wanting but not knowing if you will get what you want. So what does this movie want? It wants female values. How could I resist? You had me at hello. Look, men are beautiful and a male warrior is very compelling, no doubt, but an infinite loop of tough guy man on man slaughter devoid of compassion is Hell. I don’t want to live in Hell.
Three things made me want to see this:
- Metacritic had 17 100 point reviews out of 43. I don’t think I have seen that before.
- A men’s rights activist blog is calling for a boycott because it considers the the film a “feminist piece of propaganda posing as a guy flick.” Do I even need another reason?
- Yes. Yes I did. It was this still from the film. I want to see that movie. Thank you George Miller. Loved i!
Sidewalk Face 
Perhaps one of the best action oriented science-fiction in a long long time!
https://motionpictureaficionado.wordpress.com/
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great review, Caren. a review from you is so refreshing because, well you don’t usually review movies, so that you have let us into your thoughts about the movie itself and around watching and engaging with entertainment is very telling. and oh yeah, I really like your style anyway…
As for the Mad Max Fury Road, I was looking out for this about as much as I’m looking forward to the next twin peaks, I saw the early films, especially Road Warrior had such a strong grip on me. I could tell this was not going to disappoint from the moment I saw the trailer last year…but I was still a bit worried. I too have pretty much stopped going to see movies in the theaters, Its all become too much…too much going on on the screen that I can’t focus on. (like Pacific Rim, where my eyes and education can not follow what the fuck is going on). Fury road had plenty going on but I could follow it. This truck= the heros, everything else out to get them. Love that simplicity and boiled down to the archetypes storytelling.
They didn’t zoom all over telling you what was going on with each backstory and explain really anything. Just straight forward chase scene, pretty much all payoff. Max with the flashbacks, Imperator with the one revealing outburst when she says who her family was, but not on and on into it with the details…It all spoke for itself in costume and movement and action. I loved the vehicles and each weird characters costumes and mannerisms, but nothing is overly shown or explained. (That guitar guy!!- I feel like we never even really got to see him at all, and any other movie would have devoted a time and back story to him! the nose big legged guy, the guy on the tank or even Joe. …and each of these interesting character archetypes that as a viewer we just know and understand where they fit in.
The landscape and the look. Sure there was special effects and explosions and fights, but done like a well timed, interesting fireworks display, closely linked to the storyline so I felt engrossed by it, not distracted and confused by it.
I really enjoyed it too, and would highly recommend seeing all 3 previous ones…especially road warrior , which I will likely watch again tonight!
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thank you David – your review is better than mine! I love what you wrote. I think you are right about the less is more aesthetic. It works to both facilitate the momentum in the movie and to make the viewer a collaborator in the story telling as there is so much alluded to but left unsaid.
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Also David – was there something really wrong with guitar guys face? I couldn’t quite tell. What a job. What a guitar.
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