I just watched Mad Max: Fury Road for the first time tonight with no exposure to prior films and zero knowledge of the franchise. It is now one of my favorite movies.I was absolutely blown away by the created world. The rugged, road-raged gearheaddedness exhibited by all the characters, especially Immortan Joe's goons, was a theme perfectly applied to all aspects throughout the film. Beginning with the Citadel, which was an oil-slicked, lead-piped cathedral of false Valhalla, bloodsport, and power, I thrown head-first into this fictional universe where motor kids celebrate the opportunity die honorable, high-octane deaths behind their personally-welded steering wheel. On the road, the sheer imagination of scrappy resourcefulness in function and war continued to captivate me: dudes on bendy-poles to lean over war-rigs and drop grenades while avoiding the blast, people using their own bodies as tools, inhaling gasoline and spitting into the engine for that extra speed boost were two sequences that remain in my mind... and of course the blind ghoulish metalhead, whose purpose has been reduced to belting out chords at high-speeds for the added adrenaline. As the road battle wages on, we pass through several settings where "ecosystems" of nature, people, and culture have formed. The war fleet arises from the "wealth" of the Citadel, the guerilla dirt bike gang in the canyons, and (what I imagine to be) the last remnants of a peaceful people, stilting themselves above poisonous water, searching day and night for nourishment in a land deteriorating faster than their lifespans -- each location becoming home to vehicles (or lack of) by adaptation.From the onset, power and freedom were prominent themes. It is first through the control of resources -- namely water, but also gasoline, weapons, blood, and human life -- by Immortan Joe. Joe uses a cult of personality and promises of Valhalla to leverage his followers even further and keep the deformed and depraved peasants subdued. (And remember, don't get addicted to water -- you'll resent it's absence!). In the first moments between Furiosa and Max, the power struggle is extremely tense. After freeing himself from captivity, Max cannot trust anyone from the Citadel relies on the weapons to negotiate his survival. The jammed shotgun is used to get water, then in the truck's cab, the pistol is used to confiscate all other weapons --and when he must look away, he pulls a mother to the barrel to remain in control. But in a truck full of women who are made out to be "pure" in dress and appearance, Max finds an embattled and tough-as-hell group of mothers who are looking for freedom themselves. I was very pleased with the writers that their salvation did not come through Max, but of their own merit, and side-by-side with Furiosa's old family and motherly crew. The older womens' existence and history was proof that Joe's control of the women was an actively chosen evil, not a proper way of life; but the younger women, raised in cruelty and chains like livestock, did not find it so easy to accept this radical idea of freedom ("I know we'll be forgiven!" "You can't go back! We're not things!").Mad Max: Fury Road deserves all the credit for being appealing in visuals, effects, storyline, creativity, world-building, and virtue. I am thrilled to say this was a 10/10 for me! Credit to all involved, and I would love to spend more time with the Mad Max franchise.TL;DR: This movie is one of my all-time favorites for its creativity in world-building (from functional, cultural, and ecological standpoints) and quality of writing (storytelling arc, themes of power and freedom)! 10/10 via /r/movies https://ift.tt/2WYGlbi
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