Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

[Brilliant Dynamite Neon]

A.  The strongest of possible As.  As close to technical perfection on every level as I can reasonably hope to see.  Not my favorite movie, perhaps, but high on my list of greatest films ever made.  It may fall on that list with time, but I can't imagine it will fall off of that list.

[Water Bottle]

Insane in the best way possible. Quite possibly the best cinematic achievement of the year.

 

A

[75Live]

I really liked the movie.  It was visually great and obviously some crazy action.  I like how with little dialogue they were able to flesh out pretty much all the characters and have a full story too.

 

A/A- 

[Blankments]

I wasn't into it for the first twenty minutes; the weirdness was throwing me off a bit. But as soon Furiosa made that turn, the movie became amazing. I can't even describe my favorite bits; I know I'll forget something. I loved the visual storytelling though. Fuck it, cancel the rest of 2015 except for Star Wars and Inside Out; nothing else (and neither of those) is going to top the sheer entertainment and brilliant filmmaking of Mad Max. A+

[4815162342]

I didn't realize Baron Harkonnen was the main villain of the movie

 

[DeeCee]

I didn't realize Baron Harkonnen was the main villain of the movie

 

I had that thought as well. The only thing the War Boys were missing were heart plugs.

[The Panda]

It was very effective and everything was done in an exhilarating form. The non-stop loudness left my ears numb, it was furious and went with no stop. Best action movie of the year so far but I didn't fall head over heels for it like a lot of people have.

A-

[Klingo]

Speeding up the frames served it well. Agree. I thought it served Raid 2 well too. I think if it's executed properly, it works extremely well. Hell, I even liked when Hitchcock did it in 39 Steps. Pretty jarring but it serviced a foot chase well in that one.

I didn't see the point of speeding up the movie in the beginning when Max was trying to escape really.  I mean he can run fast normally and make it look frantic in a way.  But thats just me. 

[lilmac]

Glad i avoided the trailers

[Blankments]

I went in an atheist and came out believing in a God, and that God is George Miller.

Hail.... Lord Miller!!!

[Travod]

Holy fucking christ. Was not interested in seeing this but decided to go with my friends anyway and it was FUCKING BEAUTIFUL.

[Kalo]

I wasn't into it for the first twenty minutes; the weirdness was throwing me off a bit. But as soon Furiosa made that turn, the movie became amazing. I can't even describe my favorite bits; I know I'll forget something. I loved the visual storytelling though. Fuck it, cancel the rest of 2015 except for Star Wars and Inside Out; nothing else (and neither of those) is going to top the sheer entertainment and brilliant filmmaking of Mad Max. A+

 

I had said if any movie was better than SW7 this year than it would be a disappointment. not so sure anymore. This was the best film I have seen since Return of the King came out in 2003.. and I may have even liked it better than that.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Kalo

[DeeCee]

Hail.... Lord Miller!!!

Hail Lord Dr Miller.

[Plain Old Tele]

I didn't see the point of speeding up the movie in the beginning when Max was trying to escape really. I mean he can run fast normally and make it look frantic in a way. But thats just me.

It's not used for logical purposes, it's used for the same reasons slo-mo is (though for the opposite effect): to have visceral and emotional meaning.

[AniNate]

I figured the undercranking at the beginning was to heighten the sense of Max's disorientation, but it was still pretty jarring.

[Rorschach]

I'm trying to convince my dad to take me to see this. He wasn't interested at first but after some explaining of it, I think he's warming up to it.

[Joel M]

One of the action scenes that might not catch the eye immediately amidst the chaos is the Max-Furiosa-Nux in Chains hand to hand battle. After the amazing sandstorm sequence I felt like many "how can they top this?" and that 3 way fight that followed without cars and explosions floored me even more. It had so much energy. Miller explains it briefly in a video for NYTimes.

 

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

One of the action scenes that might not catch the eye immediately amidst the chaos is the Max-Furiosa-Nux in Chains hand to hand battle. After the amazing sandstorm sequence I felt like many "how can they top this?" and that 3 way fight that followed without cars and explosions floored me even more. It had so much energy. Miller explains it briefly in a video for NYTimes.

 

 

 

I didn't think much of any of the hand to hand choreography is this one. Maybe my second viewing Monday will change that. It is a lot to take in at once not to mention my heightened expectations. So... I have a strong suspicion my grade will jump to a B+/A-. Admittedly, can't see this one getting higher than an A- from me. Still, a pretty fucking great score.

 

I have a feeling, given I often agree with him, I'll take after David Edelstein... "I saw it twice and liked it vastly more the second time around, when I’d adjusted my expectations and had my bearings from the get-go. Then it became about digging the spectacle — not to mention the hilarious sexual politics."

Edited May 17, 2015 by JohnnyGossamer

[DeeCee]

I suppose everyone has their own point of view but I just don't understand anyone not connecting with the characters and their predicament In this movie. The brides situation is conveyed simply without any dialogue when Immortan Joe has to go through a giant bank vault door to check on them. The room that is revealed with all the graffiti on the walls just says everything.

[JohnnyGossamer]

I suppose everyone has their own point of view but I just don't understand anyone not connecting with the characters and their predicament In this movie. The brides situation is conveyed simply without any dialogue when Immortan Joe has to go through a giant bank vault door to check on them. The room that is revealed with all the graffiti on the walls just says everything.

It's conveyed visually to perfection in the moment Joe realizes they've been taken once he opens/enters the vault. It's when I met the wives that, aside from their stark beauty, I became bored with them. Aside from the bleached blonde, I thought they all were pretty dull and, honestly, tough to watch. I understand why Furiosa needed them. I wouldn't have minded an early exit for Kravitz just so not to listen to her speak. She was awful in my view. The others were pretty bad too but she was the thorns without the rose.

I LOVED the older the women. That fascinating satire and brilliance in combat really buoyed the movie for me. And, obviously, Furiosa's the best character in it. Didn't feel much for Nux either, especially in his death aside from being happy he achieved his dream of dying historic on the fury road. I guess I found it tough to conjure up feelings for any of the cancer plagued War Boys. I mean, unless I missed something, he was gonna die shortly regardless. His sacrifice lacked stakes.

Can someone explain to me what Max did to Furiosa with the knife to get her functioning again? I think I missed something there.

Edit: Actually wish it would've gotten Dune level bizarre. Showing Joe fornicate with one of the wives may've upped my empathy. We know he did and I'm certain it was grossly unpleasant. Obviously, it's more than implied. Even still, the Dune comparison's are apt. I wish this flick had a little more of Lynch's bizarro erotica present.

And, as much as I enjoyed the commentary, I also enjoyed it when similar commentary played out in Kill Bill Volume1/Volume 2 and even Inglorious Basterds. Death Proof, a movie I didn't really like, also had some similarities. Though, I did prefer Miller's telling to Tarantino's take. I actually think Verhoeven's take in Black Book as well.

Not to mention, while I vastly prefer Furiosa's characterization, just last summer we were treated to Lucy in Lucy and the Full Metal Bitch in Edge Of Tomorrow.

Edited May 17, 2015 by JohnnyGossamer