Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)

[number8]

That shot tightening in on Splendid's pregnant belly as Max's bullet casings bounce off of it might end up being my favorite image of the year.

[Barty]

Yowsers. Though this had frequently amazing technical staging and consistently distinguished visuals (Miller's technical brio is undeniable and worthy of study), they were in the service of far too unimaginative a script and scenario. I found this massively overrated, as the storytelling is so constricted to being a simplistic back-and-forth chase sequence that courts repetitiveness and isn't even enlivened by good dialogue; my attention was never really dragged into this movie by Miller's construction. I think of Aliens or Terminator 2, and find this woefully inadequate in comparison conceptually. Even The Raid, which has a simple enough premise, felt moment-to-moment more stunningly stitched together and absorbing than this. This felt roughly equal to something like Prometheus.

Pretty much agree 100%.

Have been pumped all week to see it, and the experience didn't blow me away as expected, especially after a lot of the high praise here.

The visuals and design are just so spectacular, it's a shame I don't think the story and structure is on the same level.

My favorite moment was probably when Furiosa finally makes it "home" and the whole sequence with the old survivors examining the wives and her.

Oh, and I can't help but wish Mel Gibson was still Max in this. I really like Hardy generally, but by gosh his muted mumbling is distracting, and Gibson had such better presence as Max.

[Morris Schæffer]

Oh, and I can't help but wish Mel Gibson was still Max in this. I really like Hardy generally, but by gosh his muted mumbling is distracting, and Gibson had such better presence as Max.

Not a memorable performance. I agree completely. I'm especially dissapointed because I feel it could still have been Gibson who, despite his crazy behaviour lately, is still a bigger star than Hardy.

[Dukefrukem]

I was trying to find the post in the original thread in the UPCOMING SECTION, But I think I remember 8 posting how many lines of dialog Hardy actually has. And it was under 50.

[number8]

Yes. YES.

[Winston*]

Not a memorable performance. I agree completely. I'm especially dissapointed because I feel it could still have been Gibson who, despite his crazy behaviour lately, is still a bigger star than Hardy.

Having a known misogynist in the film's lead role might've undercut its message a little bit. Could've made a good Immortan Joe.

[Morris Schæffer]

Having a known misogynist in the film's lead role might've undercut its message a little bit. Could've made a good Immortan Joe.

But since a message of redemption seems to be coursing through the movie, this might have become a wonderful bit of meta-ness had Mel played Max.

[Qrazy]

Good stuff.

[Sven]

Good stuff.

I love that there's something that can bring us all together and it's this movie.

[Neclord]

Very shiny movie, so chrome.

[TGM]

[slqrick]

It's incredible. I don't think it's flawless - Hardy was a nonentity (although his grunts were full of character, I guess), and the movie lags a tad bit in the middle as its getting ready for the third act. Otherwise, rapturous. My wife is torn because she was so terrified by the characters that she couldn't sleep last night, but couldn't stop talking about how much she enjoyed the film. It really is a breath of fresh air in the CGI heavy era.

[Scar]

Glorious. Simply glorious. It shall be welcomed into the Blu Ray collection with open arms, and the speakers will weep from its awesomeness.

[Sycophant]

I don't know if it was the theater I was in or what, but I barely understood any of the dialogue at the beginning of the movie, and intermittently throughout the action scenes.

But I also don't think that really matters.

[Skitch]

I was all excited for date night and Max, but the theaters all have 3D showings every hour, and only couple 2D showings at odd times. No, I say, no. Will watch this week Sometime. Bastards.

[Sven]

I don't know if it was the theater I was in or what, but I barely understood any of the dialogue at the beginning of the movie, and intermittently throughout the action scenes.

But I also don't think that really matters.

This is a common reaction and I believe intentional. I think it's great -- characters inseparable from their roaring environs, that kind of thing. What's important is your conclusion, which is that the meaning of the words being hurled is less important then their punch.

Did you like the film otherwise?

[Sycophant]

This is a common reaction and I believe intentional. I think it's great -- characters inseparable from their roaring environs, that kind of thing. What's important is your conclusion, which is that the meaning of the words being hurled is less important then their punch.

Oh, absolutely. The voices and words of the characters are completely subsumed into the sounds of engines and guns. It's a wonderful effect, really. Whenever important exposition or exchanges happened, it was against an ambience that was much more suited to comprehensibility or mixed in a way that made it clearer. At least so it seemed to me.

Did you like the film otherwise?

So fucking much. One of the most exhilarating action films I've ever seen. Some of the most vivid and memorable imagery, iconography and tableaux I've seen in recent years, and the best time I've had in a theater in years.

I'm seriously in awe of the intense spatial and temporal continuity in the action set pieces (which made up the majority of the movie). There was basically no moment when I didn't know who or what I was looking at or why it mattered. That's not the only metric for successful action filmmaking of course, but it's impressive and thrilling.

This movie. I pumped my fist a lot during it. For reals. I'm a fucking dork. But for reals.

And this is barely even hinting at what's going on with the film narratively and thematically. But I don't think I have anything particularly insightful or interesting to say about that. So I'll just

[Sven]

So fucking much. One of the most exhilarating action films I've ever seen. Some of the most vivid and memorable imagery, iconography and tableaux I've seen in recent years, and the best time I've had in a theater in years.

thumb-up

[D_Davis]

After the pre-title sequence I leaned over to my friend and told him that this movie has had more ideas in the last ten minutes than all other movies combined.

Absolutely floored me. I sat with a huge smile on my face the entire time. There were at least a hundred things I saw that I wanted to see an entire movie about.

Why Do other movies even exist?

[D_Davis]

After watching the film, I started to come to the conclusion that the Max in the film isn't the same Max. I think this fits in with my idea of the truth/legend/myth motif found in the original trilogy. He's taken on the personification of the mythical character.

[D_Davis]

Those fucking stilt-men! MY GOD!

I want to know about the men on stilts.

[D_Davis]

It's so great that the best trilogy ever made is now the best quadrilogy ever made.

[Pop Trash]

It's so great that the best trilogy ever made is now the best quadrilogy ever made.

I'm not a huge fan of the first one, so I might just pretend this is a trilogy.

[number8]

Which is an interesting support of what Davis said about him being a mythical figure. The only entry where the plot is about him is the worst one.

[D_Davis]

Has Miller ever given any indication of a timeline in these films?