"Mad Max: Fury Road"

[iconogassed]

The notoriety of and acclaim for that performance/'transformation' was on a level unseen in Hollywood since, probably, DeNiro in Raging Bull, and it's still the role with which she is most strongly identified by far. Of course it wasn't a box office hit, but the DVD was released right in the middle of the home video boom and did excellent business (exact figures don't appear to be available, but it was on the Billboard top list, both rentals and sales, for months).

[mattorama12]

The notoriety of and acclaim for that performance/'transformation' was on a level unseen in Hollywood since, probably, DeNiro in Raging Bull, and it's still the role with which she is most strongly identified by far. Of course it wasn't a box office hit, but the DVD was released right in the middle of the home video boom and did excellent business (exact figures don't appear to be available, but it was on the Billboard top list, both rentals and sales, for months).

I feel like you're missing my point. I'm not saying anything was wrong with her performance in Monster (in fact, it was astonishingly good, her second best performance only after Arrested Development), but that taking a noted beauty like her and making her ugly is going to affect her box office draw. You sorta made the same point by agreeing that it was a fantastic performance and, yet, still wasn't a huge box office success.

Anyway, it's mostly irrelevant. The bigger point was that Mad Max is actually having a healthy run for the type of movie it is.

[Suture Self]

Omg shut up dorks

[iconogassed]

I brought up the DVD to illustrate that the film was a large financial success regardless of its box office earnings (it was unlikely to be a hit with a widest release of 1000 screens) and that audiences weren't scared away by far more extensive uglifying than a buzz cut and a CGI stump in a movie in which she is still clearly gorgeous

But I should definitely shut up

[Suture Self]

It seems clear the movie is, or will be, a financial success. I don't know what the use is in arguing about that. Let's hope George Miller wants to direct more Mad Max movies

[philamental]

i have a very simple question about this movie. should i watch previous ones before watching fury road

I've only seen the original Mad Max.

Fury Road is a reinvented world that stands on its own and doesn't require knowledge of the previous sequels imo.

That being said, I'm gonna watch Road Warrior soon...

I considered myself a fan of the original trilogy without being a fanatic. I wanted to rewatch them all before seeing Fury Road but didn't find time in the end. After watching FR and being blown away by it, I rewatched the original trilogy for the first time in about 15 years and was amazed at how dated they were. 1st one suffered the worst as it wasn't the film I remembered it to be at all. 2nd (Road Warrior) had also dated but overall it still stands strong as a great film and the best of the original trilogy. 3rd (Thunderdome) starts strongly but then sinks into mediocrity after Max is exiled. The end picks up again but it's too little too late.

In my opinion, you don't need to have seen any of the original trilogy to enjoy Fury Road and in many ways it might work just as well if you have no preconceptions. The only benefit of the original trilogy for me was seeing the evolution of the post apocalyptic world continue into where we find ourselves in FR. The first film was humanity clinging onto society as we know it (or at least knew it in the 70s), the second was the remains of humanity adapting to the hardships of living in the new world, and the third showed the world that had subsequently evolved with the emergence of the likes of Bartertown that directly link in to Gastown and Bullettown from Fury Road. That to me was interesting and meant I had a basic knowledge of the world FR was set in, but apart from that there was little benefit to having seen the first three films. Only Max returns as a character, and being honest, it's not the same Max that Gibson made famous, and I'd have enjoyed it just as much (if not more) if Hardy's character was a random wastelands drifter and it was just set in the world established by the original trilogy.

My sole criticism would be that while Hardy is perfectly fine in the role as set out, he's nothing close to being Mad Max and the script doesn't even try to make him be that. I do love that they explore his Madness in subtle ways that the original trilogy just alluded to, but he's arguably no more heroic a character in this than Nux is, and there is no doubt the true hero of the film is Furiosa (which I'm 100% fine with btw), so just be done with it and drop the 'Mad Max' and call it Fury Road plain and simple ... but I digress ...

Overall though, I love the film and I can't stop listening to the soundtrack. Coma Doof Warrior is probably the best film stealing minor character since Darth Maul in Phantom menace! It's just nuts the amount of buzz he's generated from those who have seen the film despite such limited screentime. The action scenes are just so much fun. You can see the thought, time and effort that went into creating them. I've seen it twice already and I'd be happy to go again.

[Pirossohn]

I for myself was very disappointed by Fury Road. While I'm not generally familiar with any of the previous Mad Max movies, I don't think you have to know them to enjoy a good action blockbuster. However, I generally don't like the post-apocalyptic worlds, and you need to do a lot of things right to avoid horrible movies like Waterworld or Postman (a little Kevin Costner bashing, sorry). And while Fury Road was a wide stretch away from such catastrophically bad movies, I still was underwhelmed by its content. This certainly has to do with the glowing reviews the movie got, setting the standards pretty high for myself. Nevertheless, apart from some good special effects, there was a lot more that was missing. Starting with only decent acting, Tom Hardy couldn't really shine with his few lines of dialogue. That is a pity, as he is one of my favorite actors. The story lacked a lot of content, as it basically just comprised of the capture of Hardy (why we don't know), his outbreak, the chase through the desert and the chase back through the same desert. The only part I enjoyed was the last battle with the women they picked up against all the other groups (Ammo-Town and Gas-town, what was that about? no backstory whatsoever). That was good action, but the whole story surrounding the chase was, while original, very thin in actual content. I am sure that there is an intention of making some sequels, and thus not everything has to be explained right away. But at least give the audience some backstory or explanation. How did the master of the citadel came to power? What's the relation to the other groups and towns? Where did this dude find these beautiful girls to procreate? What was Max's story before he was captured, and why was he captured?

All in all, an action flick that was alright, but lacked the story content and background to be more than average.

[mattorama12]

I for myself was very disappointed by Fury Road. While I'm not generally familiar with any of the previous Mad Max movies, I don't think you have to know them to enjoy a good action blockbuster. However, I generally don't like the post-apocalyptic worlds, and you need to do a lot of things right to avoid horrible movies like Waterworld or Postman (a little Kevin Costner bashing, sorry). And while Fury Road was a wide stretch away from such catastrophically bad movies, I still was underwhelmed by its content. This certainly has to do with the glowing reviews the movie got, setting the standards pretty high for myself. Nevertheless, apart from some good special effects, there was a lot more that was missing. Starting with only decent acting, Tom Hardy couldn't really shine with his few lines of dialogue. That is a pity, as he is one of my favorite actors. The story lacked a lot of content, as it basically just comprised of the capture of Hardy (why we don't know), his outbreak, the chase through the desert and the chase back through the same desert. The only part I enjoyed was the last battle with the women they picked up against all the other groups (Ammo-Town and Gas-town, what was that about? no backstory whatsoever). That was good action, but the whole story surrounding the chase was, while original, very thin in actual content. I am sure that there is an intention of making some sequels, and thus not everything has to be explained right away. But at least give the audience some backstory or explanation. How did the master of the citadel came to power? What's the relation to the other groups and towns? Where did this dude find these beautiful girls to procreate? What was Max's story before he was captured, and why was he captured?

All in all, an action flick that was alright, but lacked the story content and background to be more than average.

I think most of your criticisms are misplaced. The questions you have seem to be mostly answered, even if they weren't spoon fed to the audience. I think that's actually one of the reasons people have enjoyed the movie so much--it explained only as much as it needed to.

For example, Ammo Town and Gas Town. What more explanation is necessary? Clearly in this world, there are towns that have monopolized certain resources and they trade with each other. Ammo Town has ammunition. Gas Town has gas.

Why was Mad Max captured? He's a blood bag. I couldn't give you the medical reasoning behind what exactly they were doing. But clearly he was captured for the use of his blood. I'm not sure what more explanation is necessary or how anything more would have improved the movie.

What was Mad Max's story before he was captured? Well, there is a full trilogy starring Mel Gibson that could explain that to you. I'm also not very familiar with those films (having only seen the first two and not remembering them too well), but I didn't feel I needed them to enjoy Fury Road. However, if you're curious about the back story...there it is.

I think it's a fair criticism to say that the story wasn't captivating or didn't work for you. I didn't really find the story very compelling either. I loved the action, so that's what mattered to me. However, I think the questions you had about the story were mostly answered in the movie. There were definitely some that weren't--how did Immortan Joe come to power, for example. But I'm ok with that.

[Pirossohn]

I think most of your criticisms are misplaced. The questions you have seem to be mostly answered, even if they weren't spoon fed to the audience. I think that's actually one of the reasons people have enjoyed the movie so much--it explained only as much as it needed to.

For example, Ammo Town and Gas Town. What more explanation is necessary? Clearly in this world, there are towns that have monopolized certain resources and they trade with each other. Ammo Town has ammunition. Gas Town has gas.

Why was Mad Max captured? He's a blood bag. I couldn't give you the medical reasoning behind what exactly they were doing. But clearly he was captured for the use of his blood. I'm not sure what more explanation is necessary or how anything more would have improved the movie.

What was Mad Max's story before he was captured? Well, there is a full trilogy starring Mel Gibson that could explain that to you. I'm also not very familiar with those films (having only seen the first two and not remembering them too well), but I didn't feel I needed them to enjoy Fury Road. However, if you're curious about the back story...there it is.

I think it's a fair criticism to say that the story wasn't captivating or didn't work for you. I didn't really find the story very compelling either. I loved the action, so that's what mattered to me. However, I think the questions you had about the story were mostly answered in the movie. There were definitely some that weren't--how did Immortan Joe come to power, for example. But I'm ok with that.

Thanks for your response. While these are possible answers, and I am not at all one for being "spoon-fed" any answers, a little more information on part of the movie would have been nice. I thought the dependency of the other towns or the people of the valley or mountains or whatever they were would have been interesting to at least mention. Even though I figured there had to be some kind of specialization of each town and region, the depenencies of each on the others and possible pacts could have given the movie a much needed input in plot. Same goes with Immortan Joe, why did the other town's hunters follow him blindly? I repeat myself... And while I don't need any good story for an enjoyable action movie experience, I found the movie disappointing [b]because[b] I heard so much positive stuff about it, and therefore, I expected more and saw that the movie could have been a lot more than it actually was. It was not that I didn't enjoy it, but neither did it give me an impression as a top movie that it could have been. However, I am complaining on a high level, it far outreaches other "mindless" action movies like the Transformer movies.

[CMonster]

I still was underwhelmed by its content. This certainly has to do with the glowing reviews the movie got, setting the standards pretty high for myself.

It's funny, that is the exact opposite thing that happened to me. I've long given up any trust in hype, aggregate critic/public opinion sites like rotten tomatoes, and word of mouth. I thought the trailer looked like a steaming pile of garbage and could not fathom why there was any excitement pre-release. I also assumed the excitement from the first weekend was people convincing themselves their money was not pissed away. I gave the movie a shot at the behest of some friends, but had the lowest of the low expectations. I probably enjoyed it more than it deserved because of that, but whatever, it was rad.