My Thoughts on the movie

[battlewagon]

I loved the movie from start to finish. However, after reading other reviews, seeing reviews on youtube, and my own personal analysis, I have my disappointments with the movie.

1) for a Rated R movie, it felt rather disappointing. I've seen PG-13 movies that had more graphic violence than Fury Road. When Immortan Joe got his mask/face ripped off, I wanted to see the damage but we barely saw it. When Max tossed marauders off the war rig in the final battle, they fell off screen and I was like, "I want to see them falling completely."

2) not enough action. after the first viewing, I remember leaving the theatre wanting more action. and by action, I mean chases, road wars, vehicles exploding, etc. in many ways, i felt that Road Warrior had more action.

3) I felt Max didn't change as a character. It was the same Max from Thunderdrome. He cares about himself and only himself. then he has a change of heart and decides to help Furiosa. end of story. he didn't develop as a character. there was no depth to him. and it didn't help that he barely spoke.

4) i wanted to see more of the vehicles. more of the doof wagon, the marauder vehicles, that big truck that was carrying marauder vehicles, etc. i wanted to see the Citadel up close and personal, i wanted to see closer shots of those cranes and the green on the cliffs. more of Immortan Joe's lair.

5) i really didn't like the blatant homages to THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY. let me explain. Tom Hardy sounded exactly LIKE CHRISTIAN BALE'S BATMAN. when Tom Hardy/Mad Max says "That's mine!" referring to his V-8, I was like, "OMG, he sounds just like Christian Bale's Batman!" the whole blood transfusion was exactly like the blood transfusion in The Dark Knight Rises and it didn't help that Tom Hardy plays Bane and Mad Max. The ending of Fury Road was a duplicate of the ending of The Dark Knight Rises where the 'rising platform' is the last thing you see.

6) i wanted to see a scene between Immortan Joe and Mad Max. a movie is never complete if you don't have a scene between the main hero and main villain.

other than that, the movie was awesome. i enjoyed it tremendously. my biggest complaint by far is the lack of 1:18 scale toys and I don't mean the figures (action figures would be nice). i prefer the vehicles of "Mad Max Fury Road" as 1:18 scale toys. oh well, it's a shame because there were so many memorable vehicles. hell i would love to see Hot Wheels or Matchbox versions of the vehicles but that's not gonna happen. i have no other choice but to make my own someday.

[battlewagon]

forgot to mention one thing. the Buzzard vehicles were epic. I had an idea like that a long time ago (many years ago) and i put it in the modeling section. vehicles with spikes for the purpose of victims/casualties of war falling directly on the spikes and being impaled.

anyways, for the Buzzard vehicles, seeing how they were chock full of spikes and spears, i really expected to see war boys plunging into them and being impaled but i didn't see any of that and that was a disappointment. i mean what is the point of all those spikes if you're not gonna exploit them and use them accordingly. oh well.

[roadwarriormfp]

1) for a Rated R movie, it felt rather disappointing. I've seen PG-13 movies that had more graphic violence than Fury Road. When Immortan Joe got his mask/face ripped off, I wanted to see the damage but we barely saw it. When Max tossed marauders off the war rig in the final battle, they fell off screen and I was like, "I want to see them falling completely."

Previous movies never truly showed the full effect of violence and rarely saw it close up. Its called "implied violence". This is Millers style. There is NO need to see gore etc otherwise its just another trashy hollywood movie.

2) not enough action. after the first viewing, I remember leaving the theatre wanting more action. and by action, I mean chases, road wars, vehicles exploding, etc. in many ways, i felt that Road Warrior had more action.

Not enough action? huh? really?

3) I felt Max didn't change as a character. It was the same Max from Thunderdrome. He cares about himself and only himself. then he has a change of heart and decides to help Furiosa. end of story. he didn't develop as a character. there was no depth to him. and it didn't help that he barely spoke.

This is the same character you see in MM2 and 3.... Max rarely spoke in MM2. Miller deliberately wanted to do this a "silent" movie (in the same way MM2 was made) with minimal dialogue so that anyone in the world could watch it and follow it.

6) i wanted to see a scene between Immortan Joe and Mad Max. a movie is never complete if you don't have a scene between the main hero and main villain.

Max never interacts with the main villians in the first 2 original films. MM3 is different as the villains turn into the heros. (masterblaster).
Again this not part of the film and doesn't need to be. Max doesn't need to "prove" himself.

anyways, for the Buzzard vehicles, seeing how they were chock full of spikes and spears, i really expected to see war boys plunging into them and being impaled but i didn't see any of that and that was a disappointment. i mean what is the point of all those spikes if you're not gonna exploit them and use them accordingly. oh well.

again see my first comment.
There is no need for blood and gore in a film.
Otherwise it just follows the usual hollywood rubbish.

[kickherintheguts]

You love the movie from start to finish but then you have disappointments like not enough action. A post like this is much more welcome elsewhere like imdb.

[TheWarriorMax]

You love the movie from start to finish but then you have disappointments like not enough action. A post like this is much more welcome elsewhere like imdb.

Come on

[battlewagon]

You love the movie from start to finish but then you have disappointments like not enough action. A post like this is much more welcome elsewhere like imdb.

you got a really bad attitude mate. do you talk like that to everyone you know including your family? cause it's a most excellent way to isolate yourself

[battlewagon]

Previous movies never truly showed the full effect of violence and rarely saw it close up. Its called "implied violence". This is Millers style. There is NO need to see gore etc otherwise its just another trashy hollywood movie.

Not enough action? huh? really?

This is the same character you see in MM2 and 3.... Max rarely spoke in MM2. Miller deliberately wanted to do this a "silent" movie (in the same way MM2 was made) with minimal dialogue so that anyone in the world could watch it and follow it.

Again this not part of the film and doesn't need to be. Max doesn't need to "prove" himself.

again see my first comment.
There is no need for blood and gore in a film.
Otherwise it just follows the usual hollywood rubbish.



Thanks for your feedback. you clarified a lot of my thoughts on the movie.

[Taipan]

roadwarriormfp covered most of the stuff I wanted to say, but there are a couple of things I'd like to point out. And please keep in mind I'm not trying to bash your criticism, I'm just trying to explain to you what you should take into consideration:

3) I felt Max didn't change as a character. It was the same Max from Thunderdrome. He cares about himself and only himself. then he has a change of heart and decides to help Furiosa. end of story. he didn't develop as a character. there was no depth to him.

What you described here is Max Rockatansky. He's not supposed to have this gigantic arc. His character development in the movie is reduced to starting out with grunts and acting like an animal to admitting his name is Max at the very end. Very subtle, but powerful. I wouldn't compare this Max to the one from Thunderdome, which by the way, had the most vivid character arc next to the original MM where he lost all faith in humanity.
I read in one of really old interviews with Miller that Max never really 'wants' to be dragged into any of his adventures, he just wants to be left alone. I think it perfectly describes this character and it takes something really powerful to change his mind. In Fury Road the catalyst for him helping The Vuvalini are his flashbacks that tell him he can't let those women die. Notice how he barely cares for any of The Five Wives and Furiosa at first, but gradually he develops some understanding of their situation, starts asking some questions, and what started as his sheer need to escape from Immortan Joe turned into some form of care and sacrifice. It's very raw and basic and he expresses it himself when he says to Furiosa "we.. together might come across some sort of 'redemption'." His change of heart is not sudden, it develops, and it's so subtle that it's easy to miss the first time around, but it's there with his mannerisms, the way he talks etc. Just basically compare Max in the first 10 minutes of the movie with the one at the end. Almost two different people.

4) i wanted to see more of the vehicles. more of the doof wagon, the marauder vehicles, that big truck that was carrying marauder vehicles, etc. i wanted to see the Citadel up close and personal, i wanted to see closer shots of those cranes and the green on the cliffs. more of Immortan Joe's lair.

See, Miller sparked your interest as intended. He intentionally did not reveal much about this world, even though it's very detailed. I think it's a brilliant way of treating audiences with respect, allowing them to put the pieces together, engage them in the world he's created. Some writers that are vague about the worlds they create don't build real background to it and it leaves everyone disappointed. Not with Miller though, you just wait until you find out every weapon and car have their own backstories, it's part of the fun:)

5) i really didn't like the blatant homages to THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY.

The story as you saw it on screen was written well before TDK, so Max's grunts, nor the transfusion scene can't be attributed to that trilogy. This stuff was in development for over 16 years, there are still some 'screenplay' shots of the transfusion scene that are dated to 2003 and they look almost the same as in the movie.

6) i wanted to see a scene between Immortan Joe and Mad Max. a movie is never complete if you don't have a scene between the main hero and main villain.

It's Furiosa's story, Max is in it for a ride (literally). In that respect you should get all the things you need from a complete movie, the main villain vs main hero interaction is very much there.

[owenmp]

Well said, Taipan. Mad Max: Fury Road was a snapshot of the characters of Max and Furiosa at a specific time point.

In some ways, Mad Max: Fury Road felt like it was the middle of stories of Max and Furiosa. Sometimes the movie felt like the result if Mad Max 1 and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior were both produced at the same time but Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior was released in theaters before Mad Max 1.

[RedHotRyder]

Yeah, I didn't understand your Dark Knight comment, Since Fury Road was written before Nolan even made the first Batman movie.

I think you're the first person on this planet that said there wasn't enough action. What do you consider a movie that has enough action for you? I'm not sure how they could have added more without it turning into a mindless Michael Bay movie.