Mad Max: Fury Road

bucketybuck · 13-05-2015 8:51am

Its an inane criticism to my mind.

What do people want, the camera on Max for 2 hours as he says very little?

Face it, these movies are portrayed as wasteland myths and at this point Max's story has already been told. Far better to go a fresh direction by using him as the catalyst for somebody else's story. He is still going to be there doing his thing, but we also get to see a new perspective on life in the wasteland, its the best way to ensure the film isn't just a boring remake of what we have seen before.

Having Theron be a main character is no different than Tina Turner having a large role in Thunderdome. And if there is another sequel there could be another character whose life is touched by Max, whats the problem with that?

pixelburp · 13-05-2015 9:31am

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

I heard some feminist was brought in to influence the writing and make it more of a "girl power" flick and that Max is basically a side kick in his own movie lol. I'll still go see this but it doesn't really surprise me if this is the case. It would mean that Hollywood are so incapable of just coming up with their own original ideas for movies with strong female leads that not only will they just lazily reboot and rehash classic movies with all female casts but they will now also essentially hijack classic franchises lol.

I presume you're referring to how the Mad Max production / George Miller brought in Eve Ensler (writer of The Vagina Monologue) on a weeks consultancy so the slave-girl characters could pick her brains. 'Influence the writing' is pretty far of the mark and looks like you heard wrong. It came up in an Esquire interview with one of the actors playing those slave-girls, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who said the writer was invited so Whiteley & co. had more perspective on rape vicitims and women who lived as bought entities.

http://io9.com/vagina-monologues-writer-eve-ensler-consulted-on-mad-ma-1701967087

We were so lucky that George arranged for Eve Ensler, who wrote the Vagina Monologues, to fly in and work with us girls for about a week. We did extensive research with her. Eve herself has had a very intense life. She’s spent time in the Congo working with rape victims and women who have had unthinkable things happen to them through the power of men’s hands. We were able to pick her brain for a week. She told us the most tragic stories I’ve ever heard in my life, which gave us so much background to our characters. We really wanted to kind of showcase that. It was a privilege to have her around to make these characters something more then just five beautiful girls.

No feminist agenda. No neutering by Hollywood of male icons blah blah; just a clever piece of research and help for Millers actors. Happens all the time with actors trying to find an emotional core in their character that may not exist on the page of the script.

DoYouEvenLift · 13-05-2015 9:40am

Alright you guys have convinced and changed my mind.

Now let's hope that the new Spiderman focuses mostly on Mary Jane and not the person the movie's titled after. Spiderman's story has already been told anyway. Likewise for the new Batman and Superman, really don't want to go see a movie titled Batman and Superman and ACTUALLY see those guys' stories, they've been told over and over, so hopefully it's more focused on Rachel Dawes and Lois Lane.

BoJack Horseman · 13-05-2015 9:49am

The constant TV spots sound like they were vo'd by Sam Worthington.

Strange how its Hardy & not Worthington in the role.

Its a role seemingly made for him.

pixelburp · 13-05-2015 10:03am

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

Alright you guys have convinced and changed my mind.

Now let's hope that the new Spiderman focuses mostly on Mary Jane and not the person the movie's titled after. Spiderman's story has already been told anyway. Likewise for the new Batman and Superman, really don't want to go see a movie titled Batman and Superman and ACTUALLY see those guys' stories, they've been told over and over, so hopefully it's more focused on Rachel Dawes and Lois Lane.

Maybe wait until the movie comes out & you see it before deciding the new Mad Max movie isn't Mad-Max'y enough for your tastes, or they've decided to add more 'girl power'.
Yeah the trailers have been heavily focused on Theron's character, but she's the more bankable star at the moment & it wouldn't be the first time a trailer focuses on a minor character because they're a bigger 'star'. Or who knows, maybe she co-stars and it's both her and Max's story & they share the focus. It's all the worst kind of conjecture at the moment, and railing against imaginary feminist writing-bias doesn't help either.

Back on track: Mad Max 1/2 double-bill in Cineworld tonight. Huzzah!

BlitzKrieg · 13-05-2015 10:12am

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

I heard some feminist was brought in to influence the writing and make it more of a "girl power" flick and that Max is basically a side kick in his own movie lol.

You have seen the other mad max movies right?

in 2 of the 3 movies this is the same basic plot formula

Its the Fistful of dollars/Yojimbo narrative structure

Man with no connection to plot gets dragged into the plot that is never about him.

Max has been both the perspective character and a sidekick to the main plot in his last two films as he's just a force of nature becoming a mythical character to the narrative by the end (both road warrior and thunderdome end the same way with one of the other characters talking of Max like some Mythic hero)

Fury Road I will bet will have almost the exact same formula, from the few elements I've picked up over the last few months its clear that he's not involved by choice.

let's hope that the new Spiderman focuses mostly on Mary Jane and not the person the movie's titled after. Spiderman's story has already been told anyway.

Oh how close you could have been: http://screenrant.com/spider-man-aunt-may-spy-movie/

Thargor · 13-05-2015 10:39am

Is this still set in the Australian outback?

Tony EH · 13-05-2015 11:13am

cloud493 wrote: »

Can I go into this without seeing the other three? Apparently its a soft reboot of sorts?

It's more reboot, than sequel.

I'd say you can rest easy, even if you've never heard of the name before.

BlitzKrieg · 13-05-2015 11:23am

none of the mad max movies ever directly run off each other anyway. you only need to know 3 things

this is max, he's mad

his family was killed by bikers

the worlds f*cked

and that gets repeated at the start of each film (well it did in 2 and 3)

e_e · 13-05-2015 9:41pm

e_e wrote: »

I can already sense some people with weirdly anti-feminist agendas getting bent out of shape without having seen the movie. :P

http://www.avclub.com/article/mad-men-mad-mad-max-having-mad-women-219391

haha called it

johnny_ultimate · 13-05-2015 9:54pm

As Leslie Knope once put it succinctly, "you're ridiculous, men's rights is nothing."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMnxPsQanrs

pixelburp · 14-05-2015 9:00am

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

[...]
Man with no connection to plot gets dragged into the plot that is never about him.

Max has been both the perspective character and a sidekick to the main plot in his last two films as he's just a force of nature becoming a mythical character to the narrative by the end (both road warrior and thunderdome end the same way with one of the other characters talking of Max like some Mythic hero)[...]

Yeah there's no doubt, watching Mad Max: Road Warrior last night in Cineworld, that Max is not the hero / main character, at least not in the sense of being the instigator. He is as you say the Man with No Name who just wanders into town and eventually / reluctantly becomes part of the bigger brawl. What little I've seen of Fury Road, it looks like the exact same formula; that Max gets pulled into the bigger fight somewhat against his will. But because the parallel main character's a woman some people are losing their minds? Give me strength.

Mickeroo · 14-05-2015 9:35am

e_e wrote: »

http://www.avclub.com/article/mad-men-mad-mad-max-having-mad-women-219391

haha called it

Genuinely laughed out loud at this bit:

How, he asks, could Australian director George Miller have so ruined and rewritten George Miller’s creation in such a way that so blatantly disregards this Australian franchise’s proud American heritage? America is where men live.

As April Ludgate said: "I think men are better than women......They provide for us and we must obey them because they are our masters."

Duggy747 · 14-05-2015 10:16am

e_e wrote: »

http://www.avclub.com/article/mad-men-mad-mad-max-having-mad-women-219391

haha called it

It's a stupid reason to hate a movie but, in fairness, that article is referencing a warped, "Ooo-raa Americaaah!" loving and pretty obvious anti-Semitic blog.

Might as well be using a Tumblr post giving out about James Bond to make fun of feminism.

johnny_ultimate · 14-05-2015 11:37am

I watched Mad Max 1 for the first time last night, and actually was surprised how little Max himself is in it at times. The film follows other characters for lengthy stretches of its running time (I wouldn't be surprised if anywhere between a third and a half of the scenes had no Max at all, or had him as a peripheral character), and it's only as the film eventually builds up to its concluding chapters that the focus shifts definitively to Gibson's character. So yeah having the eponymous hero share screentime with others is something that seems to have been a feature of the franchise since its inception.

14-05-2015 11:43am

I think (the rational) people are mostly giving out because he is masked and secondary in many of the posters and promo.

Adamantium · 14-05-2015 1:06pm

Duggy747 wrote: »

It's a stupid reason to hate a movie but, in fairness, that article is referencing a warped, "Ooo-raa Americaaah!" loving and pretty obvious anti-Semitic blog.

Might as well be using a Tumblr post giving out about James Bond to make fun of feminism.

Aaron Clarey is Jewish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsnB2E1QBKA

Duggy747 · 14-05-2015 1:26pm

Adamantium wrote: »

Aaron Clarey is Jewish.

There's an article on the front page of that site from another author called "The Damaging Effects Of Jewish Intellectualism And Activism On Western Culture"

2ndcoming · 14-05-2015 5:20pm

Adamantium wrote: »

Aaron Clarey is Jewish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsnB2E1QBKA

He seems like a clever man.

e_e · 14-05-2015 7:43pm

Loved it! A real antidote to the tedious exposition, lazy CGI, pandering fanservice and generic action of the Marvel brand of blockbuster. This is a film that says so much through its images alone (the kind of pure cinematic experience that could be followed in any language) that it's just an absolute pleasure to watch. Can't wait to watch it again.

Dear Hollywood: More like this please!

Dr. Mantis Toboggan · 14-05-2015 8:41pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I watched Mad Max 1 for the first time last night, and actually was surprised how little Max himself is in it at times. The film follows other characters for lengthy stretches of its running time (I wouldn't be surprised if anywhere between a third and a half of the scenes had no Max at all, or had him as a peripheral character), and it's only as the film eventually builds up to its concluding chapters that the focus shifts definitively to Gibson's character. So yeah having the eponymous hero share screentime with others is something that seems to have been a feature of the franchise since its inception.

Asmooh · 14-05-2015 8:42pm

duckysauce · 14-05-2015 10:43pm

Saw it today and loved it , **** all cgi , some epic stunts , Zoë Kravitz is hot

. It is what it is --very enjoyable time flew bye , great sound track to it too .

Loved this nut bag :P:D:D:D

pixelburp · 14-05-2015 10:57pm

e_e wrote: »

Loved it! A real antidote to the tedious exposition, lazy CGI, pandering fanservice and generic action of the Marvel brand of blockbuster. This is a film that says so much through its images alone (the kind of pure cinematic experience that could be followed in any language) that it's just an absolute pleasure to watch. Can't wait to watch it again.

Dear Hollywood: More like this please!

Ah here will ye stop it, barely containing my own hype at this stage; by all accounts this film is getting rave reviews, can't wait to see some good, old-fashioned cinematic mayhem

Virtanen · 14-05-2015 11:00pm

Saw it this afternoon in glorious 2D, and absolutely loved it

Was a little bit slow to get going, and it took me a while to understand what was going on - I never saw any of the other Mad Max movies, and only had a basic idea of the setting - but once we hit the road and I "got" what the world was like, it was a hurricane of insanity and action. Would absolutely recommend it

ktulu123 · 14-05-2015 11:32pm

AMAZING

bucketybuck · 14-05-2015 11:35pm

What a fantastic movie! Loved every single batshit insane second of it!

Duggy747 · 14-05-2015 11:36pm

Hugh Keays-Byrne makes for a scary Pat Mustard

Kanhir · 14-05-2015 11:42pm

Great film, very entertaining!

The centrepoint of all the Mad Max films is a good scrappy car chase scene. So what to do with the fourth? Make the entire film a scrappy car chase!

MrStuffins · 14-05-2015 11:57pm

Saw this movie this evening (in 2D because f*ck 3D) and it was one of the best cinema experiences I've ever had.

It was completely insane, in every possible way you can think something can be insane. It was beautifully shot, the colour saturation itself is amazing. It's a massive thrill ride and I loved every second of it.

Mad Max: Fury Road

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