everyone's mad

George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” is one long chase that tears through a variety of desolate lands (and sometimes bodies). It is like Terry Gilliam took a one-liter swig of Red Bull and decided to make an action movie. And it’s great. By comparison, it makes the entire Fast and Furious franchise a fluffy rabbit. Or a kindergarten, kiddie-meal fare. Despite being saturated in grease, grit, and everything steampunk, “Fury Road” is not all that. There’s a lot of subliminal stuff going on in here, and that is its beauty: You see what you want to see. In my case—and here’s a reason why the female demographic should not be taken aback by this high-octane spectacle—it’s an action movie that ultimately raises the woman to another level, or perhaps on a level that could finally get head to head with the male counterpart. Everyone has delivered excellent performances (even the guitar-man steals some scenes), but Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa is as much brazen and daring as Tom Hardy’s Mad Max. In fact, it is the women in the film that drive the plot to its core and purpose. It speaks of a nurturing but tough as nails tribe that could be the remedy of a bleak future, not warlords and maniacal men. No wonder misogynists are attacking this movie; the girls running the world (cue Beyonce song). The stunts, the practical effects, the production design, the cinematography are top-notch. Heck, I’ve never seen fade-to-black transitions done so tastefully in a long while! As both writer and director, Miller definitely knows how to curate this world without giving in too much. Even with the characters’ sparse dialogues, a story is told by a stare, a furrowed eyebrow, a striking vista or even a grunt. Before seeing the film, I’ve been hearing complaints from people saying they do not understand the movie trailer. Guys, I think it’s high time to get back to the saying “Do not judge a book by its cover.” Believe me, you won’t regret it.

[ image lifted from this site ]