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MOVIE REVIEW: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Capsule review without spoilers: The best I can do is simply paraphrase my son Devon’s capsule review of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. FURY ROAD is a two hour movie with about twenty minutes of actual story.
That’s the capsule review. Here’s the full one, but if you don’t want spoilers, don’t read past here!
Really. Stop now.
This is your last warning.
Okay, then. First, let’s get to the caveats. I was probably destined not to like this movie in the same way that I’m destined not to like some types of books. I read (and watch movies) for characters and story, first and foremost. Action is fine, as long as it’s integral to the story, adds to that character development, and isn’t simply action for the sake of action. My ideal movie is a two hour movie with about twenty minutes of action in it, the rest being interaction between characters.
In other words, the polar opposite of the summer action blockbuster film.
I went to see FURY ROAD mostly because of all the talk about Charlize Theron’s character Furiosa and how this was a “feminist” movie. As a dyed-in-the-wool, left-leaning, SJW kind of writer myself, I found that intriguing. The dearth of excellent female characters doing more than providing ‘scenery’ and serving mostly as plot devices in need of rescue by male characters bothers me. A strong female lead in a summer blockbuster was something I wanted to see.
And, frankly, Theron’s character dominates the film, which should actually have been titled FURIOSA: FURY ROAD, since Tom Hardy as Mad Max has about fifty lines of dialogue at best, and his character is not the focus of the film -- in fact, through the first churning, over-long action sequence, his character is mostly just a hood ornament. Literally.
But sorry, this is not (in my opinion) a “feminist” film, because while the character of Furiosa is indeed as strong as any of the male ones in the film, simple gender-reversal of a cliché doesn’t equal “feminist.” None of the characters manages to rise above the stereotypes of the genre.
Which is a shame. There are hints of compelling backstory (especially with Furiosa) that could have fleshed out the characters and made them genuine and real, that would have made the viewer care deeply and viscerally about what is happening to them and whether they succeed or fail. But… those backstories are never given enough time and space in the film for that to happen, and I don’t know whether to blame the director or the script or the producers, or all of them.
The potential for this to have been far more than just another hyperactive summer film is buried under relentless and LOOOONG action sequences. We get glimpses and shadows of actual characterization and motivations, nothing more, and as a result, Furiosa, Max, and all the rest of the cast are little more than your standard cardboard action heroes replete with the expected tropes and clichés. If you want bone-jarring explosions, incredible stunt work, and steampunked vehicles racing across desert landscapes while trying to destroy each other, this is the film for you.
If you want a real story, however, be prepared to be disappointed.
Capsule review without spoilers: The best I can do is simply paraphrase my son Devon’s capsule review of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. FURY ROAD is a two hour movie with about twenty minutes of actual story.
That’s the capsule review. Here’s the full one, but if you don’t want spoilers, don’t read past here!
Really. Stop now.
This is your last warning.
Okay, then. First, let’s get to the caveats. I was probably destined not to like this movie in the same way that I’m destined not to like some types of books. I read (and watch movies) for characters and story, first and foremost. Action is fine, as long as it’s integral to the story, adds to that character development, and isn’t simply action for the sake of action. My ideal movie is a two hour movie with about twenty minutes of action in it, the rest being interaction between characters.
In other words, the polar opposite of the summer action blockbuster film.
I went to see FURY ROAD mostly because of all the talk about Charlize Theron’s character Furiosa and how this was a “feminist” movie. As a dyed-in-the-wool, left-leaning, SJW kind of writer myself, I found that intriguing. The dearth of excellent female characters doing more than providing ‘scenery’ and serving mostly as plot devices in need of rescue by male characters bothers me. A strong female lead in a summer blockbuster was something I wanted to see.
And, frankly, Theron’s character dominates the film, which should actually have been titled FURIOSA: FURY ROAD, since Tom Hardy as Mad Max has about fifty lines of dialogue at best, and his character is not the focus of the film -- in fact, through the first churning, over-long action sequence, his character is mostly just a hood ornament. Literally.
But sorry, this is not (in my opinion) a “feminist” film, because while the character of Furiosa is indeed as strong as any of the male ones in the film, simple gender-reversal of a cliché doesn’t equal “feminist.” None of the characters manages to rise above the stereotypes of the genre.
Which is a shame. There are hints of compelling backstory (especially with Furiosa) that could have fleshed out the characters and made them genuine and real, that would have made the viewer care deeply and viscerally about what is happening to them and whether they succeed or fail. But… those backstories are never given enough time and space in the film for that to happen, and I don’t know whether to blame the director or the script or the producers, or all of them.
The potential for this to have been far more than just another hyperactive summer film is buried under relentless and LOOOONG action sequences. We get glimpses and shadows of actual characterization and motivations, nothing more, and as a result, Furiosa, Max, and all the rest of the cast are little more than your standard cardboard action heroes replete with the expected tropes and clichés. If you want bone-jarring explosions, incredible stunt work, and steampunked vehicles racing across desert landscapes while trying to destroy each other, this is the film for you.
If you want a real story, however, be prepared to be disappointed.