Monday, March 28, 2016

Movie Monday – Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)





 (Spoilers)

The movie starts with Max being captured by Immortal Joe’s War Boys and is taken to the Citadel.  Here Joe rules because he pumps underground water up for the parched masses.  Max is used as a blood bag – he’s a Universal Donor – and is hooked up to transfuse the War Boy Nux, who is slowly dying from … in reality probably a combination of post-apocalyptic diseases.

Meanwhile, Furiosa sets off in a rig to a nearby town for gasoline, or something.  But she turns off the road.  This confuses her escort at first, but she tells them it’s a raiding mission, or something.  Joe figures out that Furiosa has “stolen” his “wives.” So he sets out to reclaim them. 

At first Nux was to stay behind, but he has them hook Max up to his car so he can go and have a glorious death and be reborn.  There’s a chase and battle, and Furiosa goes into a sandstorm with Nux right behind.  He wrecks and Max has a chance to escape, except he’s still chained to Nux. 

Furiosa’s rig is plugged with sand, and while she’s fixing it the wives are cutting off their chastity belts.  Max shows up with Nux, and has them cut him loose.  He tries to steal the rig, but Furiosa has it set so only she can drive it.  Max, Furiosa, and the wives come to a bit of a truce.

Furiosa had made a deal with a rival gang, but they hadn’t planned on fighting all of Joe’s army, so they turn on them and there’s a big fight.  Most of Joe’s army is delayed, but Joe’s car is still in the chase.  Nux is onboard and has a chance to stop the rig, but flops right in front of Joe.  One of the wives dies, and Joe is delayed.

Max learns that they are heading to the “Green Place” which Furiosa remembers as a child.  One of the wives finds Nux hiding on the back of the rig, and comforts him saying that perhaps he has an even grander death waiting for him.  When the rig gets stuck in mud, Nux helps them out.

They finally make it to the Green Place and Furiosa is reunited with her people.  But the Green Place is no longer green.  At first, everyone but Max was going to try to cross this vast desert in the hopes of finding someplace new.  But Max realizes that the Citadel – with all its water – is now undefended.  So they all turn around to go back.

There’s a lot of chasing and fighting, Nux dies blocking the road, Furiosa is hurt and loses a lot of blood but Max is a Universal Donor, and Immortal Joe is killed.  Furiosa returns with Joe’s body, and there’s a big celebration.  She’s a hero, and Max slips away in the crowd.

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Of the four Mad Max movies, this is my favorite.  The reason is for something some people had an issue with the movie: Furiosa.  If the movie had just been Max shows up, the wives hire him to help them escape, explosions, I would have thought it just an okay movie, probably tied with Mad Max 2 as my favorite of the series.  Because, I’ve figured out, I’m not a fan of Max.  He’s an interesting character, but I don’t think he can hold a movie on his own.  Furiosa is more interesting.  (I don’t know if it’s just because Beyond Thunderdome was the only other Max movie I had seen, but when I think of interesting characters from the Max Universe, Master Blaster is near the top.  I’ll have to think who I find more interesting; Furiosa or Master Blaster.)  If it wasn’t for the fact that Furiosa is now just administering the Citadel, I’d be interested in a sequel with her.

As to my thoughts about a modern post-apocalypse movie.  Um, it was good.  It wasn’t cheesy with decaying ruins, or anything like that.  It fits with what I would expect from a modern post-apocalypse movie, if that makes any sense.

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