Any movie that starts with a guy eating a two-headed lizard isn’t bound for the Oscars. However, most critics tend to think that “Mad Max: Fury Road” is one of the best movies of the year.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” is a wild ride from start to finish. The premise of the violent dystopia is blood, guts, and gore and not much else. Amidst the dusty destruction, it is difficult to find a legitimate plot.
Yet the critics can’t seem to get enough of it. “Mad Max” has received a 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 89 percent on Metacritic.
The movie’s power is in the subplot, the underlying meaning, the hidden message. It’s hard to find under the guns and the gore, but it’s there nonetheless–basically calling our world barbarous, greedy, and stupid.
In a way, the critics aren’t wrong. Using the scarcity of resources to one’s own advantage? The earth slowly crumbling, turning from greenland to swampland? Drought? Sound familiar?
It is painfully easy to draw parallels between our world and the dystopia in “Mad Max.” Today, many of us can’t even seem to admit that global warming is happening, let alone do anything to solve it. Powerful companies hoard their resources and drive prices up, which makes it harder for some people to pay for many necessities.
The most striking commentary in the movie is that of the women: “Mad Max” is a fierce examiner of gender roles. In the movie, men are the destroyers of the world, and women have been pushed aside to watch the destruction, so they take matter into their own hands.
It is nice to finally see badass women take the screen and save themselves instead of waiting for men to come to their rescue. Much of what they are fighting for had to do with their own bodies. Sound familiar?
An outstanding quality to the movie is the fact that there is no romance between Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) and Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy). Instead, they are tentative allies fighting against oppression and nothing more. There isn’t even a hint of awkwardness, something almost no movie can claim.
It is for this reason that “Mad Max” is an interesting action film. Most are male-dominated and testosterone-filled. However, this movie strays from the usual path, instead making women the heroes.
However, while “Mad Max” takes a different path, the idea that women can also be heroes and can save themselves shouldn’t be a new idea.
While “Mad Max” has been praised for its message, it’s not the only dystopian movie to have powerful commentary. “X Men” is filled with hidden hints about racism and discrimination, and “The Giver” speaks to our need to conform and eliminate suffering.
Critics are wowed by the new roles for women emerging on the action screen with this new movie. Some praise the movie for Furiosa’s depth, as she is less of a revolutionary character and more like most male characters. The fact that this is a radical transition means we are way behind, but at least action movies are finally waking up and realizing we are in the 21st century.
One downside to “Mad Max” is that the cast lacks diversity and is almost completely white. I guess in the future all other races disappear.
Additionally, the special effects are not all that special. While the dust storm is admittedly fabulous, the gore is nothing Game of Thrones couldn’t easily top. When one of the women gets run over by a truck, she is only shown with her eyes closed and nothing more.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” is great for action-lovers because the action never stops–literally. It combines furious fighting and strong female characters to make a break-away action movie.
However, most of its popularity comes from its commentary, and, while I agree with what the new message, I don’t see the point of watching two hours of unnecessary bloody violence to get a new perspective when you could read about a million articles online instead.
