Mad Max: Fury Road - Film Review

fig.1 Mad Max: Fury Road Poster

Directed by George Miller “Mad Max: Fury Road” is an Australian/American film standing as the fourth instalment in the “Mad Max” series. Set in an alternate universe, Australia is decimated with people trying to survive in the after math of an unexplained post-apocalyptic event. 

“Mad Max” is a film that has been typically related with crazy, action-packed road wars. “Fury Road” in particular has been praised for its increased use of practical effects. In a time where it is cheaper, faster and safer to use CGI to recreate practical effects it is clear why audience found this niche appealing. This feature has also received positive response from critics such as Brian Tallerico, 

“Upping the stakes with promises of vehicular mayhem on a level commensurate with what modern CGI audiences have come to expect.” (Tallerico, 2015) 

Even without reading the reviews it is clear a great emphasise has been put of arrangement and coordination of practical effects. This ranges from the acrobatics of the war-boys (who were added on top of the real action) to the cars being crushed and scrapped. 

fig.2 Furiosa and Max Ready to shoot

“Fury Road’s” origins can be found far from the million dollar film it is today. Miller’s first “Mad Max” film was completed in 1979, set a few years into the future where Australia is on the verge of collapse. The setting justified the seeming mad stunts pulled by the team with little to no regards to safety. Its budget was estimated at a meagre 350,000 to 400,000 Australian dollars (around 280,000 to 320,000 US dollars) in comparison to the 150,000,000 US dollar budget of “Fury Road”. The original piece can be placed within the B-movie bracket as it relied heavily on its concept rather than using a large amount of funds.

“While the first Mad Max was essentially a stripped-down Roger Corman revenge movie (high on concept, low on budget)” (Kermode, 2015) 

This proved successful and moved the “Mad Max” into the big pictures resulting in two sequels. 

Over the course of cinema, exploitation of various subjects of film has been used to draw in a larger audience in an attempt to reap greater profits. Exploits include those of nudity, monster horror, slasher horror and so on. Due to the nature of these exploitation of cinema it is popular to use such tactics in B-movies. This is due to the low budget that B-movies often have, making it difficult to create profit through the use of well-known and relevant cast, exotic locations or even impressive CGI. These exploitation allow smaller companies to produce relatively cheap films that could create a profit.  

The use of cars to draw a bigger audience in has been regarded as ‘carsploitation’. More so in the past, cars (especially the rugged ones from “Mad Max”) have been related to male culture. Typically seen as an icon of masculinity, cars play a pivotal role in the “Mad Max” series transporting survivors in the wasteland. It is only in the latest rendition of “Mad Max” that challenges this view with Miller making the progressive choice of having a female protagonist. This choice could be described as a bold one with long-time fans of the original three films expecting Max to once again rise to the status of road warrior. The story rotates around the female protagonist, Furiosa rather than the supposed Max. It is suggested that Furiosa’s position is either equal or higher than that of Max proving that she could take on opponents larger than herself. While this one female character partakes in the blood and violence the wives have a different appearance at the start being sexualised and seen as ‘breeders’. It definitely raises eyebrows due to the sensitive nature of rape and helps to bring light to an often avoided area in society. 

Overall “Mad Max: Fury Road” brings back use of traditional means of effects forming authentic and adrenaline filled scenes. The narrative of the film remains simple; it has the cast drive out and back again however it is the complexity of the situations and characters that bring the needed layers to the film. “Fury Road” is a welcome remake to the series that has helped to open and challenge gender issues. 

Bibliography 

Kermode, M. (20

15). Mad Max: Fury Road review – beware of battle fatigue. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/17/mad-max-fury-road-review-mark-kermode [Accessed: 14/01/18]

Tallerico, B. (2015). MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. [Online] Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mad-max-fury-road-2015 [Accessed: 14/01/18]

Illustration List

Fig.1 [Online] http://www.joblo.com/movie-posters/2015/mad-max-fury-road#image-32807 [Accessed: 14/01/18]

Fig.2 [Online] https://disabledpeoplesassociation.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/furiosa-mad-max.jpg [Accessed: 14/01/18]