REVIEW (contains
spoilers)
“My world is fire
and blood.”
So says Max,
eponymous hero of Fury Road,
and its an apt description for the next two hours. The fourth
installment of George Miller’s genre-defining post-apocalyptic
series is essentially one long action-packed chase scene with more
than enough fire, blood, and explosions to keep action movie fans
glued to their seats. It is a visually stunning film that teases some
interesting ideas without really aiming for genuine depth. The action
alone is worth the price of admission, but anyone hoping for universe
building or character development will be disappointed. Fury
Road is indeed full of sound and
fury, but unfortunately it signifies nothing.
What Worked
To use Cher’s term from the movie Clueless, Mad Max movies
are always “total Monets.” They look better from a distance. The
concept, aesthetic, and visuals are always better than the details of
the story and the actual things the characters do. The same is true
of Fury Road. The trailer is better than the film. When it comes out on DVD, I'll probably just fast-forward all of the talky parts, but I will still have a ball.
The action is simply amazing, especially given the preference for
practical effects and real props. Every fight scene, gunshot, and car
collision felt legitimately dangerous, a sharp contrast from today’s
bloodless CGI comic book battles. Don’t expect Max to be making
wisecracks while somersaulting across a room filled with lava and
evil robots; when someone pulls a gun or a knife in Fury Road,
expect someone to get hurt.
Even with the more genuine sense of danger, Fury Road never
stops being fun. Director George Miller is in full swagger with his colorful world
and occasionally zany concepts. Among the latter, I adored the
flame-throwing guitar and the drums that rode along side the Immortan Joe's war
boys. For some it may have been over the top, but it was an iconic
moment destined to be remembered, parodied, and copied. “Memorable”
is a high compliment for any element in a film, and Fury Road is
full of visuals that meet the criteria. Be it the captive women being
milked for Joe's army, the towering gardens of the Citadel, or a
massive lightning and tornado-filled dust storm – the movie is a
smorgasbord for the eyes.
I absolutely loved Joe's army. They had a curious nobility about
them. The white paint, the talk of Valhalla, the kamekaze tactics –
all of it just made me respect the hell out of them. In this desolate
world where life is short and cheap, Joe’s society had manage to
reclaim some form of honor. It helps that the vehicle, weapon, and
costume design is cool as hell.
The overall aesthetic is sumptuous. I marveled at the lush scenery –
the cerulean skies and orange sands. I loved the way everything from
the costumes to the cars all looked dirty, old, and used. The world
of Fury Road feels simultaneously ancient and broken, yet
somehow rich and fantastical. Should this indeed be the launch of a
new franchise, more than anything else I hope they preserve the
aesthetic.
What Didn’t
There
are two big issues I have with Fury Road and one small one.
Combined they take what could have been a great film, and make it
merely a decent one. The small issue is the cumulative effect of all of
the little plot holes and unexplainable things that these sorts of
big-budget action flicks always have. I will not list all of them
here, but suffice to say if you are an attentive, thinking viewer,
there are many moments that will make you go “huh?” I know I
know, turn my brain off and just have fun. Sure I can do that. But it
is a strike against the film. I don’t give movies credit for making
an enemy of my own intelligence.
The
first big issue is the fact that the movie does not really feel like
the story of Max. The previous movies were all about Max’s choices
in morally complex situations. Fury Road is really about
Furiosa’s redemption and Max’s efforts to help her achieve it. He
isn’t a sidekick, but he doesn’t really star. In the
previous movies Max was the protagonist. In Fury
Road at best he is a
protagonist. What’s
more, neither protagonist is especially well-developed. They’re
just ‘the good guys’, saving the day and kicking butt in an
R-rated movie that feels very PG-13.
Here’s
why it feels PG-13: (Spoiler Alert!) The
good guys all live, the bad guy dies. The
bad guy’s motives and plans are never explained so we can’t
sympathize with him. The
city is saved and apparently there is infinite water available to
give everyone for free. Max
and Furiosa go off happily ever after neither seemingly changed in
anyway from their experience.
To be fair, the previous
Mad Max movies suffer from many of the same issues, however in all of
them Max makes more hard choices and frequently suffers great loss.
Ironically in all three earlier movies it is his attempts to avoid conflict
and violence
that lead to him losing the things he cares for most. In Fury
Road, Max is just
another victim swept up in the tide, and it isn’t until the final
act that he actually exerts influence on the story.
Why
does he exert influence at that time? The implied answer is that he wants to stop
some annoying hallucinations he keeps having of his dead kid. Yet the
movie never really explores Max’s past, so this does not mean much.
In fact the movie does not bother to really explore much of anything,
and this is my second big issue. I had so many questions about the
world, the people, the places, the stuff, because it was all
so interesting to look at and examine. Yet the movie never stops to
explain anything, never offers an interesting thought or cultural
commentary, never digs into an important element of the
post-apocalyptic world. As fun as it can be to fill in the blanks, it
is also a missed opportunity, as the movie has a very empty feel. You
could cut almost all of the dialogue and have basically the same
experience.
It’s
a shame that the film feels so shallow given that
there
were rumors before release that the movie was filled with feminist
social commentary.
This is not the case, though the film doesn’t paint
men in a particularly flattering light. This isn’t really new for
the franchise, but it stands out more in a story where ‘safety’
is literally defined as a place where there are no men. If you are a
female character in Fury
Road,
you are either a (likely gorgeous) damsel in distress, or a badass
warrior who gets to kill tons of evil men. Does that make it
feminist? I couldn’t say. An argument could be made, but it is out
of scope for this review. However
given all of the interesting ideas the movie teased, I wish the
writers had
attempted
to push something.
Verdict
Ultimately,
Fury Road is
worth seeing. Like Furious
7,
there are enough insane visuals to keep you amused. It’s just
unfortunate that the film isn’t much smarter than Vin Diesel’s
biennial stunt show, nor are its protagonists much deeper. It and
they really should have been.
