This movie came out in 2015 and was claimed by some to be the best picture of the year, and one of the best films of the 2010s, but it did not win the Oscar for best picture in 2016. It did however win multiple other Oscars for its excellence in the realms of audio and visuals. The movie was absolutely stunning, it was almost impossible to tear my eyes off the screen from start to finish, which has been something that has been lacking from most movies that I have watched over the course of the pandemic at home. It also helped that I was able to hook up my Amazon Fire Stick to the nice TV in the basement with the incredible cinema like sound system.
Fury Road took place in a post-apocalyptic world where it seemed like global warming got to the point where the world was mostly turned into a desert, and the most prized resource was oil, but it seems like water was also in short supply. There was a war lord/cult leader in the desert who ruled over all the resources did so with an iron fist, he shared the resources poorly, and he had a harem of wives. Furiosa, one of the drivers who goes and gets the oil, decided to take Immortan Joe’s most prized wives to take them to the Green Place. Joe caught on quickly and a massive chase ensues through the desert. During the chase Furiosa added Max to her team, who was a captive of Joe, and they reach what they hoped would be the Green Place, but it was gone. So they decided to gather their forces and storm the old city since it was not guarded because all the forces were out after them.
This movie had similarities to Snowpiercer, but it took place in an opposite manner. In Snowpiercer, their apocalyptic scenario came about from global warming as well, but they tried to over correct the warming thus leading to a super ice age forcing the remaining population into a train that was separated by class. There was an emphasis in class stratification in both movies, but it was more highly emphasized in Snowpiercer. In Mad Max, the lesser people in the colony rarely got any water and were led to believe that if they helped Joe that they would join him in heaven. Whereas in the train, the people just suffered in the back and ate gelatinous bars of ground up bugs. So neither were in too great of scenarios. Mad Max focused more on an equal rights theme. The whole reason the rebellion started was due to Joe taking multiple wives and treating women like possessions. Furiosa did not take kindly to this idea, and she had the hope of knowing there was a place out there where women were not treated poorly, so she wanted to help them escape. Then because of them taking over the whole colony upon their return, it seemed like all people were going to receive more freedoms and better opportunities for resources like food and water.
The biggest problem with the whole lack of water for the lower-class people had to do with the way that it was presented to them, it was the most wasteful way possible. Joe would pull a lever, and a giant waterfall would start to flow, and at the bottom it hit some rocks first, then the people had a chance to get to it and try to collect it in their tiny bowls. So not only was their equipment to gather the water lack luster, but also most of the water would be soaked up by the unsaturated ground, or the little that did pool up on the ground was now filled with sand and became undrinkable, or at least would make for an unpleasant drinking experience. Also it was so hot that much of the water probably evaporated quickly too. At the end of the movie when Furiosa arrived and freed everyone, she opened the waterfall, but truly she needs to get rid of that immediately. There needs to be some kind of pipeline put in to make it more accessible in the dwellings of the people.
Another part of the movie that seemed bothersome was that the prized resource in this starved world was oil, not water or plant seeds. They had the source of water by digging deep into the Earth, but this seemed unreliable because there is no real way to know how much water was left under there, it did not seem like their technology was advanced enough to have some sonar technology to detect the water levels. On top of that, all the vehicles used were way over the top in either size or speed, and some of them both size and speed. Having vehicles like this require a ton of horsepower, and the faster a car goes, the more gas it uses, so this does not seem like the best way to use a prized limited resource, although it does make for a more visually compelling movie. Then there was the lady who was collecting the seeds, clearly in a water starved world, the prevalence of plants was almost nonexistent. This would make plant seeds valuable because it could create another valuable food resource, but no one else seemed too interested in that either.
Much of this movie’s greatness came from its stunning visuals. It took place in a desert, and it was filmed in Namibia, Australia, and the US. The quality of the filming made it look as though it was filmed today even though it came out over five years ago, and the colors of the landscape, the red and yellow of the sand and rocks contrasting the blue sky and white clouds was beautiful, but the visuals went well beyond just the setting. The cars were also amazingly designed, each had its own uniqueness to it with intricate details. Also the creativity with having the guy playing the electric guitar on the hood of one car, and the polecats swinging back and forth attacking cars. They must have spent an ungodly amount of money on explosives as well because they were almost nonstop throughout. They also won an Oscar for costume design, so from the soldiers with their white painted skin, to the gear and gadgets, and the desert themed clothing fit together so well, even the masks and scars that people had on their faces looked great. Their attention to detail was stunning.
This has been one of the best movies I have watched in the past couple years. I have it ranked fifth overall on my movie rankings, which I started doing in mid-2019. The story theme of gaining equality was well done and in a very compelling manner and done in a unique way. Also the theme of survival, and that everyone has a different reason to live was excellent as well. Some of them were driven by hope of a better tomorrow and others wanted to live on for redemption of their past sins. Nux’s character arc of redemption from being a devout follower of Joe to becoming staunchly against him to the point where he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the girls and Max at the end, was excellently told as well. So not only was the story incredible and executed masterfully, but it was also visually stunning, and when combined to this extent it is hard to believe that this film did not receive the Oscar for best picture. If you have not seen it yet, it is on HBO Max, and it is a must watch! It received a 93 from me.
Sub note: I also watched the two-part Tiger Woods documentary on HBO over the weekend, and it was well done. I cannot say that I learned anything new from it since he is one of the most heavily covered athletes of all time, but it was interesting throughout none the less.
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