Day 8: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

I'm yet to meet anybody who hasn't loved Mad Max: Fury Road. Actually, no, that's only partially true - I haven't met anybody who hasn't loved it, but I've heard about a bunch of men's rights activists who don't believe a movie about cars and post-apocalyptic wastelands should have strong female characters who (spoiler) frequently get one over on their male oppressors. This is the point, however, where I ask myself whether people like this actually count as human, and come to the conclusion that the jury's probably out.

Personally, I thought it was great long before I actually saw it. I was enthralled from the first time I viewed the trailer, dazzled by the sheer excess and the fact that the stuntwork appeared to have been created on-set instead of in a computer. I thought about going to see it at the cinema, even, but that was when I was still hopeful that the newest Fantastic Four iteration wasn't going to stink, and so I decided to save my cash in the hope I'd get to see something frothy and silly in a year when I've really, really needed it.

It wasn't to be, though, so we'll add that to the list of reasons that Fantastic Four sucks ass: It prevented me from seeing a pedal to the metal, old-school blockbuster in the full-size glory it deserves.

So, how do I love thee, Mad Max: Fury Road? Let me count the ways...

1. The cars. Oh, god, the cars. They look like the results of a Scrapheap Challenge special that got bitten by a werewolf. 
2. The people. I love how George Miller isn't afraid to give screentime to people of every gender and size and colour, and how he doesn't measure a woman's character by her appearance.
3. The fact that Max (Tom Hardy) spends a significant chunk of the first part of the movie as a human hood ornament. Not sure whether this is fundamentally hilarious or whether I'm a little bit strange.
4. Nicholas Hoult as Nux. By all accounts, Hoult himself seems to be a bit of a twat, but he has a real knack for taking damaged characters and turning them into heart-stealers. Here he's the brainwashed acolyte of the tyrannical Immortan Joe, and the screen lights up a little whenever he's around.
5. The refreshing lack of gore. Oh, there's a bit of blood splashed around, but Miller keeps it brief and while various characters meet horrible ends, he trusts the audience to know what's happened without being all pornographic about it.
6. Speaking of trusting the audience, another refreshing thing here is the lack of exposition. No gratuitous information dumps, therefore, from characters who explain only what's necessary to whichever other character they happen to be speaking to at the time.
7. The casting. I love that Miller brought back Hugh Keays-Byrne, the villain in the original Mad Max, to play the evil Immortan Joe.
8. The casting. I reall, really love that Miller didn't let Mel Gibson anywhere near the damned project.

As for the film's much discussed feminist subtext? Yes, it's there, and no, I don't think it's in the least bit overstated. In the end, the film is the story of Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, with Max himself nothing more than a helpful tagalong. Furiosa and the women she allies herself with along the journey are brave and resourceful, natural improvists in a world that requires people to do what they can with whatever's closest to hand.

You'll notice that I haven't really discussed the plot. This isn't because there isn't one, or even because it's particularly irrelevant. Fury Road is far more about evoking a world than telling a story, however - in essence, it's a two-hour chase sequence that only rarely pauses for breath. In other hands (and, arguably, without such solidly coherent stunt work), this might be exhausting or even flat-out boring. Here, however, it's immersive and exhilarating, joining Kingsman on the short but happy list of truly great action movies I've seen this year.