Monday Movie Mania - Mad Max: Fury Road

Still on the HBO free weekend movies I missed at the theater.

Mad Max, the original with Mel Gibson, was one of those cult films that everyone at my high school watched.

A generation and three films later, Mad Max creator, writer and director George Miller has actually put together a decent story for his hero.

Or at least, a story that makes sense and isn't just one big, violent car chase. Okay, it is a big, violent car chase with great character development thrown in, which is why it was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Ironically, I wasn't planning on seeing the fourth Mad Max in the theater. At least not until I started seeing a huge number of complaints on the internet about its feminist themes. It wasn't just minor complaints. It was more like "OMG! Women are taking over the world and cutting off our balls!"

Which ironically made me want to see the movie.

Unfortunately, Mad Max: Fury Road was released around the time the Crazy Niece moved in with us, so funds were tight, and I didn't have the time or money to see it while it was in theaters.


* * *  SPOILERS  * * *


PROS
1) When you have Oscar-nominated and/or -winning powerhouses leading the film, you know this isn't going to be the typical B-movie dystopia. Tom and Charlize share equal time, equal intensity, and equal respect without any sexual or sensual bullshit.

2) The five brides aren't your typical damsels in distress, though the costumer and Miller try to lead you down that path. They understand they have to chip in on the work, and they do.

3) I found to be Nicholas Hoult a fascinating actor when I first saw him in Warm Bodies. His Nux actually has the biggest character arc in the film. And whether he's young Beast in the recent X-Men movies or one of Immortan Joe's War Boys, Hoult brings a deep level of humanity to all of his characters.

CONS
1) I can honestly say this is the first Mad Max movie that there wasn't a part that I absolutely hated.


Final thoughts: I didn't realize how old I was getting until I found out that two of Joe's escaping wives were played by Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, and Riley Keough, the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough.

I loved this movie so much I give it a 10 out of 10.