Mad Max: Fury Road
The movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a fantasy/science fiction genre. It is produced and directed by George Miller and came out in 2015. It was shot in a desert wasteland. In the wasteland, people are going through intense suffering and are struggling to survive due to the shortage of gas and water. However, the movie focuses mainly on a liberation move mastered by imperator Furiosa. Miller chose actors that included, Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Abbey Lee, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington, Zoe Kravitz, and Courtney Eeton. However, it is worth mentioning that audiences were introduced to Mad Max in 1997. Miller directed that film in Melbourne, Australia. The movie at that time, was about a story concerning murder, and societal collapse. On the other hand, “Mad Max: Fury Road” was under production for many years however, it did not come out early due to attacks of September 11 and Iraq war.
There are good and bad aspects of the movie when analyzing the movies’ plot, soundtrack and characters. The plot seemed quite easy to follow. It was great how the events unfolded. Everything started in a desert. In the desert, water and gasoline were scarce commodities due to the nuclear holocaust. Just at the beginning of the movie we are introduced to the main character. He was taken as a prisoner to the citadel from the beginning of the movie. At the citadel, we start to have a better understanding of what is going on. It turns out that everyone one is struggling to live. This part of the plot is very well organized and illustrated. From this part of the plot, we can almost predict what is going to happen next.
After that, Immortan Joe (The tyrant), prepares to send a war rig to get gasoline. Furiosa is in charge of the rig. After a while into the journey. Joe realizes that the rig is heading in a different direction than it was supposed to. So he collects his army and starts chasing the war rig. That is where the main actions take place. A fierce fight occurs between Joe’s army and the war rig. During the fight Max releases himself. Since Max was a natural blood donor, he was taken by one of the Joes warriors to supply blood for him. Max joined imperator Furiosa and Joe’s wives run away to find a green place. They are constantly being chased by Joe’s army. Max and one of the Joes warriors helped Furiosa to get to her homeland where she was taken as a child. She was disappointed to find out that the place is no longer green and most of the people have died. They decide to leave and head to unprotected citadel. On their way back to the citadel, they are met with Joe’s army and this is when Joe was killed. They return to the citadel with Joe’s corps on the car. The people are very happy to see the dead Joe. This is the general overview of the main events in the movie.
In general, the events were put in a great order. However, it was not always easy to know what is going on. At some points in the movie I found it hard to follow the plot at times. It was confusing sometimes, to have a clear understanding when there was an alternation between events. For example, when Joe’s army was chasing the rig, out of a sudden we see more warriors and reinforcements going along with Joe. It was not very clear to me, the place where the reinforcements came from. The reinforcements seemed like a sudden addition to Joe’s army. At some point I thought the reinforcements might be enemies that are there to fight Joe. It was only clear when I saw them marching with his army, then I realized that they are fighting alongside him.
The soundtrack had great positive impact on the storytelling. The story was told, more effectively with the presence of the background music. It helped to point out things that were not easily noticed by audiences. Also, it notifies audience that there is something big about to happen. It alerts us to be ready for it. For this reason, the audience are more drowned to the movie. It is obvious that soundtracks are considered to be one of the most important components of any movies. Most importantly, the music played a huge role in the film. Since the track almost did not stop during the whole movie. Especially, during main actions. Without the music, the movie would not have been so appealing and interesting to watch. It particularly, helped the audiences to get emotionally involved. In addition it helped, to identify that certain events are supposed to be sad or happy. For example, when Furiosa finally met her people and finally realized that there is no green place anymore, the music got louder to intensify the sad moments. It made the audiences feel what was Furiosa was going through at that moment.
The soundtrack had a major impact on the movie in general. In my opinion, the impact was mostly positive. However, the music from the background was too much to bear at some moments in the movie. For example, when the cars were chasing each other in the desert. The music was extremely loud and hard to listen. The music was much louder than the conversation taking place among characters. It was not easy to understand what the people were telling each other. It would have been better if it was a little calmer than it was played. More specifically, the red character (One of the Joes men), who was playing electric guitar during attacks. He was always ready to play. Finally he was killed in the action and the loud noise was put an end to. The music was mostly a dead metal. If you are not a big fan of metal rock, then, this movie might not be very entertaining to watch.
Besides the electric guitar, some of the Joes musicians were playing drums. The drums have always been part of fighting even in the ancient times. During the movie, the drums sounded very well and made the actions more entertaining to watch. However, just like the electric guitar it was too loud at some points.
Most of the characters played fantastic role in the movie. Their acting made you think that this is a reality rather than a movie. However, the main character did not seem as mad as I thought he would be. He was introduced just at the beginning of the movie. He seemed liked a very nice person. We got to know very early, about his intentions and motivations. He was haunted by those he failed to save. Just like everyone else, he was fighting for liberation and survival.
An interesting aspect about characters is that most of them were made to be very tough in general. I really, liked the character Furiosa. She was played by Charlize Theron. It was her master plan that changes the main events in the movie. She planned to escape from Joe’s brutality. She wanted to go back to her homeland, where she thought to find a green land. As a character, she is very strong with her iron hand. Even Joe’s wives seemed very powerless at the first appearance. However, they played a crucial role in the escaping mission. They greatly, contributed to the success they all reached at the end.
I also enjoyed when I got to know another main character named Joe. I thought it was incredible the way he was created as a character. I was very curious to see his face without a mask. It seemed that he could not breathe well, without his mask. So he was wearing his mask till the moment he died. His face was finally revealed with a lot of blood.
I must admit, it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I would watch it again and again. It is incredible watching those beautifully designed cars that did amazing things. You never get bored while watching. I think the movie was as good as Gladiator. After all, it is like watching a concert. Because, there was so much background music played throughout the whole movie. I enjoyed every bit of the movie, I would strongly recommend watching it.
