Mad Max: Fury Road lives up to the hype and you don’t have to be familiar with the original series to enjoy it. Strap yourselves in and witness Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) smuggling the Wives (and “breeders”) (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoe Kravitz, Abbey Lee and Courtney Eaton) to the promised “Greenlands”, away from tyrannical leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). The fantastic Furiosa does this with some help from Max (Tom Hardy), also a prisoner of the villain. The group are chased through the desert by Immortan Joe and his army of men with Heath Ledger’s Joker-inspired makeup because he needs… babies. Eurgh.
Most of the film is led by Furiosa and the Wives, who are capable of surviving and kicking ass without losing an ounce of their femininity. But don’t worry, Max is still present. He’s just not the only hero around. It’s great to see him portrayed as a flawed and conflicted character with a touch of softness; as complex as the women.
We also see that both men and women are equals (Max and the other men, except Immortan Joe, don’t seem to be bothered by women fighters – and why should they be?), and not all women are alike. Some are soft and traditionally feminine while the others are skilled in armoury, but they’re all strong in different ways. There’s even some romance and unlike so many other action films, it isn’t cringworthy or cliché.
Survival is the main theme but it seems that society is the one that really resonates. The film reflects the effects of patriarchy. It turns men into bloodthirsty monsters and blindly devoted to uphold social values/ideals. It turns women into submissive things and the film portrays the women in the tyrant’s society as breeding machines and nothing more.
Such a powerful message.
The film has plenty of action, live rock music (there are drummers among Immortan Joe’s entourage!) and great metaphors for decadence, morality ambiguity and ego in a post-apocalyptic world – overall it’s a cool CGI’d movie.
Fashion Industry Broadcast’s rating: 8/10.
