What we still love: The action is still intense, the stunts aren't restrained by the budget, and they are shot with a cinematic eye. They over turn a semi, they flip a guy off his motorcycle end-over-end, and they flip/roll/blow-up every moving vehicle on screen, but they also pause to let the massive landscape saturate the screen.* There's amazing updates to Max's wardrobe and vehicle designs. There's more female leads. The action is wall to wall. Many movies would try to emulate Mad Max 2 for years to come, and most all would fall short in many, many ways.
What doesn't stand the test of time: Our friend said it best during our second viewing: “I HATE HER HAIR” (referring to the female lead who looks like she walked out of a Whoville aerobics class). The lead female warrior isn't much better with her crimped mane held out of her face with a leather strap. And of course theres a totally unnecessary rape scene. The only other thing that stands out in this film as a misstep is the blinding whiteness. There's not a person of color to be seen anywhere in this post apocalyptic outback, despite indigenous populations residing throughout the Australian desert, and the non-white population throughout the country.
Over all, watching this movie two nights back to back truly set our expectation bar in the exact right place for watching Fury Road. (And so far we've seen that twice, and hopefully we'll get to enjoy it a few times more before it's out of theaters! ...And hopefully at the drive-in... and the dollar theater...)
*100% worth the blu-ray upgrade.
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ReplyDeleteThe movies we screen are always on the 3rd thursday of every month at Theatres at Mall of America. 7:30, $5. During the weeks leading up to the screening we give away clues to what the movie will be but it is always a secret until the title hits the screen. Each month we determine a theme that fits the movie and then write about other movies that fit into that theme. Hope that helps.
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