Tag Archives: George

Mad Max Fury Road Review Eaglecrowowl Style

Fury-Road-Trailer-4Just returned from watching Mad Max Fury Road. Thrilling entertainment. I was not disappointed. The editor is Margaret Sixel. As reported in a Vanity Fair interview, George Miller, the director of all the Mad Max movies said to Margaret, his wife “You have to edit this movie, because it won’t look like every other action movie”. It doesn’t.

I have not seen the previous Mad Max movies and have been, up until this moment, immune to their allure. I rarely see any movies anymore, though I do go to a few each year. I am usually left unsatisfied and so sink deeper into the comfort of my prestige episodic television series late night couch viewing with husband, dog and parmesan popcorn. Almost nothing can touch it for dramatic artistry, pleasure and viewing satisfaction.

But Mad Max Fury Road was totally engrossing. I spent most of the movie with my hands on my face in a physical and archetypal expression of deep alarm. Here’s why I think it worked so well.

  1. It made sense within the logic and parameters of it’s own universe. I am my father’s daughter and I need stuff to make sense.
  2. It was cool looking. I like good art. The art was good. I don’t normally give a rat’s ass about cars but this movie turned me temporarily into into Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. I finally get it, hot rods are cool. So are explosions. Respect.
  3. Superlative cinematic vision. You could follow the action, it was tense as hell and the violence was legion but not gratuitous. Also the sound design was awesome. I might watch it again just to pay attention to this.
  4. It was tense because something was at stake. In an action movie, you have to care about the outcome. You have to be deeply and genuinely wanting something to happen and passionately wanting something else not to happen. Otherwise it gets terribly boring, no matter how much shit is slo mo blowing up. The degree of tension is predicated on this balance, wanting but not knowing if you will get what you want. So what does this movie want? It wants female values. How could I resist? You had me at hello. Look, men are beautiful and a male warrior is very compelling, no doubt, but an infinite loop of tough guy man on man slaughter devoid of compassion is Hell. I don’t want to live in Hell.

Three things made me want to see this:

  1. Metacritic had 17 100 point reviews out of 43. I don’t think I have seen that before.
  2. A men’s rights activist blog is calling for a boycott because it considers the the film a “feminist piece of propaganda posing as a guy flick.” Do I even need another reason?
  3. Yes. Yes I did. It was this still from the film. I want to see that movie. Thank you George Miller. Loved i!


Mad Max Fury Road



