Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Mad Max: Fury Road

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Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 05-15-2015, 09:31 PM:

Harkins Northfield, Cine Capri auditorium, 2D

The image looked a bit soft. The focus on the end credits wasn't super sharp.
The audio was good, but not terrific. Like the picture, it never felt super crisp, and there were a few lines of dialog I strained to hear.

(Those are minor quibbles - it was a generally satisfying presentation)

I liked the movie and want to see it again, which is rare for me these days.

The action is over the top, but feels real.
Production Design is spectacular.
The script is lean and mean.
The score is great.

I liked the callbacks to the earlier films. They were nice without being overdone.

The appearance of the crows (a thematic element in MM).
I think one of the flashback frames (showing a skull) was straight out of MM.
Hardy wore the same leg brace and jacket that Gibson wore in TRW.
Hardy's long hair at the start was reminiscent of Gibson's in MM:BT.

Complaints:

The trailers show too much.
Immortan Joe was creepy, but he wasn't threatening enough.
I felt like something was held back in Immortan Joe's story arc at the end (trying to avoid spoilers).

See it on the big screen!

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-19-2015, 10:57 AM:

Cinema: Harkins Theatres Bricktown 16
Screen: Cine Capri
Format: 2D, Dolby Atmos
Presentation Problems: Immortan Joe needs to enunciate
Rating: 3 stars out of 4

Mad Max: Fury Road is a movie I really hoped would deliver that "movie high" you get from seeing something really kick-ass, like the first time I saw Die Hard in 70mm. The 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes might have raised my expectations a little high.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a good movie and I do recommend it. But isn't a great, four star caliber movie.

I won't get into the plot details too much, other than wondering how this installment fits into the saga of previous Mad Max movies. Tom Hardy did a decent job of playing Max Rockatansky, but he doesn't have the same charisma as Mel Gibson had in the same role. It's a very understated performance. Charlize Theron, as Imperator Furiosa, had a lot more to work with from the script. Same goes for Nicholas Hoult as a dying "war boy" Nux. Many of the characters had interesting names, but many of those names are only given in the credits. Hugh Keays-Byrne was the primary bad guy, Toecutter in the original Mad Max movie. He is more scary (and gross) looking in this movie as Immortan Joe. Unfortunately the story doesn't let Immortan Joe flex enough muscles to be a scary villain.

The Road Warrior (aka Mad Mad 2) remains the best movie out of the Max series. It seemed like Mad Max: Fury Road was trying to recapture some of the same greatness of the 1982 surprise hit. I think it kept missing the mark because it was overdone in a number of areas and just downright implausible in others. At times the movie felt a little more like an installment of Riddick or even a parody of the original Mad Max movies. The obvious 3D-oriented gag that tops off the climactic chase was 100% parody.

One touch of detail I loved about the The Road Warrior was the scene early in the movie where Max uses a hub cap to collect precious gasoline dripping out of a truck. There are people just up the road who want to kill him, yet he is sponging up that fuel anyway.

Jump ahead to this movie and it seems like fuel isn't a problem. The highly modded vehicles have unlimited gasoline and some of the characters have unlimited ammo. The world in Mad Max: Fury Road is visually apocalyptic looking in style. But its reality doesn't seem as desperate like a real apocalypse would.

I loved how most of the vehicles and motorcycles were real and the many of the stunts were real. Even though many of the vehicles and other elements of the production design were built, rather than CGI modeled, I couldn't help wondering where people in a post-nuclear apocalypse would find all the resources to build those things. Unfortunately so many other stylistic touches were layered on top of that to make the end result still feel like a CGI cartoon rather than reality. Fireballs color graded to brilliant red do look cool, but they also remind me I'm just watching a movie.

Last week David Christopher Bell posted this article at Cracked about why modern CGI looks surprisingly crappy. It's more than just the CGI, even when some of the CGI is really crappy, rushed and done by the lowest bidding firm. A bunch of it bleeds over into the story writing, editing, application of style over substance and almost complete abandonment of the story telling principals needed to get audiences to suspend disbelief.

BTW, I did watch this movie in Dolby Atmos. I was thankful the Bricktown 16 theater didn't stick Pitch Perfect 2 in the big auditorium, even though it strangely made a lot more money this past weekend. Mad Max: Fury Road had a pretty decent Atmos mix. The surrounds kicked in the most for the voices going on in Max' head. Lots of crazy surround positioning there.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 05-19-2015, 11:40 PM:

what I found interesting about the Atmos mix, is that the bass isn't jacked up to '11' but is used at select key moments - and on the Arclight Bethesda system, they are tonal, tight and resonate.

After seeing this, I immediately wanted to stay and see it again - loved it!

I also thought Stereo D's 3D conversion work looked really good, (not great, since a lot of the action happens so fast), but there are so many instances when things are propelled at your face, it made me dodge my head slightly.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 05-24-2015, 04:07 PM:

CINEMA: Cinemark Oakley Station and XD, Cincinnati, OH
AUDITORIUM: 2
PRESENTATION: Mystery Meat Digital
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: No set masking (I don't think there's any masking equipment installed to begin with)
RATING: Three and one half stars (out of four)

MEANWHILE AT THE SELF-SERVE CONCESSION STAND: What's THIS? A Mr. Pibb label? Not Pibb XTRA? Could they POSSIBLY have ORIGINAL MR. PIBB?

**fills large cup**

Wow. Yes they do.

**guzzles half the cup and tops off...cashier glares disapprovingly**

THE PLOT: A harem escapes. Wackiness ensues.

I'm not a fan of the post apocalyptic genre. My experience with such is basically limited to the music videos for Scandal's "The Warrior" and Kiss's "All Hell's Breaking Loose". I have never seen a Mad Max movie. But the reviews for this have been so great, I had to see it. And I was not disappointed.

I have no desire to see it again, and it's not suddenly going to make me a fan of the genre, but this is an amazing spectacle.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 05-25-2015, 08:11 AM:

quote: Sam Graham
MEANWHILE AT THE SELF-SERVE CONCESSION STAND: What's THIS? A Mr. Pibb label? Not Pibb XTRA? Could they POSSIBLY have ORIGINAL MR. PIBB?

Didn't Mr. Pibb (the original) go extinct somewhere in 2001? Just like most of the humans, animals and plants in this movie?

Maybe Immortan Joe pumped up some from his personal Aqua Pibb?

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 05-28-2015, 08:22 PM:

The Customer Questions and Customer Reviews for Wilton Silver Color Mist at Amazon are a hoot.

quote:
Oh what a spray! What a lovely spray!

quote:
Will this spray allow my brothers to WITNESS ME better?

And many, many more...

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-10-2015, 06:32 PM:

Great flic. Glad I went to see it. Completely over the top, but not annoying like that Michael Bay trash.

- Carsten

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 06-10-2015, 10:34 PM:

I mostly wondered how George Miller sleeps at night will all of these visions in his head.
I think I came into the movie over prepared. Not like when I originally saw Road Warrior, so lost the element of surprise.
Just an astonishingly well made movie, even if it doesn't achieve transcendence.
For whatever reason, died pretty badly in this town.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-14-2015, 11:14 PM:

A very enjoyable movie. Marvel movies could take some lessons in stunts.
My only quibbles
1) It didn't have that crazy no holds barred Australian characters. Theron is just a mainstream female action heroine who inexplicably uses an American accent in the movie(she is not even American, so what is the motivation to use that accent?). She did a very solid job, but she was a little too mainstream for this kind of movie.
2) Hardy doesn't have the same kind of dangerous vibe you can get from a Mel Gibson in Road Warrior. Still not bad.
3) Nicholous Hoult did a good job with the role and fit right in.

Still, a damn enjoyable movie. It's a pity , in Atlanta, it was taken out of the premium large screen formats after only a week. With digital, why not screen share some of the showings in IMAX and RPX with the newer movies at least on weekdays?

The guitar playing guy with all the speakers was a hilarious visual even if it was a throwback to an earlier era.

The last Fast and Furious movie could have used a similar type chase scene instead of being an action movie.

Posted by Carol May (Member # 4068) on 06-17-2015, 02:15 PM:

I just saw half of Mad Max at the Pacific Theaters at The Grove (Farmers Market). Three people present for a 10:10am Wednesday show.

Yes, this new MM channeled the original, but I'm no longer in the right demographic. An hour (presumably 2 hours, but I left) of non-stop chase, nearly non-stop, loud, violent. I went to see Charlize Theron save the world, I'll trust that she did just that, but my head was buzzing too much to stay.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 06-17-2015, 03:07 PM:

There was a break right after you left where your ears get a break. I was getting kind of fatigued and then got through the plot thickening part and then on to the final act. Loved in both 2D and 3D.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-29-2016, 12:42 AM:

So I didn't bother writing a review of this movie back when it came out. I was going to leave well enough alone, but now that this shittastical movie has just won a bunch of Oscars, I am compelled to post my review.

Edit - Ok so I'm having trouble compiling enough negativity into my review to truly express my opinion of what a piece of crap this movie was, so instead I'm going to borrow some words for this review from the late Roger Ebert (and the IMDB).

A woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in postapocalyptic Australia in search for her home-land with the help of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshipper, and a drifter named Max. That's the setup for one of the most thouroughly hateful movie of recent years. A movie that makes me cringe even when I'm sitting here thinking about it.

I hated this movie as much as any movie I've ever reviewed in the 40'ish years I've been watching movies. I had to think a long time to pick my worst picture of 2015, about a tenth of a second, and it's Mad Max Fury Road.

I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.

Thank you for the use of your words Roger. You said it better than I was able to.

0 out of 5 stars

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 02-29-2016, 02:13 AM:

I finally watched Mad Max: Fury Road about a week ago and I didn't care for it at all. My response wasn't nearly as negative as Brad's, but I didn't like it. Every now and there is a movie the critics really respond to and I can't understand why. Mad Max is one of those.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-29-2016, 03:42 PM:

I had never seen it except for the trailer, and the clips shown during the Oscars. It's just not my kind of movie, I guess - the clips just put me off. I'm more of a comedy guy, I guess.

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 02-29-2016, 03:46 PM:

While I don't know that I quite agree with Mr. Ebert (because, you know, I can appreciate the idea that others enjoy things I'm simply not into), I completely agree with Justin. I just do not, and likely never will, see what all the hype is about. I'd say it was about the most boring film I've ever seen. But that's because I don't care for car chases and such. The only reason I saw it was because I was looking for a presentation issue that was reported to me. I know that I would not have seen it otherwise, because I knew going into it that it wasn't my thing. I had hoped I would at least find the story interesting, but that never happened.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 02-29-2016, 03:56 PM:

I did not see MAD MAX Fury Road in a theatre but after all the good things people have been saying about the movie, I decided to get the 3D blu ray. I was really looking forward to enjoying it when I got it but when I did, it turned out to be a confusing bore of a movie, I stopped watching it after forty minutes. By the way Brad feels about the movie, I am glad I am not alone with my very negative opinion of the film. The only good thing I liked about the movie was the 3D. It looked fantastic on my HDTV.

-Claude

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-29-2016, 05:22 PM:

quote: Ken Lackner
The only reason I saw it was because I was looking for a presentation issue that was reported to me.

I wish you had called me before you wasted your time looking for the presentation issue. I could have saved you some time by telling you to not play that piece of crap movie. Voila! Presentation issue solved! [Razz]

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 02-29-2016, 05:32 PM:

Need I say that movie reviews are someone's opinion from Ebert to Pauline Kael, both gone now of course.

I happened to like the original Mad Max and liked this one as well for all sorts of reasons, but having to do with a post apocalyptic world.

Who knows, some like Chipoltle more than real Mexican food. [Mad]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-29-2016, 05:51 PM:

quote:
it turned out to be a confusing bore of a movie,

I find that with a lot of movies today. Even the most recent one I watched, "The Finest Hours," I found myself losing track of who was who on the boat and what was going on because they all started looking/seeming/sounding alike to me. Maybe that's just because of my always-advancing age? (I hope not!)

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-29-2016, 08:39 PM:

quote: Ken Lackner
While I don't know that I quite agree with Mr. Ebert (because, you know, I can appreciate the idea that others enjoy things I'm simply not into), I completely agree with Justin. I just do not, and likely never will, see what all the hype is about.

Actually Brad is paraphrasing Roger Ebert's very negative review of North (1994), one of the earliest Sony movie releases featuring SDDS. I do remember the very prominent SDDS ads for it, and being very annoyed by it from being a vocal and perhaps unreasonable DTS fan at the time. Ebert passed away in 2013, over 2 years before Mad Max: Fury Road was released.

Mad Max: Fury Road is very good on its technical merits -hence the 6 Oscar wins. Suspension of disbelief? Painting of a "reality" plausible enough to support dramatic tension? Um, not so much. I think George Miller bitch-slapped Michael Bay, shoving him aside saying, "let me show you how style over substance is really supposed to be executed." The visual style is over the top enough to make it seem operatic. Unfortunately the viewer may come away from the experience thinking, "wow, I saw a lot, but I didn't feel much from it."

But that's really in essence the kind of movie Hollywood studios like to make these days: a roller coaster ride one can forget within minutes of riding it. No real need to watch it again. Unfortunately Hollywood expects us to buy copies of the movie on Blu-ray, DVD or "HD-Digital" virtual crap. Perhaps we're all developing ADHD on some level, but any movie that's worth buying, and thus worth watching in repeat viewings has to be pretty damned good.

To be fair, I did like the customized vehicles and car chase stunts in the movie. But those things alone are not enough to support a great movie. Fury Road simply got too stylized, too ridiculous and too over the top for its own good. It didn't maintain any grip on a kind of reality to keep it grounded the way The Road Warrior did. The 1982 classic is still a far better movie on many levels. It's better as a straight action movie. It's better as an apocalyptic political allegory.