Forget that (probably) self-important Suffragette movie coming out later this year, Mad Max: Fury Road is the flick that women (and men) will hopefully flock to. I’d almost go so far as calling it a chick flick, if only that term didn’t feel so patronizing and weird.
George Miller’s Mad Max movies have always put women in strong, powerful positions while the men are all broken followers or maniacs. From Virginia Hey’s aptly named “Warrior Woman” in Road Warrior to Tina Turner’s fierce “Aunty Entity” in Beyond Thunderdome; women in Max’s world are equal, if not superior to the men folk.
Women’s liberation from a patriarchal society is not the hook on which this story is based – in Fury Road, it’s the entire story. It’s as if Miller took the plot of Road Warrior and replaced the “gaazoleeeeene” with abused and controlled women. He even asked renowned feminist, activist and writer of the Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler to help craft his vision. All the men in the movie (apart from Max, of course) are either easily-led followers or murderous dictators, while all of the women – young and old – are wise, caring, nurturing, tough as nails and ultimately there to save a world destroyed by men.
As happy as I am that George Miller’s genius has given us powerful women characters in dynamic roles, and all wrapped in a testosterone-pumped, manwich of a movie; I’m still a bit sad that it’ll probably be ignored (or more likely misunderstood) by those fundamentalists who endlessly shriek from behind their pricey, skinny, fruity-named laptops. You know ’em, those horrid middle class types whose feminist ideals amount to (mostly) twitter-bashing films like (and you’re gonna think I’m lying) Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. To all those angry, self-loathing types, please ignore this little blog – like with most things, you’ve probably missed the point – to everyone else, go and see Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s a whole lot of mentalist fun.
But not in 3D. 3D sucks. Honestly, it really does.
And just in case you’re a shrill type who needs something to rant about, then have a rant about Tom Hardy’s accent in the movie. What is that all about?
moviementalism.wordpress.com 
Sounds terrible.
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British Hardy couldn’t pull off a convincing Aussie accent… really?!
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Other than the feminist rubbish, it sounds ok. The older movies were great for their day.
I still don’t know why society tolerated the sexist attitudes of feminism – the double standards (aptly nicknamed female chauvinism – or feminism for short) are nauseating.
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You are a sexist and an idiot – an incredibly common combination. Educate your dumb self. You are a fucking embarrassment to men everywhere.
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I loved to meet you at a bar…..but you do go to real bars you go to fem-male bars and march in slut parades, because you are a male bashing self hating fem-male. The movie bashed men, mocked any good done by men…..feminist women are evil for one reason they don’t believe they can do any wrong.
It was about her how she suffered….men are getting one choice in the west, feminism or fundamental pro male religion….with your kind if we state what women are doing is stupid you yell and scream…. you are forcing the moderates to become haters to survive…..9/11 no man rushes to save a woman, batman movie men use women as shields….this mad maxs movies preaches hate vs men boys,
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I’ve seen it this morning: terrible! Very very bad movie… and FEMINIST! But… what the fuck?… What have you eaten , George??? :((((
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I’ve also seen the movie, it’s terrible.
When have you ever seen women perform heroic actions?
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I think the blog is right on. It’s always fundamentalist men and women who miss the point – like some of the commenters here.
Regarding women as heroes in real life, I’m not trying to be funny, and I’m not sure what you characterize as “heroic” but I’d say birthing children is seen performed by women on the daily. You could argue it’s a passive heroism, but I’d say most people – men nor women – don’t charge into danger unless forced by something external. Luckily, progress has allowed most of us to be lazy.
Regarding women as heroes in films, I’d love to hear opinions on Alien, Kill Bill, The Matrix? All have women in action leads, characters who could be characterized as “heroines”, and all are written and directed by men (well, at least at the time they were written and directed, see Lana Wachowski). I guess my ultimate question is: why are you afraid of chicks? Are you afraid male heroism is somehow made less heroic? Are you afraid of men losing out on hero action roles? Are you afraid women will start stealing all the writing and directing jobs on action films? I’d really like to know!
After all (and back to the topic), as totalkhanage says so eloquently, Mad Max delivers to us all, “George Miller’s genius has given us powerful women characters in dynamic roles, and all wrapped in a testosterone-pumped, manwich of a movie”. Why does one group have to be the loser here?
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Aw, thanks for getting it @lordsofhells!
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When have women ever been heroic? Are you a troll or just a dumb idiot stupid moron assfuck? How bout these women, you dickbrain chauvinistic knuckle dragger:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/12/world/cnnphotos-female-peshmerga-fighters/
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they are not modern feminist western women they are women of value…..ie not your signal mom.
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i found your blog via the Empire Magazine review’s comments section. Thanks for the great review – I saw the film the other night and haven’t stopped thinking about it. i hardly ever see a film in the cinema anymore, but I knew that this was a flick that demands the big screen. I need to see it again before I can write a proper review, but a few thoughts:
Yes, you’re right, it’s an important feminist corrective to the usual macho swagger found in this sort of fare, and it’s kick-ass all the way. Theron is phenomenal – Furiosa is the strongest female action character since Sarah Connor or Ripley. But unlike James Cameron or Ridley Scott, who I doubt you could ever consider feminists, Miller has structured an entire story about the perversity of patriarchy.
Max is not even the protagonist – and you know what, I’m fine with that. Miller is correct when he says that a story of sex slaves being rescued becomes a different kind of story when it’s another woman doing the rescuing.
It comes as a bonus that Men’s Rights arseholes are pissed off about the fact that this film isn’t just about blokes driving cars into each other.
I don’t know the full story as to why the film got delayed, but I think we should be grateful: Miller has made the film he probably always wanted to, and while Gibson is too old and too crazy now, and Heath Ledger is too dead, I think that Hardy is perfectly good as Max (and i agree with you about the accent – a weird mumbly Australian by way of Cardiff, or something), but the real payoff in the delay is that if Miller HAD made this in the 90s like he intended, we wouldn’t have had Charlize Theron.
I also appreciated all the practical effects and stunt work, and although there was chaos on the screen at all times, it’s not difficult to follow at all (superb editing: the editor is a documentary editor, generally, which is interesting – Miller told her to use her documentary instincts).
Production design, costume design, sound design: all excellent.
The music is also brilliant. I’ve been listening to the album non-stop all week (it’s a bit Zimmerish, in all honesty)
My only question is why aren’t more people going to see it? Everyone who I know who has seen it has been blown away by it, and we’re all telling our friends to hurry up and see it.
I can’t imagine any other summer movie coming anywhere near to this. I was looking forward to MI5 (based on that insane airplane stunt) but now I’m thinking it’s going to look pretty sad by comparison
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