Epic Rant: The Fury Road Backlash

Got a problem with the women of Fury Road? You're the problem. 

"Did you just say NO plot?
Look at my belly!"

There seems to be a growing amount of backlash over this latest incarnation of the Mad Max franchise. Very quickly, people are turning their noses up at a film that is a perfect specimen of '80s nostalgia wrapped up in shiny two hour package of bent metal, amazing visual elements, and tons of verifiably insane stunt work. What's so wrong with that? Absolutely nothing. Get over yourself. 

Mad Max movies have always featured a paper thin story with terribly confused continuity issues that rely heavily on George Miller's defiant means of bringing post-apocalyptic mohawks, leather clad bikers, and gasoline fueled deaths to the screen. The franchise was never high art. And the one time Miller strayed from the formula, fans ravaged him for it. Why? Well, it was terrible. 

Viewers are complaining about the Fury Road's supposed feminist agenda and some are claiming that the film lacks any plot. To put it bluntly, have you ever watched Mad Max or The Road Warrior?
The first entry lacks a cohesive story and features little to no character development and the sequel is nothing but an extended road war chase that has no more plot than Fury Road. That's not to mention the horrendous Beyond Thunderdome and Tina Turner's eighteen pound earrings. Stop blurring reality because nostalgia has confused you. The Mad Max franchise is strictly about blowing things up and watching people die horrible vehicular deaths while battling it out over much needed fuel. If I've lost you, go back and watch The Road Warrior again and tell me what I'm missing. 

"Just because I loved you in Monster
doesn't mean you can walk all over
Tom Hardy."

On to this feminist agenda thing. Who cares? Charlize Theron is a massive actress, able to do whatever she wants with her dynamic chops. Did you honestly think that she would take on a role like this without giving Tom Hardy a run for his money. That's what she does. She's the type of talent that can walk on to any set, any time, and take on any type of role given to her. This is the same actress that starred in Monster. At what point did you think she wouldn't somehow become the central focus of the movie? And why exactly do you have a problem with it?  Maybe you just have a problem with powerful female protagonists. Or maybe you're just an ass hole. If you have a problem with the other supposed "feminist" tones of the movie, maybe you should just stop complaining and realize that this is entertainment. Get over it. 

Fury Road is everything a Mad Max do over should have been. It takes the franchise right back to the core. The film is a two hour exercise in utter carnage about a main character that communicates with bullets, fists, explosions, and blood soaked fenders. Oh, did you say there wasn't enough dialogue? Dude, this is Mad Max, not Shakespeare. Take a step back and watch the original movies again. They were nothing more than Fury Road in the plot department and were also short sighted in their amount of character arc. Nostalgia can be a bitch. Don't let it get the best of you. 

Oh, did you just say you wanted a Mel Gibson cameo? Say it again. Wait. Don't. 

-CG