Mad Max: Fury Road is the best film of 2015

[SortaCreative]

Discuss.

[Hanley!]

It's not my absolute favourite, but it's way up there. Probably Top 5. I'll say it's the best action film released this year for sure. And the best live action blockbuster released all year too.

I was expecting a good film, but this one really surprised me with just how good it is. It was refreshing to watch an action movie that was so unrelenting, but where you could still always tell what's happening. And where the action seemed so realistic, and almost tactile.

In terms of reinvigorating old franchises, this eclipsed Star Wars in my mind.

[Viazon]

Wouldn't know. Haven't seen it. Looks good though and I have been meaning to.

[EmperorWu]

I fucking loved.

[KaiserGlider]

Discuss.

Yes.

[SortaCreative]

Discuss.

Yes.

Good talk brah.

[SortaCreative]

Wouldn't know. Haven't seen it. Looks good though and I have been meaning to.

You done fucked up there Vince. Get on it. Before the year is out.

[UTK]

Sorry to be that guy, but it got sort of boring halfway through. I mean...it's two hours of people driving through an open desert. There were only so many ways they could have choreographed the action scenes (read as: the entire film) that could keep me from thinking, "Okay that's enough, what's next?" Says more about me than it does the movie I guess. Definitely a fun movie, but I'd rank The Force Awakens, Hateful Eight, Inside Out, The Martian, and even Ant-Man over Mad Max.

[Daz]

I don't think I had more fun watching a movie this year, than I did watching Fury Road. It's a movie I love watching with other people too, which is rare for me. Hearing them react to some of the insane stuff that happens only adds to the enjoyment. Any movie that makes me actively wants to socialize is not just a movie, it's a miracle.

[DBSoT]

i loved this movie. I will say that it loses something when you get it on DVD. It is still good, but the movie was built to be on a big screen and with huge surround sound. Seeing the movie in theaters is an absolute trip.

[SortaCreative]

Ant-Man over Mad Max.

[Everlong]

I just saw it for the first time. I was fully expecting to love it based on all the rave reviews I've heard.

I didn't.

It was alright. Some cool action scenes, some great camera work, really cool heroine.

But the plot doesn't do it for me, the stylistic choices just didn't click with me a lot of the time, I felt like I was missing something big time when it came to the backstory of the main villain and even Max himself.

The entire movie I was waiting for the moment where it all just came together and I saw what has made it a critical favorite and even got it nominated for an oscar. But I really don't understand at all.

It was a decent to good action movie, but I don't understand the critical praise beyond the character of Furiosa, and I absolutely do not think it deserves to be anywhere near the Best Picture nominees.

As a matter of fact, aside from Avengers AOU it's the weakest movie of 2015 I've seen so far, I think. Granted, my choices are limited to the following:

Star Wars
The Martian
The Revenant
It Follows
The Peanuts Movie
Avengers: AoU

There are still a bunch of 2015 movies on my list to see, including all the BP nominees and several others. But yeah, I was let down by Mad Max, which is a shame because I really wanted to like it.

[Everlong]

I'm surprised @SortaCreative hasn't defenestrated me yet

[DBSoT]

I just saw it for the first time. I was fully expecting to love it based on all the rave reviews I've heard.

I didn't.

It was alright. Some cool action scenes, some great camera work, really cool heroine.

But the plot doesn't do it for me, the stylistic choices just didn't click with me a lot of the time, I felt like I was missing something big time when it came to the backstory of the main villain and even Max himself.

The entire movie I was waiting for the moment where it all just came together and I saw what has made it a critical favorite and even got it nominated for an oscar. But I really don't understand at all.

It was a decent to good action movie, but I don't understand the critical praise beyond the character of Furiosa, and I absolutely do not think it deserves to be anywhere near the Best Picture nominees.

As a matter of fact, aside from Avengers AOU it's the weakest movie of 2015 I've seen so far, I think. Granted, my choices are limited to the following:

Star Wars
The Martian
The Revenant
It Follows
The Peanuts Movie
Avengers: AoU

There are still a bunch of 2015 movies on my list to see, including all the BP nominees and several others. But yeah, I was let down by Mad Max, which is a shame because I really wanted to like it.

Did you watch it in theaters or on DVD? It can lose a bit of its appeal if you aren't completely emursed in the action. I know you said you have a bit of a problem about a lack of back story, but that is part of the charm for me. I do think they will flesh out more of the back story in the sequel, but I think there was enough in this story to understand what was going on. I would have liked them to discuss the different territories a bit more (where the gusseline comes from, etc).

[Everlong]

Saw it at home. I can understand where the action would have been more enjoyable in theaters, though the action didn't really suffer for me, I enjoyed that for what it was. But theaters or not, I didn't find anything particularly significant about it that would give it such critical acclaim as a genre-transcending movie.

[Hanley!]

I don't think it's supposed to be a genre-transcending movie. I think it's supposed to be a really, really good action movie, during an era where most of our big action movies are mediocre fluff. It was filled with brilliant, gripping action from beginning to end. You could always tell what was going on, they didn't try to hide anything with bizarre special effects or crappy camera angles. The practical effects gave a sense of weight and danger to everything. The characters were interesting and well drawn, without even needing to say too much, and the environment was cool, and a treat to look at. Plus the balls-to-the-wall energy of the whole thing just made for a gripping ride. It was paced perfectly to keep people engaged and keep the audience's heart rate going.

Just my two cents. I think the reason that this film was so popular is that it does something very simple, but which is deceptively difficult to get right, and it accomplishes it all to near perfection.

[SortaCreative]

I'm surprised @SortaCreative hasn't defenestrated me yet

Stand by a window and we'll see.

Im drunk right now, will respond soon.

[SortaCreative]

So here's my main argument on why Mad Max is as good as it is and why Avenger's is not as good as Mad Max. I know you're not saying that but I feel Avengers is a good stand in for the summer blockbuster and part of the reason why Mad Max is so well received is because of the trend in action movies we've got.

Mad Max, as Steve said, does what it sets out to do right. It's not muddy, it's not messy. It's lean, is tense and it's masterfully executed. The character's are pretty thin in the sense that they don't need lots of clunky dialogue. Their actions do a lot of the talking and really it cuts down on redundant fluff that we get in big blockbusters these days. Could there have been more expository dialogue and narrative build? Sure. But in a world where you're either spoon fed everything or left to figure stuff out for yourself, i'll go for the latter.

What makes Fury Road a sensation is the way the film treats all of the senses. It's fast, the music is loud and thudding, the action is visceral but it never gets muddy. And it never gets silly. Which is something odd to say when you're in Miller's world of spikes on spikes on spikes on cars. It has it's own internal logic and it doesn't really stray away from that. Mad Max: Fury Road shows you a small hint of it's universe and then takes you on a small story in that universe. This isn't a story of how Max ends the apocalypse and saves the world. This is a very small scale story and it's about humans.

It is essentially the bare bones action film. But it's done so well that it's refreshing in today's age of computer processed shit. The visuals are crisp whereas visuals in Age of Ultron just get muddy and quite frankly stupid. The stakes are high on a personal level, whereas in Age of Ultron (and AOU is the stand in for Marvel film of the moment) the stakes get so grandiose and silly that the very essence of why we're watching is lost. The characters. It's actually one of the reason's why Civil War looks so good. But when the tension between Captain America and Ironman is lost when they fight through ... a skyscraping strapped to rockets zooming through the sky or something equally absurd then we're so far removed from what drew us in that it just becomes visual mess.

I do think you missed a treat not seeing it in the cinema. I've seen it at home and in the cinema and while it's fine at home. It's fucking fantastic in the cinema. The soundtrack especially comes alive and really gets your balls bouncing.

The summer blockbusters of the last ten years are the experience rides you see in amusement parks. They're the ones with the massive screens, the 3D glasses, the rocking chairs and the smoke machines. Mad Max is the old metal rollercoaster that you just strap into and hold on. It doesn't use elaborate tricks but rather uses some tried and true methods to deliver an exhilarating thrill ride that is the best action film, and arguably the best film, of 2015.

[Everlong]

Yeah I mean, I don't really disagree with what you're saying, I think this is just a case of me going in with extremely heightened expectations and the movie not meeting them. I do think they did the action genre really well (although again, I didn't necessarily always love the stylistic choices) but idk, I guess I was expecting something more than "really good action movie" for it to be a BP nominee.

Still absolutely wouldn't consider it a top five movie of the year out of the ones I've seen, or probably even top 10 once I've seen more.

[SortaCreative]

Yeah I mean, I don't really disagree with what you're saying, I think this is just a case of me going in with extremely heightened expectations and the movie not meeting them. I do think they did the action genre really well (although again, I didn't necessarily always love the stylistic choices) but idk, I guess I was expecting something more than "really good action movie" for it to be a BP nominee.

Still absolutely wouldn't consider it a top five movie of the year out of the ones I've seen, or probably even top 10 once I've seen more.

Come look out this window... the view is lovely....