Film Review • Quality & Storytelling Exploitation

Max Max Fury Road (2015) is a post-apocalyptic film that uses exploitation themes, not to their full extent but in a way that draws people in. There is violence, near nudity, and the question of sanity from the main character.

The post-apocalyptic setting is used frequently as its a fight for survival, people usually form groups some are much more violent than others, the use of the setting being post-apocalyptic draws people in as the idea of seeing what happens if the world gets destroyed is interesting.

In Fury Road, we are first introduced to a very violent group that call themselves 'war boys', which have a ruler who is obsessed with creating a 'full life' human as the war boys are 'half-lives' which is usually used in a sense of radiation.

The leader is a warlord and is ruling the people by being in charge of the water.
The group have the belief that death is good, and that dying a good death will take them to Valhalla, so a lot of the war boys throw themselves in harm's way, one even stating 'I live I die, I live again', they also yell things like 'Witness me' when they're about to do something they think they're going to die doing, they want their deaths to be glorious and in the midst of war.

The speed is important, its very fast-paced like the cars involved.
It's a constant race this film, to get away from the warlord and his gang, and the others, this adds to the violence too as its a chase they are shooting and some people get run over.
The speed help keeps up the action

Women are used as 'breeders' and producers of milk, so they are seen as nothing more than machines to produce a drinkable substance and create more war boys to fight.
At the beginning all but two women are nearly nude, with only pumps visibly connected to them, the 'prized breeder' women are all covered in cloth that appears like linen or silk, they all seem to be rather innocent, knowing of the war boys willingness to sacrifice themselves but trying to make at least one of them see sense.

Joseph Campbell's Heros Journey in this film:
(these are all theoretical)

Call to adventure
Max getting captured by the war boys.

Supernatural aid
The storm that gives the characters a headstart, over anyone that was following them.

Crossing the first threshold
Agreeing to take the 'wives' of the warlord, with Furiosa driving the 'war rig'.

Belly of the whale
Getting chased by Every gang in the area, from the original place, the 'bullet farm' and 'gas town'.

Road of Trials
Every fight there is, whenever any of the gangs get close, the trial is to fight them off.
Another is the muddy area where the rig gets stuck and they need to get it out.

Meeting the Goddess
The wives of the warlord, all of them are wishing to get to the 'green place'

Temptations
Early temptations are giving the wives back to the warlord, with hope of a reward.

Atonement with the father
The only physical father is the warlords, as they appear to be fathers of the gangs, this isn't where the atonement is though.
I believe that this is when they are able to persuade the war boy that the things he believes is not the way to live, and he helps them.

Apotheosis
I am unable to find where this is.

The ultimate boon
They reach where the 'green place' was but its not what they wanted, Furiosa also finds her original clan that she was taken from as they are like a family more than a gang.

Refusal to return
The whole film the refusal to return is present, none of the main characters want to return to the warlord.

Magic Flight
Max retaliating and getting more bullets.
Turning backend driving through the war parties.

Rescue from without
Furiosa's clan joining in to help them get to where they wanted to go.
The engine going and the previously persuaded wat boy helps sort it out, and when he sacrifices himself to let them get away.

Crossing the return threshold
Killing the warlord and getting through the canyon.

Master of two worlds
The group get back to where they started, showing the dead body to everyone who then rip him apart, celebrated by the people that were ruled by the warlord.

Freedom to live
They are now in control, they give the people their water, and they're all free from the tyrannical reign.
They live in an area that can support life unlike the rest of the world.
and Max wanders off.

The film is almost cyclic, as they drive away from the place only to turn around and head back to it.
Place wise it is but where the characters actually are is different, at the start they are all a prisoner of sorts and by the end they are all free.