Film Review (Exploitation) - Mad Max Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)

Fig 1. Mad Max Fury Road Poster.

This film begins with Max himself being captured by a group who call themselves 'the war boys' who follow a dictator named Immortan Joe. Max is brought back to a place called the citadel, where Immortan Joe rules over a large population of people. He is used as a blood donor for one of their warriors but once he is taken out onto the road with 'the war boys', he eventually escapes after a battle occurs between them and a woman driving a large oil tanker which has been stolen from Immortan Joe. He manages to catch up to the tanker after the conflict and attempts to take the tanker from her and a group of women she is taking with her. However, shortly after taking the tanker, its engine fails and he is forced let her and the others come with him in exchange for fixing the engine. She introduces herself as Furiosa and tells him that the women she is helping to escape with her are Immortan Joe's wives.


Fig 2. Conflict Scene.

She tells him that they intend to travel far to a place she calls 'the green place'. After a lot more conflicts and problems, they eventually make it to where 'the green place' was supposed to be, only to be welcomed by a group of old women Furiosa knows to be a tribe called the 'Vuvalini'. After discovering that there is no green place there, they all agree to head back to the citadel as they know that there is ample food and water there and it may be possible to take control of it. After a large chaotic final battle, they manage to kill Immortan Joe and the majority of his army of war boys, allowing them to take the citadel with ease. The film finishes with Furiosa and Joe's wives being cheered by the populace of the citadel and Max walking away and fading into the crowd.

The plot for this film is incredibly simple, when broken down it is literally a group moving from point A to point B, then after not finding what they want, moving back to point A. When compared to the original 'Mad Max' film, which is without a doubt an expoitation film. An expoitation film being a film that exploits certain trends and interests that the current audience has. The original 'Mad Max' is a revenge film with a lot of car and bike chases, violence and dangerous stunts. When compared, this latest film has the same simplicity in terms of story and plot, with a lot of exciting conflicts piled on top. As such it would seem that this film is also an exploitation film. It is also seemingly exploiting the same trends that the original film was, which makes sense considering it is part of the same series.

Illustration List

Miller, G (2015) Figure 1. Mad Max Fury Road Poster. http://i.imgur.com/tY3sbBZ.jpg (Accessed on 03/11/15)

Miller, G (2015) Figure 2. Conflict Scene. http://3gem.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hekhd7g1ddmnboxclncm.jpg (Accessed on 07/11/15)