History YMMV / MadMaxFuryRoad

* AwardSnub: Creator/CharlizeTheron missing out on even a nomination for Best Actress at the Golden Globes and at the Academy; Nicholas Hoult not being nominated as Best Supporting Actor; Music/JunkieXL not getting a Best Score nomination; and, of course, the film not winning any "big" rewards like Best Director and Best Picture.

* EpilepticTrees: The Max in this film is actually the Feral Kid from ''The Road Warrior'' as an adult having taken his hero's name, neatly explaining the actor change and the long gap between films. There are a quite a few actors and directors who support this theory, notably including Creator/QuentinTarantino.

** The grenade-tipped spears used by the Warboys are similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spar_torpedo spar torpedos,]] which are also bombs on sticks that were used by boats as a means to attack other boats and ships.
** The Warboys' grenade-tipped spears also resemble a weapon used by Japanese forces during WWII called a "lunge mine" or "anti-tank spear". They're basically ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-explosive_anti-tank_warhead HEAT warhead]] on the end of a long bamboo pole. The soldier was expected to lie in the foliage next to the road, waiting for an enemy tank to roll by, at which point he'd jab the hull with his spear, [[SuicideAttack blowing up both the tank and the soldier]] -- essentially, exactly the way that Morsov uses them.
*** Similar devices were also used by many armies since World War I to clear barbed-wire and minefields, they were known as Bangalore Torpedoes. Unlike the lunge mine, these were not a suicide weapon; the intent was that a soldier could push them into the obstacle from behind cover, or even throw them javelin-style, then withdraw to a safe distance and set them off using an attached detonator wire, without needing to expose himself to enemy fire to place the charge directly. (Which is in some ways the exact opposite of how the War Boys use them.)

* CompleteMonster: [[WastelandWarlord Immortan Joe]] is an [[EvilOldFolks elderly]], [[EvilCripple sickly]], brutal tyrant who has forged a kingdom in the Wasteland. In the prequel comic, it is revealed Joe was a marauder who murdered others for their supplies, enslaving the women and killing the men and children. Upon founding his kingdom, Joe selects people to join it, but forces the women to become {{breeding slave}}s so their milk may be harvested, and the men to run along treadmills to power the turbines. Joe indoctrinates the strong young men into the Warboys: drug-addicted cultist fanatics who long to die in his cause. The most beautiful women are kept as Joe's personal [[SexSlave sex slaves]] and forced to bear his children; after three failed attempts at bearing a healthy boy, they find themselves exiled to certain death in the desert wastes. When several of his wives escape, Joe spares no resource to hunt them down and return them, though he is willing to kill one rather than allow her to be rescued, showing that he views them solely as his property.

** The War Boyz: berserk, half-naked suicidal warriors painted white who suck up gasoline in their mouths and spit it into the intake of their junkyard-tanks to overclock the engines, wielding grenade-tipped spears. And they ''kick ass''. They're ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Orks, only lacking green skin and [[MoreDakka not having]] ''[[MoreDakka quite]]'' [[MoreDakka as much dakka]].

** Nux. Mostly for Nicholas Hoult giving us a funny and [[LargeHam hamtastic]] - "[[MemeticMutation OH WHAT A DAY! WHAT A LOVELY DAY!]]" - performance, his [[BadassDriver driving skills]], his [[WalkingShirtlessScene lack of a shirt]] and [[spoiler:his HeelFaceTurn and HeroicSacrifice.]]

** Ace, the OldSoldier of the Warboys who defends Furiosa's convoy against the Buzzards before realizing she's trying to escape Joe. Despite only appearing during that sequence, Ace is better-liked than some members of Joe's faction who last the entire film, and he has a decent amount of fan art.

** Coma the Doof Warrior, a guitar player that [[{{Determinator}} never stops playing]] his rock music for the Warboys.

** At least on social media websites such as Tumblr or Website/YouTube, there is some competition between fans of ''Fury Road'' and ''Film/{{Tomorrowland}}'' and as to whether or not the idea of a hopeful future is a better message, or whether apocalyptic fiction like Mad Max is better.
*** Though some reviewers have [[http://dquinn.net/hope-and-redemption-in-mad-max-fury-road-and-disneys-tomorrowland/ pointed out]] that the core message is the same; having great dreams aren't enough - you have to go out and make them reality.
--->'''Max''': Hope is a mistake. If you can't fix what is broken, you'll go insane.\\
'''Nix''': In every moment, there is the possibility of a better future, but you people won't believe it! And because you won't believe it, you won't do what is necessary to make it a reality. So you dwell on this terrible future and you resign yourselves to it. And for one reason; because that future doesn't ask anything of you, ''today.''
*** In a similar vein, both movies make the claim that though bad things have a source - Immortan Joe, the Monitor - and removing that source will improve the world, the ''real'' reason bad things happen is because most people are too apathetic to resist it.
--->'''Nux''': We're not to blame!\\
'''Angharad''': ''Then who killed the world?''\\
'''Nix''': You ''gave up.'' That's not the ''Monitor's'' fault. That's ''yours.''
* FountainOfMemes:
** The marketing campaign seemed to be deliberately going for MemeticMutation for Nux's "OH, what a ''day''! ''WHAT A LOVELY DAY!''"[[note]]It worked.[[/note]]

** Taken even further; now the "Frequently Bought Together" feature for the spray shows that many customers are buying it alongside [[http://www.amazon.com/Aviator-Motorcycle-helmet-Goggles-TMS-33-6/dp/B007ZHZ7EK/ref=pd_bxgy_79_text_y a pair of warboy-worthy driving goggles]] and [[http://www.amazon.com/White-Body-Paint-Net-WT/dp/B00767Q6CQ/ref=pd_sim_79_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=31UvAfitmiL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=04WM78SCMVQA9SH1D3GX white body paint]].

* FriendlyFandoms: One started up with feminist ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' fans when Rey, and the film in general, was attacked by the same groups that objected to Furiosa.
** Fury Road fans have become quite amicable with fans of ''Film/BladeRunner2049'', thanks to both of them being [[DevelopmentHell long]]-[[SavedFromDevelopmentHell delayed]] sequels to iconic 80's sci-fi franchises that haven't had a movie in over 30 years. Neither film was expected to [[ToughActToFollow live up to the legacy]] established by their predecessors, but upon release, were greeted with [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail overwhelmingly positive reviews]] by critics and fans alike, and even picked up some Academy Awards in the process.

** Tom Hardy battles a massive man reliant on some breathing apparatus and figures out that he should take it apart first - basically reversing the situation when Tom Hardy was in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. The very last scene is a massive platform lifting the {{Deuteragonist}} out of view, just like the final shot of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
** Knowing that one of the many [[TroubledProduction production difficulties]] over the course of the film's [[DevelopmentHell 30 year gestation period]] required the crew to move to filming in Namibia [[note]]because a sudden rainstorm and growth of beautiful green plant life [[RealityIsUnrealistic meant the Australian outback didn't look bleak or harsh enough afterwards]][[/note]], then the plot point of [[spoiler: the Green Place being dried-up and dead]] is hilarious because it's exactly the ''opposite'' of what happened in real life.

* JerkassWoobie: The War Boys, our toxically destructive villains. At first glance you might dismiss them as nothing more than deplorable savages. However, it's soon made clear they're yet another group of Joe's victims, all being indoctrinated to blindly follow him whilst pumped up on drugs and lies. Not to mention, most - if not all - of them are terminally ill, and made to believe it's their calling to beat out their diseases by going out in a blaze of glory.

** [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The People Eater]] is a [[FatBastard fat]], slovenly, cowardly and thoroughly disgusting creep who wears a very [[FanDisservice off-]] [[BondageIsBad putting]] suit with cut-out nipple rings, is extremely unpleasant to look at and might very well be a [[IAmAHumanitarian cannibal]] given his gout and the hideous growths on his legs. He was creepy before, but [[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon callously running down]] [[TooCoolToLive Valkyrie]] while she protects one of her fallen sisters]] and ''[[EvilLaugh laughing]]'' while he did so had audiences everywhere baying for his blood. [[spoiler:When Max used him as a BulletproofHumanShield and blew up his truck a few minutes later, the cheers were ''deafening''.]] It's enhanced by his one redeeming quality as the OnlySaneMan on the villain's side, who thinks Immortan is wasting his time and should have just let them ''go'' and keep the status quo.[[note]]He's proven right. Had Immortan Joe just let them go, either they're forced to go on an endless trek into the nothingness or come back to the Citadel. Either way, they lose.[[/note]]

** [[LackOfEmpathy "DO NOT, MY FRIENDS, BECOME ADDICTED TO WATER!]] [[CondescendingCompassion IT WILL TAKE HOLD OF YOU, AND YOU WILL RESENT ITS ABSENCE!"]]
*** Adding to this, it's common to caption pictures of Nestlé or its CEO with this quote, because not only is the company responsible for extracting water from drought-stricken areas for their bottled water, but one of their CEO's outright said that water being a human right was an extremist position.

* NarmCharm: The entire film runs on it, as the insanely messed-up over the top setting and characters would be ridiculous if it weren't so [[CrapsackWorld terrifying]] and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome badass]].
** Case in point: The Bullet Farmer chasing the War Rig. An old man dressed entirely in bandoliers (including a ''judge's wig''), riding on a sports car with tank treads, firing [[MoreDakka an absurd amount of shots at nothing]] and [[LargeHam screaming at the top of his lungs]] while epic classical music plays. It's so over-the-top that it blows past {{Narm}} and circles back into pure awesomeness again.

** Though he appears more than once, the Bullet Farmer only gets ''prominently'' focused on in one scene [[spoiler: during which Max kills him offscreen]], but given that the scene in question features him [[LargeHam screaming at]] [[EvilIsHammy the top of]] [[ChewingTheScenery his lungs]] and dual-wielding machine guns aboard a [[TankGoodness tank]]-[[CoolCar sports car]] hybrid vehicle (with ''[[SoundtrackDissonance opera]] [[NarmCharm music]]'' playing) it's hard to say he doesn't make an impression.

** ''Oh what a day! What a lovely day!''
** ''Witness me!''
* SpiritualAdaptation: As detailed in SpiritualLicensee below, this film makes for an unbelievably awesome ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' film adaptation, what with the [[BloodKnight War Boys]] being very similar to ''40K'''s [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orks]] in every sense of the word, a [[TheApunkalypse post-apocalyptic]] DieselPunk-esque setting that's heavily reminiscent of one of the many war-torn planets in this [[CrapsackWorld hellish setting]], [[BigBad Immortan Joe]] being a decent stand-in for the [[GodEmperor God-Emperor of Mankind]] ([[CompleteMonster albeit much more evil]]), a lot of Chaos-esque imagery, and more.

** A recursive one, since ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorkamorka Gorkamorka]]'' is essentially "The Road Warrior: the Tabletop Game", but if you imagine the War Boys as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s Orks [[BloodKnight (which]] [[CarFu is]] [[RatedMForManly not]] [[LargeHam exactly]] [[CrazyIsCool hard]]) then this becomes the best ''Gorkamorka'' adaptation ever made. Even moreso if you read the Digganobz expansion, where pale humans with an affinity for technology really, ''really'' want to be orks and act accordingly.
** Another recursive one: the videogame ''VideoGame/Rage2011'' (which is itself ''The Road Warrior: The FirstPersonShooter'') has several similarities with ''Fury Road''. [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic]] [[DesertPunk arid desert setting]]: check. Violent [[GangOfHats Gangs of Hats]] driving [[WeaponizedCar technicals]]: check. ArtificialLimbs: check. Driving and vehicular combat have an important role in gameplay: check.

* TooCoolToLive: Once again, [[spoiler:the Doof Warrior, whose wagon slams into the War Rig after Nux flips it, his guitar flying out of the wreckage]].
** [[spoiler: Valkyrie]], the only ActionGirl in the movie who can match ''Furiosa'' blow for blow, goes down fighting with the rest of her sisters.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: A contested example. This is the first Mad Max movie to have any Maori or Aboriginal actors in notable roles, although some argue it's too little too late.

** Call ''Fury Road'' a knockoff of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and you'll be met with a number of ''Mad Max'' fans who will inform you [[CriticalResearchFailure just how wrong you are]] as far as [[OlderThanTheyThink which property inspired which]].

* SciFiGhetto: More like "post-apocalyptic action epic ghetto", but nonetheless [[AvertedTrope averted]] to hell and back. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Mad_Max:_Fury_Road list of awards]] that ''Fury Road'' won, let alone was nominated for, is frankly too expansive to list here, but it went home with nominations and awards from the International Federation of Film Critics, the Golden Globes and even the Oscars, where it was nominated for ten awards including Best Picture, of which it won ''Six''.

%%** The mighty Furiosa's clan was named... Swaddle Dog.

%% Do not alter the Narm entry without consulting the Discussion page. Thank you.
* {{Narm}}
** When Angharad asks Nux, "Who killed the world?" it's meant to be a WithUsOrAgainstUs ArmorPiercingQuestion, but Nux's age and the fact that he was apparently raised in Immortan Joe's warrior cult means he would have been an infant at most and probably not born yet[[note]]probably... the timeline is rather fluid[[/note]] when the UnspecifiedApocalypse went down, so it comes across as a rather inane and senseless accusation hurled at mindless CannonFodder. The way her voice cracks while saying it doesn't help.
** When Nux and Slit say "You [[{{Malaproper}} traitored]] him!" First when Nux gets kicked off the Rig, then when Slit finds Nux helping out the group.
** The name of the all-female faction is the '''"Vuvalini"'''. Some consider this name to be on-the-nose, and possibly part of the movie's feminist overtones, because the first five letters can be easily rearranged into the name of a part of female anatomy. Whether or not this was intentional on the filmaker's part is unknown. Others find the name more amusing than intended due to its similarity to the word "vuvuzuela".
** This exchange when [[spoiler: Immortan Joe cradles the corpse of Splendid Angharad]]:
--->'''War Boy:''' Are you all right?\\
'''Immortan Joe:''' ONNNNN! ONNNN!
** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150623195201/https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/tmb0fd5vibmbv7gozhoe.png This still]] of Furiosa may count due to her over-the-top expression.
** The mighty Furiosa's clan was named... Swaddle Dog.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: the Rock Riders might be ruthless bandits but that's just par for the course [[CrapsackWorld in this setting]] and there's nothing to indicate that they didn't deal in good faith with Furiosa before she brought the wrath of Immortan Joe on their heads.

** The Valkyrie, the BikerBabe ActionGirl of the Vuvalini who was ChildhoodFriends with Furiosa.

* SciFiGhetto: More like "post-apocalyptic action epic ghetto", but nonetheless [[AvertedTrope averted]] to hell and back. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Mad_Max:_Fury_Road list of awards]] that ''Fury Road'' won, let alone was nominated for, is frankly too expansive to list here, but it went home with nominations and awards from the International Federation of Film Critics, the Golden Globes and even the Oscars, where it was [[UpToEleven nominated for ten awards including Best Picture]], of which it won ''Six''.

* CompleteMonster: [[WastelandWarlord Immortan Joe]] is an [[EvilOldFolks elderly]], sickly, [[EvilOverlord brutal tyrant]] who has forged a kingdom in the Wasteland. In the prequel comic, it is revealed Joe was a marauder who murdered others for their supplies, enslaving the women and killing the men and children. Upon founding his kingdom, Joe selects people to join it, but forces the women to become [[BabyFactory breeding slaves]] so their milk may be harvested, and the men to run along treadmills to power the turbines. Joe indoctrinates the strong young men into the Warboys: drug-addicted cultist fanatics who long to die in his cause. The most beautiful women are kept as Joe's personal [[SexSlave sex slaves]] and forced to bear his children; after three failed attempts at bearing a healthy boy, they find themselves exiled to certain death in the desert wastes. When several of his wives escape, Joe spares no resource to hunt them down and return them, though he is willing to kill one rather than allow her to be rescued, showing that he views them solely as his property.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Immortan Joe]] is an [[EvilOldFolks elderly]], sickly, [[EvilOverlord brutal tyrant]] who has forged a kingdom in the Wasteland. In the prequel comic, it is revealed Joe was a marauder who murdered others for their supplies, enslaving the women and killing the men and children. Upon founding his kingdom, Joe selects people to join it, but forces the women to become [[BabyFactory breeding slaves]] so their milk may be harvested, and the men to run along treadmills to power the turbines. Joe indoctrinates the strong young men into the Warboys: drug-addicted cultist fanatics who long to die in his cause. The most beautiful women are kept as Joe's personal [[SexSlave sex slaves]] and forced to bear his children; after three failed attempts at bearing a healthy boy, they find themselves exiled to certain death in the desert wastes. When several of his wives escape, Joe spares no resource to hunt them down and return them, though he is willing to kill one rather than allow her to be rescued, showing that he views them solely as his property.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a3YzWJpLok The War Rig's horn]]. It just sounds so ''powerful'', like a cross between the roar of some giant animal and an electric guitar riff. Going along with the above, if you imagine the sort of horn an [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Ork WAAAGH!]] would put on a Wartrukk, ''that's it''.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKUDe3K_vY Bullet Farmer]]'s [[ChewingTheScenery over-the-top speech]] after [[spoiler: he gets blinded.]]

** Another recursive one: the 2011 videogame ''VideoGame/{{Rage}}'' (which is itself ''The Road Warrior: The FirstPersonShooter'') has several similarities with ''Fury Road''. [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic]] [[DesertPunk arid desert setting]]: check. Violent [[GangOfHats Gangs of Hats]] driving [[WeaponizedCar technicals]]: check. ArtificialLimbs: check. Driving and vehicular combat have an important role in gameplay: check.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** In a post-apocalyptic desert, everyone wastes water like crazy. It's understandable for Joe, who just wants to play god and not actually provide his subjects with it. It also somehow makes sense at the end, in the euphoria. But throughout the road war, the fugitives in the War Rig never bother to spare the water they have. Even if it's a quite lot (the war rig's cistern filled), they have no idea how long they'll be spending out with no other drinkable water.
** Showing off his wealth, the People Eater rides a War Rig with a huge tank full of fuel. That's right, his vehicle of choice is a massive firebomb just waiting to go off [[spoiler: which it does]].

** He's only around for a few minutes, but the Rock Rider Chief has a lot of fans for his BadassBiker appearance and driving skills, as well as how he's less AxCrazy than the other gang leaders. Plenty of people find him UnintentionallyUnsympathetic in his fight against Furiosa.

* SignatureScene:
** The deliriously hectic opening of Max trying and failing to escape from the War Boys.
** Morsov [[DyingMomentOfAwesome ramming into a car with grenade tipped spears]].
** The explosive drive through the sand storm.
** A newly blinded and deliriously screaming Bullet Farmer unleashing a flurry of ammunition.
** Furiosa's SkywardScream upon learning about [[spoiler: The Green Place.]]
** Max rising up on a pole as a massive explosion occurs behind him.
** Furiosa delivering Immortan Joe [[spoiler: his much deserved, gruesome death.]]
** Nux finally getting to [[spoiler: make his HeroicSacrifice, now for something meaningful.]]

** On the other side of the coin, with a BadassNormal living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland with some {{steampunk}} aesthetics, a [[TheCaligula tyrannical ruler]] as the BigBad (albeit much, MUCH more mature and competent), undertones of genocide and slavery and a [[ActionGirl kickass woman]] in the lead trying to overthrow the villain, this is quite possibly the closest to a film adaptation of ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'', except with 99% of the [[TearJerker tragic moments]] replaced with [[RatedMForManly sheer badassery]].

* SpiritualAdaptation: As detailed in SpiritualLicensee below, this film makes for an unbelievably awesome ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' film adaptation, what with the [[BloodKnight War Boys]] being very similar to ''40K'''s [[OurOrcsAreDifferents Orks]] in every sense of the word, a [[TheApunkalypse post-apocalyptic]] DieselPunk-esque setting that's heavily reminiscent of one of the many war-torn planets in this [[CrapsackWorld hellish setting]], [[BigBad Immortan Joe]] being a decent stand-in for the [[GodEmperor God-Emperor of Mankind]] ([[CompleteMonster albeit much more evil]]), a lot of Chaos-esque imagery, and more.

** There are those who think that Ace and some of the Polecats could have survived being thrown to the desert floor during the chase.

** There are those who think that Ace and some of the Polceats could have survived being thrown to the desert floor during the chase.

** The out-of-context subtitle [[https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FfrCeKaGSj0/Ve5OK45TZVI/AAAAAAAAIA0/rX7ObEtMADE/w1174-h884/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-09-07%2Bat%2B7.55.18%2BPM.png "Men yelling indistinctly"]] (often complete with a non-plussed screenshot of Furiosa) is getting serious rounds as shorthand for [[InternetJerk the realities of the internet]].

** [[https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/tmb0fd5vibmbv7gozhoe.png This still]] of Furiosa may count due to her over-the-top expression.