History Awesome / MadMaxFuryRoad

Really just the whole damn film,[[note]]We keep editing in just one word but someone keeps editing it out. One word. ''YES''.[[/note]] but specifically:

** The fact that Furiosa managed to outrun Citadel's forces and Buzzards almost entirely alone is worth mentioning on it's own.

*** There was still gunfire in the background during the explosion. It cuts off immediately after the explosion too so it couldn't have come from any backup. He likely killed at least one of the goons man a mano, but the majority of them were probably blown up.

* " The best point about this is how it toys with our expectations, and still comes out satisfying. Rictus absolutely ''towers'' over Max and we're totally expecting there to be a brutal boss battle with him, where Max only wins through skill and ingenuity, right? Nope. Max [[CurbstompBattle pretty much trounces him all the way through.]]

* Every car smash, every firebomb, every dip of the pole-grabbers during the final chase sequence. A virtuoso ballet of violence - just that two-second clip of Max swinging overhead on a pole while another rig epically explodes in the background would be a stand-out Awesome moment in another action movie - that leaves audiences wowed (and wondering how many stunt workers were horribly maimed in the process because ''damn''.) The answer, by the way, is ''none'' - there were no injuries worse than chapped lips.

*** There was still gunfire in the background during the explosion. It cuts off immediatley after the explosion too so it couldn't have come from any backup. He likely killed at least one of the goons man a mano, but the majority of them were probably blown up.

*** There was still gunfire in the background during the expolosion. It cuts off immediatley after the explosion too so it couldn't have come from any backup. He likely killed at least one of the goons man a mano, but the majority of them were probably blown up.

*** Even more awesome, the boot technique Max used to rack the slide is a case of TruthinTelevision, being actually taught by some firearms instructors when teaching how to reload a gun single handed.

* " The best point about this is how it toys with out expectations, and still comes out satisfying. Rictus absolutely ''towers'' over Max and we're totally expecting there to be a brutal boss battle with him, where Max only wins through skill and ingenuity, right? Nope. Max [[CurbstompBattle pretty much trounces him all the way through.]]

*** Even more awesome the boot technique Max used to rack the slide is a case of TruthinTelevision, being actually taught by some firearms instructors when teaching how to reload a gun single handed.

%%* [[PreMortemOneLiner "Remember me?"]]

!!Meta
* The fact that all of the film's stunts were done without CGI; CGI was used for cleanup and, of course, the sandstorm. One of the most well-known examples is the Doof Warrior's guitar-flamethrower combo, which was ''completely functional as both.''
** There is still buzz about the incredible stuntwork of this film. When the BehindTheScenes clips and film footage sans CGI came out a year later, fans were ''still impressed'' by how beautiful it all looked.
* [[MemeticMutation Say it with us, now, mates:]] "'''''[[BadassBoast OH, what a DAY! WHAT A LOVELY DAY!!!]]'''''"
* [[http://io9.com/do-you-realize-mad-max-fury-road-is-a-miracle-1707000166?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow Watch it literally break a man's cynicism here.]]
* Three days before it even hits theaters, and ''Fury Road'' has already managed to get a [[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mad_max_fury_road/ 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 50+ reviews.]]
* The fact that this film adhered so strongly to ShowDontTell was met with nothing but appreciation from ''everyone.'' It clearly respected its audience and trusted them to be able to follow everything without needless exposition. It's a small thing sure, but it's awesome to have an action film that avoids going the route of ViewersAreMorons. Let's not forget the WorldBuilding George Miller crafts yet again. Immortan Joe takes us on a tour of Citadel after learning of Furiosa's betrayal, showing just how the Citadel gets its food and sustenance without one word being uttered. Then you have the mayors of other towns and other tribes being introduced naturally, and you feel as if this world really exists somewhere.
** It also deserves credit for its one [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of ShowDontTell, the situation of the Wives. Most other movies would have uncomfortable scenes to "justify" why the Wives would want to escape Joe. Fury Road instead asks: Why would they want to escape a place where they have bountiful food, water and safety in the post-apocalypse? It can't be that bad can it? ''Yes. Yes it is. Take our word for it, it's bad enough that they want out now.''
* Let's face it: almost '''''no one''''' thought this would be good considering its TroubledProduction and how long it's been since ''Beyond Thunderdome''. Not to mention how past films [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull with a similar history have been really divisive]] ''at best'', there was a lot going against this film. And then the film came along, and ''proved everyone wrong''.
** This even extended to people who worked on the film. There was a lot of tension between George Miller, Tom Hardy, and Charlize Theron on-set. One of the reasons for Hardy was because the filming process made it look like to him that Miller didn't have a clue what he was doing. When he finally saw the finished cut, he was so impressed that he gave a public apology to Miller for how he acted on-set, saying there was simply no way he could have properly explained his incredible vision in words.
* The film also broke the taboo of using old people in action scenes, and [[DefiedTrope defied]] traditional portrayals of the elderly in movies. As Melissa Jaffer puts it, most people her age only get to play the roles of dying elders or dementia patients. She instead got to play a badass grandma and do her own stunts. In her own words, she "[[http://www.npr.org/2015/05/15/406731120/the-women-pull-no-punches-in-fiery-feminist-mad-max enjoyed every minute of it.]]"
-->'''Melissa Jaffer''': The roles that one is offered at this age, quite frankly, you're either in a nursing home, you're in a hospital bed dying, you're suffering from dementia, or in fact, in two cases, I was offered two characters who'd actually died and come back to life. When this role came along, I thought well, I won't get another chance like this before I die, and that's why I took it. [[AwesomeDearBoy It was absolutely wonderful.]]
* Speaking of old people: a bow for ''mastermind'' George Miller, who hasn't made a live-action movie since ''1998'', stepped up to the plate and showed the rest of Hollywood's young, macho action movie types what a ''real'' car-chase movie is like. And he did it when he was 70.
* Let's also not forget Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's stuntwork. The pole grabbers are genuinely awesome and unnerving at the same time.
* The fact that ''Fury Road'' is probably the most female-empowering action film since ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', featuring a largely female cast on the side of the heroes, passing narrative tests like UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest and the [[Film/PacificRim Mako Mori Test]] with flying colors, and not shying away from exploring explicitly feminist themes like the objectification of women. And then absolutely killing it at the box office, likely paving the way for more strong female characters in future blockbusters.
** Hell, not just the most female-empowering ''action'' film; ''Fury Road'' is loudly, blatantly, unapologetically feminist in a way few movies of ''any'' genre can compare. Few movies have female main characters, fewer still have female ensembles, and virtually none have female ensembles of multiple races who range in age from mid-teens to mid-70s, spend the whole movie supporting each other, and literally ''scream'' that women are not things to be owned and that toxic masculinity breeds violence.
** The fact that ''the entire plot'' is based upon women supporting and helping one another is nothing short of incredible. ''Aliens'' was hailed as feminist for giving a "man's role" to a woman, but ''Fury Road'' goes a step farther and gives women's roles the same depth and weight as men's roles. Furiosa, the Wives, and the Vuvalini are written just like the men, and yet the story would make ''no'' sense if they actually ''were'' men.
** The fact that there are so many women in this film that one of them is ''literally'' named Cheedo the Fragile and yet it's obviously not a statement on the fragility of women. When there are only a few people of a marginalized group visible, whether in fiction or in real life, there's an implicit pressure to act as a spokesperson for that ''entire group'', and everything you say is seen as representative of the group as a whole. ''Fury Road'' has enough women that that pressure isn't there--none of them are expected to represent every woman in the world, so they instead get to have different personalities and beliefs and points of view. You know, like real women.
** Possibly the most awesome part of this is that it was unintentional--George Miller didn't even ''realize'' he'd written a feminist movie until Charlize Theron pointed it out to him. He wasn't doing it for brownie points or to try to cash in on the feminist movement; he just ''genuinely'' thought that a story about women of diverse ages, races, and personalities fighting for freedom and equality was worth telling.
** And yet ''Fury Road'' is ''still'' RatedMForManly.
** Even better: ''Fury Road'' does all of this without ever being confrontational towards men who don't subscribe towards a hyper-masculine power fantasy and the main crux of the narrative is both genders working together to solve a greater problem that affects both of them.
** Better yet, [[EnsembleDarkhorse Nux]] can be viewed as a takedown of said hyper-masculine power fantasies. Unlike the other war boys, he's small, weedy, not all that intimidating ([[OvershadowedByAwesome by comparison]]) and childish, and his character arc is finding his own way to be a man by embracing his strengths, as opposed to finally meeting the standard and being something he's not. Which is a huge win - it's rare to see that approach.
** To go with this, Furiosa's fighting style, especially during her first meeting with Max and Nux. Unlike virtually every other movie out there, there is no pressure for her to fight in a "feminine" or graceful or even sexy way. Instead, she fights the way a real human being would, gritty and just as enraged as her name suggests, which adds a ''lot'' of authenticity to those scenes.
** There is a "War of the Sexes" vibe in the first half of the movie: Furiosa and the Wives versus War Boys, whose side Max is on, however unwillingly. Culminating in the above fight, Max and Nux against Furiosa and the Wives. And these characters are evenly matched, which might seem odd, six women being a match for two men. But five of those women are definitely not fighters, two of them are pregnant, and Furiosa is at least as badass as Max, potentially more so. But after that fight, and some misunderstanding-driven distrust and tension (given a post-apocalypse setting, pretty standard), that "War of the Sexes" vibe is dropped, like the film's saying "yeah, you know all the ways another movie could screw this up? We're not doing that." These eight characters band together as equals, supporting, helping, and defending each other. Everyone gets their moments to shine, everyone contributes, no one is useless or deemed "unworthy." The women don't need to be better at everything than the men to prove they're equal, the men don't have to take all the risks and injuries to spare the women, they're just a group of people with different skills, abilities, personalities, and temperaments working together to achieve a common goal. It's just plain, pure, simple equality.
* At a press conference, a reporter asked Tom Hardy if he ever thought, "Why are all these women in here? I thought this was supposed to be a man's movie." Hardy's response:
--> "No. Not for one minute."
* The fact that the film manages to convey that the Wives have likely been raped without a rape scene is a testament to the skills of the filmmakers.
** It's also a nice example of how you ''don't'' need to have explicit stuff like that to get the message across.
* The fact that Max, despite his clear mental illness, is a heroic character fighting against a tyrannical warlord. In any other movie, he'd probably be an AxCrazy SociopathicHero. But here, he's depected as a deeply flawed character with feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Just like everyone else.
* From the home release special features: the very last video is a dedication to the hard work of the Mad Max: Fury Road Production Team. What does it consist of? Commentaries? Interviews? ... no. It's a mind blowing montage of a ton of original unedited shots of some of the amazing practical stuntwork and effects that brought the film to life. Even without the post-work and digital cleanup added in, the raw footage looks nothing short of ''spectacular.''
* The casting of Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe certainly qualifies. Raise your hands if you knew who he was before this movie. Now raise them if you're a fan of him ''now.'' Keep in mind, this is is an actor whose face nobody would recognize, whose name few remember, and whose biggest break probably came in the first movie almost 40 years ago. And throughout the whole film, you never see his face from the nose down, and yet merely with his body language, appearance, and upper face, he delivers a [[LoveToHate deliciously evil]] portrait of a messianic dictator, [[ChewingTheScenery annihilates the scenery]] every chance he gets, and creates a character who has now become emblematic of not just the movie, but the entire franchise, easily standing his own against the Lord Humungus and his own earlier turn as Toecutter, the man who killed Max's family and essentially jump-started the entire franchise. Doubles as a heartwarming moment for George Miller giving him a chance to shine again after largely being forgotten.
* The fact that the film managed to win the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Grand Prix for best film of 2015, beating out acclaimed movies like ''Film/SonOfSaul'', ''The Assassin'', and ''Taxi''. To put it in perspective, previous winners of the prize include lauded features like ''Film/{{Boyhood}}'', ''Film/{{Amour}}'', and ''Film/{{The Tree Of Life}}''.
* In what has been a complete surprise even to the film's biggest fans, it's ending up a stunningly strong contender in awards season for big categories, taking home numerous early Best Picture awards and nominations, including Golden Globe nominations for Best Drama Film and Best Director, leading many to genuinely wonder if it might get a Best Picture nomination from the Academy, an almost unheard of nomination for a summer action blockbuster, especially one released as early as May.
* The film earning a whopping 10 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director for George Miller), the second most, trailing only ''Film/TheRevenant'''s 12. And even then, some were surprised it wasn't 11 with the omission of Charlize Theron, but nevertheless, the avalanche of nominations for what is essentially the purest of action movies is almost unheard of in awards season, which tends to favor more mass-appeal blockbusters amidst the prestigious OscarBait.
** It managed to bring home six Oscars, (Editing, Costume Design, Production Design, Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing), the most out of any film released in 2015.
*** The best part of its six Oscar wins? Fury Road is now the most successful award winning Australian film in history. May it ride into Valhalla, shiny and chrome!
* Fury Road has now spawned [[UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest its own feminist benchmark,]] the Furiosa Test. From Fanlore.com:
-->''[The] Furiosa Test is a simple standard for to judge a piece of media's feminist qualities. It passes if:
-->'''''It causes misogynists to boycott it.'''''
* Charlize Theron's performance as Imperator Furiosa has been hailed as possibly the most revolutionary ActionGirl performance in film since Creator/SigourneyWeaver in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' nearly three decades before. Even more impressive as there's barely any dialogue in the movie, with her performance relying almost completely on visual acting such as body movement and subtle facial expressions.
* Here's one with a touch of {{Retraux}}: Someone went and edited the video for ''"[[https://youtu.be/i2xn6hh5HDM We Don't Need Another Hero]]"'' to make it look like a video for ''Fury Road'' and not ''Beyond Thunderdome''.
* From the design aspect of the film,

[[caption-width-right:350:The best way to psych up your war comrades: A [[ThePowerOfRock double neck]] [[AutobotsRockOut guitar]]... with a ''[[RuleOfCool flamethrower]]''. By the way, [[PracticalEffects that's not CGI]]. And, no, ''[[WebVideo/HonestTrailers you will NEVER be this metal.]]'']]

*** Granted, it took him two bullets to get to that point but hey - better late than never.

** ShowDontTell: In a Meta sense, the fact that we ''don't'' witness Max's off-screen heroics is because the film-makers trust the audience enough to remember Max is an established Badass. We don't need to see him kicking ass for it to be awesome, we know he's getting it done. The enjoyment for the audience is watching him walk back victorious and with all the cool item drops he picked up from the fight. His body language growls, "..oh, that? ''That'' was easy. Give me a real challenge."
** Even better when you consider it from the Wives' perspective: Max warns them off with an IfIDoNotReturn, so for all they know he's making a HeroicSacrifice to help them escape. So they busy themselves with cooling the engine block down, wondering if they're going to lose their best ally. Then all of a sudden--''BOOM''. And as the crows fly away and everyone goes out to look, Max comes strolling out of the dust with a bunch ''more'' guns and ammo. No sacrifices today, ladies ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and]] [[TheOneGuy Nux]]). Just one supremely badass man with no plans to lose anyone, anytime soon.
*** Also, the Bullet Farmer is basically driving a ''tank'' and has a shitload of guns. What does Max take to fight him? A ''kukri.'' Guess who wins?

* Max [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beating the shit out of]] [[TheDragon Rictus]] with one of his own bottles of moonshine during the final battle. The best point about this is how it toys with out expectations, and still comes out satisfying. Rictus absolutely ''towers'' over Max and we're totally expecting there to be a brutal boss battle with him, where Max only wins through skill and ingenuity, right? Nope. Max [[CurbstompBattle pretty much trounces him all the way through.]]
** On that note, shoutout to the one surviving Vuvalini woman who, when Rictus has Max by the throat and his weapon raised, whips out her rifle and blasts Rictus [[AttackItsWeakPoint right in the air tank.]]
* Badass Grandmas who delight in headshots! Meta-awesome: [[http://www.npr.org/2015/05/15/406731120/the-women-pull-no-punches-in-fiery-feminist-mad-max apparently]] the actresses who portrayed the Vuvalini did their own stunts. ''60 and 70''-year old actresses ladies and gentlemen. Remember that the next time you feel too tired to do a little physical activity.
* [[PreMortemOneLiner "Remember me?"]]

* Rictus tearing off one of the War Rig's superchargers and hoisting it over his head to crush Nux with. The former War Boy's face is just: ''"oh, hell, yes...!"'' Partly a tearjerker too, as Nux's reaction is one of near-religious awe because he realizes: "This is it. This is how [[HeroicSacrifice I will]] [[CallBack die historic]] on the Fury Road."

*** Said creepy pole-cat mook, [[FanNickname nicknamed]] "Baby Doll" due to the creepy doll's head on the back of his mask, gets something of a CMOA all on his own. In a movie where most henchmen are dispatched by the main characters in seconds, if not ''milliseconds'', [[BossInMookClothing this]] [[ImplacableMan one]] [[VillainousValour bastard]], survives being impaled and knocked off the truck, and manages to return, spear Max in the face with a crossbow bolt, and mortally wound ''Furiosa''. Evil? Probably. Creepy? Absolutely. But you ''cannot'' say [[TheDeterminator that guy]] lacked persistence.

* From the design aspect of the film, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L67BiENzYs the cars themselves]]. Each of these awesome monstrosities are not only every bit as awesome as the characters and the actions, but they are ''completely functional''. All of these are real, drivable vehicles and can absolutely do everything you see them doing in the film (with a few exceptions). What they couldn't find in a real life analogue, ''they built themselves''. This includes the Peacemaker treaded tank...thing, which is a complete custom job.

** It also deserves credit for its one [[InvertedTrope ]] of ShowDontTell, the situation of the Wives. Most other movies would have uncomfortable scenes to "justify" why the Wives would want to escape Joe. Fury Road instead asks: Why would they want to escape a place where they have bountiful food, water and safety in the post-apocalypse? It can't be that bad can it? ''Yes. Yes it is. Take our word for it, it's bad enough that they want out now.''