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[Aqizzar]

Doesn't Imperator Furiousa translate to something like General Fury? That sounds like a supervillain name. I love it.

That was one of the things I loved about the ending- now that the vile evil villain has been dethroned, The Citadel is ruled with a literally iron fist by Imperator Furiosa, a maimed veteran raider who attained her position by disposing of her former boss, and in all likelihood aided by a nepotistic cabal of bandit hags.

Justice and freedom will surely follow!

Not to mention the very first thing they do is turn loose the spigot on the water reserve.  I'd love to see the followup where everyone's shocked to find out Immortan Joe was rationing out the water because the shit is actually scarce.

Then again, I fall in the 'Endor Apocalypse' camp of happy-ending-cynicism.

[IronyOwl]

Everyone cheered when they were given the water and found out Immortan was dead. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have been happy he was decapitated if he wasn't a tyrant.

Hating him and liking free stuff doesn't require that he was unreasonable. It requires either a certain culture or some peculiar PR decisions, but he could have been a complete jackass without having access to free infinite everything that he just didn't feel like sharing.

Max accidentally stopped a crossbow bolt from killing him using his hand, that was pretty awesome. There was that really cool fight between him and Furiosa where he was handcuffed the entire time. There was the early chase right after he was captured when he broke out, beat up a bunch of dudes, jumped onto that hook and was then fairly recaptured because the mooks aren't incompetent. He did this, that was cool. He was on the hood of the war rig spitting gas into the intake. He was jumping on cars and killing and throwing people and he blew up the bullet farmer off-screen.

Did we even watch the same movie? Because I remember a movie that was packed with some killer and for once literally non-stop action.

Oh, sure, there was stuff going on all the time. But in terms of specific, exceptional acts of badassery, I was having trouble thinking of anything.

The crossbow thing was a great example of just that, and had the extra advantage of reminding us yet again that Max is literally insane.

The way I read Immortan Joe, everything he does is about control.  His outfit is about continuing to look strong even though he's a dying old man, his whole faux-Norse religion is designed to keep his warboys fanatically loyal to him.  Which you'll notice, none of the movers and shakers in his organization actually seem to be believers.  Just the grunts.  His Citadel says "I'm huge and imposing and you'll never get rid of me" in the same way that a medieval castle must have.  And of course the water gives him control over the population.

That's why he can't let the wives get away.  He can't allow any dissent or weakness; the whole thing is too high-profile for him to look the other way.  Not that he WANTS to, but even if he did.  Can't let his wives and a traitor embarrass him.

I felt like he had plenty of personal motivation for the wife thing, but this does seem likely in general.

Not to mention the very first thing they do is turn loose the spigot on the water reserve.  I'd love to see the followup where everyone's shocked to find out Immortan Joe was rationing out the water because the shit is actually scarce.

Then again, I fall in the 'Endor Apocalypse' camp of happy-ending-cynicism.

I can dig that. A victory that's too clean usually feels contrived and undeserved. Doubly so for post-apocalyptic stuff, which Fury Road seems to have mostly blessedly realized.

Though on that note, I do feel like the wives got off really fucking clean. Only one died, and while we don't know that they're going to continue to be pesudo-royalty for no particular reason, the new boss felt like transporting them to paradise would atone for her constant and relentless murder. Pretty good spot for not a lot of effort, risk, or talent.

[SealyStar]

If the water were actually scarce, Immortan Joe wasn't conserving it very well by literally splashing it out and having most of it just make mud. There was a pretty good implication that for him to waste it like that he must have a pretty deep reserve.

[SalmonGod]

If the water were actually scarce, Immortan Joe wasn't conserving it very well by literally splashing it out and having most of it just make mud. There was a pretty good implication that for him to waste it like that he must have a pretty deep reserve.

Or he just didn't care enough about the well-being of his peasant population to deliver it efficiently.  Splash out a little bit, and if it just creates mud, that's not his problem.  Doesn't necessarily mean that he could afford to give more.

[IronyOwl]

If the water were actually scarce, Immortan Joe wasn't conserving it very well by literally splashing it out and having most of it just make mud. There was a pretty good implication that for him to waste it like that he must have a pretty deep reserve.

Or he just didn't care enough about the well-being of his peasant population to deliver it efficiently.  Splash out a little bit, and if it just creates mud, that's not his problem.  Doesn't necessarily mean that he could afford to give more.

It might be worth noting that the thirsty people below also did not appear to be very good or motivated at catching it. Hold up a basket or something, whatever it catches it catches. Don't bother with whatever's flowing off the rocks, not worth scooping it up once it hits the sand. Certainly don't climb onto the rocks, that'd just be silly.

I'd lean towards artistic license for what that actually means, but it struck me as rather peculiar.

[Sheb]

I think Immortan Joe actually has a different system for most of the delivery (after all, he also need to deliver food of some kinds: not many crops below). I think the splashing was just a way to show off for a special occasion.

[Parsely]

Or he just didn't care enough about the well-being of his peasant population to deliver it efficiently.  Splash out a little bit, and if it just creates mud, that's not his problem.  Doesn't necessarily mean that he could afford to give more.

That doesn't make sense. If he didn't care about the plebs he wouldn't be giving grand speeches before them or been handing them any water at all. The man cares about how he appears in front of them, what with the breastplate hiding his diseased body and how his warriors think he's a god.

I don't agree with those people assuming that Furiosa would stop rationing the water just because Joe is dead, or that they would be put in any worse a position by giving a more generous portion to the plebs and less to the warriors.

Hating him and liking free stuff doesn't require that he was unreasonable. It requires either a certain culture or some peculiar PR decisions, but he could have been a complete jackass without having access to free infinite everything that he just didn't feel like sharing.

The entire civilian populace was ecstatic when they were shown his head, they were cheering to let Furiosa up when she showed it off. There had to have been a reason why they wanted her as their new ruler, and it must've been because Joe was a bad one. Either that, or they just accepted her as their new god because she killed a god.

[Owlbread]

I really enjoyed Mad Max in the cinema. The action scenes were fantastic and the simplicity of the premise made it feel very original. I got a kind of Star Wars vibe at times too. I just wish people in the movie had stronger Australian accents.

[Zrk2]

I got a kind of Star Wars vibe at times too.

Was it the whole world half-empty thing? There's a lot of that in Star Wars. Also, looking back at Star Wars they never really explained why the Empire was bad in the first one, it was just assumed, and then everything went along and you just accepted it, quite similar to Fury Road in that.

[Aqizzar]

I got a kind of Star Wars vibe at times too.

Was it the whole world half-empty thing? There's a lot of that in Star Wars. Also, looking back at Star Wars they never really explained why the Empire was bad in the first one, it was just assumed, and then everything went along and you just accepted it, quite similar to Fury Road in that.

Star Wars had blowing up an entire planet just to prove a point, plus interrogation by torture, secret policing and plenty of usurpation of power, and "Fear will keep the local systems in line."  Any time you're out and out saying that your rule is based on fear, you are the bad guys.

Immortan Joe sent out his War Boys to steal people's stuff, up to and including children, using people as everything from cannon fodder to spare body parts.  That didn't make his polity unique by any means, but just because the rest of the world sucks doesn't make you a good person by comparison.

[EnigmaticHat]

"Tell a simple story in a strange setting" is the core of what made the original Star Wars trilogy tick.  I think Mad Max works on a similar philosophy.  Forget the bandit scrapamobiles and the heavy metal influence and the warboys.  Just about it from a storytelling perspective.

The plot was completely predictable but it wasn't trying to surprise the audience.  The whole thing was done with genuine feeling.  The villains were sold as menacing, the character arc where Max and Nux slowly become a trusted part of the team was played totally straight.  When people were killed off it was sad and final.  It never tried to poke fun at itself or make any larger point.  It was telling a story about a small band of heroes fighting an army and it was nothing more or less than that, I think it was kind of refreshing.

Remember when Darth Vader was just a guy in a funny suit and every time he showed up things went horribly wrong for the heroes?  Compare to that to how Ultron, or the Joker, or the guy from Skyfall were played.  They're menacing yes but they're constantly undercutting themselves with these little funny moments.  Immortan Joe is never funny.  He's not hypercompetent or morally ambiguous or twirling his mustache.  He's just a villain, plain and simple, but he's a damn good one who's fun to watch.

[Aqizzar]

It never tried to poke fun at itself or make any larger point.

Immortan Joe is never funny.  He's not hypercompetent or morally ambiguous or twirling his mustache.  He's just a villain, plain and simple, but he's a damn good one who's fun to watch.

That's two of the things I really love about the movie.  It's refreshing to see a film where at no point does any character say something 'witty' or 'self-aware' or try to crack a joke for the sake of having a joke.  There's actually quite a bit of comic relief, it's just in circumstances or imagery, not the dialogue.

But the other is, it has been a long time since I've seen an action movie with a specific antagonist character whose motivations are both abundantly clear and also isn't just being a dick on principle.  Joe's goals and priorities may be deplorable but they're still very easily understood and related, makes him a way more human villain than you see in these endless superhero dramas.  I love that scene after Angharad gets run over and Joe's carrying her limp body with his mask pulled open to scream properly.  As horrible a person as he is, he still a human being living in the same world as the protagonists.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

I got a kind of Star Wars vibe at times too.

Was it the whole world half-empty thing? There's a lot of that in Star Wars. Also, looking back at Star Wars they never really explained why the Empire was bad in the first one, it was just assumed, and then everything went along and you just accepted it, quite similar to Fury Road in that.

Star Wars had blowing up an entire planet just to prove a point, plus interrogation by torture, secret policing and plenty of usurpation of power, and "Fear will keep the local systems in line."  Any time you're out and out saying that your rule is based on fear, you are the bad guys.

Immortan Joe sent out his War Boys to steal people's stuff, up to and including children, using people as everything from cannon fodder to spare body parts.  That didn't make his polity unique by any means, but just because the rest of the world sucks doesn't make you a good person by comparison.

You rebel scum!

[SalmonGod]

Or he just didn't care enough about the well-being of his peasant population to deliver it efficiently.  Splash out a little bit, and if it just creates mud, that's not his problem.  Doesn't necessarily mean that he could afford to give more.

That doesn't make sense. If he didn't care about the plebs he wouldn't be giving grand speeches before them or been handing them any water at all. The man cares about how he appears in front of them, what with the breastplate hiding his diseased body and how his warriors think he's a god.

Ego.  Common driving characteristic of the vast majority of villains throughout the history of storytelling, and egos have to be fed to survive.  Not saying you're right or wrong, but just that it's an easy explanation for why he would do these things.

[Parsely]

I read the Fury Road comic, which tells a little of the backstory behind some things. In it, Furiosa is assigned to watch the breeders because Immortan can't trust his dumb son or any of his war boys around them. No one is educated except for the breeders, and presumably Immortan, who provides them with books. This causes them to question things, and when Furiosa expresses her disgust and frustration at their lifestyle ("[everyone out there lives in squalor and disease, without food. they have no water and you bathe in it]") She relates this and they sympathize, and she shows them a photo of a green land and suggests they leave there. Furiosa is assigned to the war rig as punishment once Immortan realizes what she's doing to his breeders, who have begun to dissent against him openly (they disliked him already because he always treated them as objects) and he has the organic mechanic make the chastity belts to protect them from the men so they can guard the breeders in Furiosa's place. And that was the end of the comic.