Mad Max: Fury Road

You're missing my point.

I don't care whether or not you like Fury Road. What I find bewildering is when you said this:

"I prefer serious films. But it was only one of many drawbacks. A lack of realism on it's own would not ruin the movie for me, but it does contribute because it's something I don't enjoy."

You said you like movies like Foxcatcher, A Most Wanted Man, and A Woman Under the Influence. Do they show people going poop in those films? Do they show every second of travel when someone goes somewhere in those films? Are those films in real time showing every second of every characters lives? Do none of the characters in those films have story arcs? Do none of those stories follow three act structure? See my point?

You've already sacrificed every single strand of "realism" when watching any film. Films are a representation of real life, not real life itself. This even applies to documentaries. This is why my only concern for a film is to judge it based on the logic it creates. A film is bound only by itself, which is why I can enjoy a "realistic" film like The Great Beauty and a "realistic" film like Fury Road.

To me you've set a boundary that doesn't actually exist.

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Sorry bouncingbrick. I don't understand you at all. I don't see what point your trying to illustrate with the fact that films don't show every second of everything.

Now, when you say "strand of realism" what do you mean? What is a strand of realism? What do you mean, you can enjoy a realistic movie like the two examples you give?

I thought you illustrated that every movie is unrealistic, so what do you mean those two examples are realistic?

It sounds like you're contradicting yourself, so I have no idea what you're trying to say.

I had a feeling I wouldn't like it, but I wanted to see it because it was a Mad Max movie. I enjoyed the other Mad Max movies with Mel Gibson and I felt I needed to go see this one. I had planned for a long time to go see it. But, in recent weeks, especially around its release, and mainly due to things I was hearing... I started thinking I wasn't going to like the movie.

I have good reason to not like this movie. I am not the only person in the world who didn't like it. I've read reviews from other people who hated it and thought it wasn't like the old Mad Max films. I'm with those people.

Why can't I hate a popular movie? Scores of people on this website hate movies that are beloved. Why is it that because I suspected that I wouldn't like something before I actually saw it, that means I'm entirely to blame for not liking it? As if I just couldn't get in the mindset to love it like the rest of you.

I avoid a lot of movies simply for the sake that I predict I won't like it. Often, when I check them out, my feelings were confirmed. Not everything's gonna work with me. I'm not cool with everything. Just like all of you aren't cool with certain stuff. I'm not cool with Mad Max: Fury Road. I gave the movie a chance. I went to see it. I was hoping I'd be proven wrong. I would prefer to like this movie because I liked the other ones.

But I didn't and that's that. It's the worst Mad Max movie. It's a great looking film, though. Possibly I may even like it more with time. But I bet I'll always be bothered by it and not love it like the rest of you do.

This is simply me not liking a movie. And so what if I felt like I wouldn't like it before I saw it. Am I not the only person who experiences such a thing? Do you guys never have a sense that a movie isn't going to work with you? Can you not predict anything? It's sad if you can't.

There is another post-apocalyptic movie coming out this year....

Ya mean the movie about that earthquake starring The Rock trying to be a good actor?

San Andreas seems like it's more about an actual catastrophic event more so than a world shaped by the aftermath, but that's just the impression I got from the trailer.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

No, the one with Michael Ironside in it.

I'll state it a different way.

Realism, no matter how you define the term realism, isn't even on my radar when watching a film. It's not even on my criteria list because I think it's silly to look for it in film. Film as an art form is, at best, a stylized representation of life.

That said, I look for believable characters. That doesn't mean I have to buy them as real people in the real world in which we exist, but I have to believe them in the context of the film. I look for chemistry between characters, but only in the context of the world the film creates.

I'll give you two examples of what I mean.

Pixar's Up. This is a film where an old man uses balloons to fly his house from North America to South America in a single afternoon and meets a fleet of talking dogs. That is, of course, absurd. However, the film establishes early that it is an allegory for the grieving process and friendship. Because the story and that allegory are so strong, I completely forget about the childish nature of the story being told. It completely works despite being as far from "real" as possible.

Avengers 2 (minor spoilers). There is a magic gem in that film that contains some form of Artificial Intelligence. Early in the film it's used to create an A.I. bad guy who is the villain of the film. Then, later in the film, with almost no explanation at all, the same gem is used to create a good guy. This isn't deal breaking, IMO, but it's just stupid enough to pull me out of the movie.

Both of those are ridiculous, not-of-this-reality stories. However, one works just fine at telling a compelling and touching story while the other doesn't seem to follow any of its own rules or even establish rules at all!

To me, Mad Max and Up and The Great Beauty and tons of other films are "realistic" because they create an entire universe that is self-contained and consistent.

Is it absurd that Furiosa has a prosthetic limb that can catch Max? In this world, probably. But not in Max's world.

My coworker informed me that Minute Maid has a program where if you buy 6 of their 16 - 20 oz bottles of juice, you can redeem the codes to get a free movie ticket. She likes to drink juice with her breakfast and has given me the lids from them. I have four codes already.

Looks like I'll be seeing this a third time after all.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

If you ever make a kickstarter, denim dollars will flow your way.

And...

Fan made Fury Road lego sets featuring the Ecto 1.

That's all fine, I get that. I understand that's how you look at it. But why do I need to look at realism the same way you do? I look at realism in terms of how close it is to what would actually happen. The closer the better. I never expect it to be exactly the same as reality, because as you say that is absurd.

Well I guess the biggest problem for me is the way you define realism and the way you impose your definition on what I say when I talk about realism. I think you should use the dictionary definition and not make up your own. You can use a specific part of the semantic range for a specific purpose in a specific context. That's not wrong. But you can't limit the word to that. And can't you let me define my own terms when I use the word "realism" a certain way? I think we could have avoided a lot of unnecessary arguing if you tried to see things from my perspective. Because you missed most of my points too.

But the people making films are creating entire universes. There's no need to apply realism to that.

Besides, I've already told you how insane it is to apply the dictionary definition to film.

Of course you can apply the word how you want to. I'm not trying to limit anything. In fact, I think my perspective allows for less limiting than yours.

As far as this:

" I look at realism in terms of how close it is to what would actually happen."

I look at that, too. I just apply it to the context of the film in which the action occurs. I know an Iron Man suit cannot work in the real world and, even in the fake world, it would be a physics improbability. I accept it though because the Marvel films are just live action cartoons. I'm pretty sure I'm looking at it "in terms of how close it is to what would actually happen." I'm pretty sure we're doing the same thing...

It's not that you are using the word "realistic" in a way that is incompatible with it's semantic range. It's that you're responding to me when I said I look for realism in movies, but you're talking about realism in a different context from me. The way you mentioned looking for every second of travel time is insane, but I don't do that, and looking for realism is not restricted to that degree.

I want what is in the film to be portrayed in a reasonable way that makes sense. So the car with the massive speakers and the guy playing guitar should have had a more stable frame and been unable to keep up with the others, and Max should have demonstrated more skill before being caught. If things like that had been more realistic then I would have been more entertained

After seeing the movie I agree with Sexy Celebrity's claim in the sense that Furiosa was almost a co-lead - something in the vein of Sarah and John Conner in Terminator 2.

On its own merits though the movie wasn't feminist; assuming this was a standalone film and not a reboot I'd have never thought that at all - the shift from Max being the star of the show to him and Furiosa sharing the spotlight is a slight turn-off to me, especially if political correctness was a motive for the move.

On the same note the motive could've just as easily been wanting to market the film to a female audience, rather than 'promote political correctness' just for the hell of it.

Well considering how this is still a hit with guys, but also with ladies, I am guessing it is from a money standpoint.

All I know is I read an opinion piece the other day about how "this generation has finally found its own Ellen Ripley." In the Furiosa character.

And I'm thinking to myself.... do they seriously not see how nuts that is?

It's a Mad Max movie. There is no need to put "the new Ellen Ripley" in there. It's called Mad Max. Mad Max is supposed to be the hero. That's who everyone should be talking about. But instead, everyone's talking about Furiosa.

I will make that claim AFTER I see the Furiosa movie. She does have potential though.

You saw the Furiosa movie.