Mad Max: Fury Road

The film once again follows Max Rockatansky as he attempts to survive a dystopian Australian future. The film begins in darkness as disembodied voices discuss the ancient oil and water wars. Then we cut to Max as he is captured during a car chase, tattooed and branded with the signature of Immortan Joe. Immortan Joe is the villain of the film and the leader of the Citadel. The people of the Citadel are at the beck and call of Immortan, who is the sole provider of water in a vast, empty desert that stretches for hundreds of miles. The film begins with his sending his greatest commander, Imperator Furiosa, to go to Gastown, an aptly named place to trade for gasoline. As Furiosa sets out, she quickly detours. Immortan notices that his most prized wives have gone missing, they are with Furiosa. Immortan’s army files into their ranks of cars and chases after Furiosa, Max brought along as a blood bag for the injured of the army. Eventually, Max frees himself and joins forces with Furiosa and the wives as they set out for a mythical “Green Place”. As they drive on and stave off Immortan’s army, they begin to realize that the Green Place no longer exists, the last remnant of nature has been wiped out. Out of any other plans, they make their way back to the Citadel, the only known place with clean water. On the way back, they defeat Immortan and his army. Furiosa frees the Citadel from its shackles and Max walks off amongst the crowd, his next location uncertain.

The story is not complex. Fury Road is a blockbuster action movie, and action is its main goal as we watch Max and Furiosa fight off men with explosive spears, harpoons, chainsaws, machine guns, and various other weapons. However, unlike Miller’s other Mad Max movies, which only lightly touched on how the world became so barren, this film constantly remarks on it. The Citadel is littered with graffiti saying, “Who Killed Our World?” The world of Mad Max is one in which every necessity is artificially scarce. Water, crops, gas, and bullets are all singularly owned by corrupt warlords who seek only to rule all of the desert for themselves. For Immortan perceives his army as dispensable as he throws his men into unwinnable battles, referring to them as battle fodder. His only desire is to be returned with his prize women so he can produce an “alpha male.”

In the other Mad Max films, although women were also warriors, they often were in the background. However, in Fury Road, the women are at the forefront. Furiosa outsmarts Max on multiple occasions and forces him to become reliant on her war rig as his only safe haven from Immortan’s army. As Immortan’s army of men are obliterated, the Citadel is left with only a handful. The new world order belongs to women. The film is at once both feminist and eco-conscious, understanding that elements like toxic masculinity and the patriarchy are major contributors to the destruction of our world.

Not only is Fury Road a sight to behold, but it is one of the first major blockbuster films to have a concrete stance on ecofeminism, heralding it as the only way our ravaged world can move forward.