A great choice to inaugurate your series, Scott! I'm not a big fan of the action genre, but this movie knocked my (myopic) eyeballs out their sockets. The chase scenes, the cinematography, the stunts, the characters (grannies on motorcycles!), the costumes that not only dress up the characters but reflect their characters - wow! There's a lot to re-view and think about in this movie.

I'm not the biggest fan of action movies either. Action comedy, another matter. But MM:FR knocked my virtual socks off. I'll follow up in another comment with some initial thoughts. Glad you're here for the discussion.

The best part about this movie was the sheer originality of it. From the minimal use of dialogue, to the relentless action, to the amazing visuals, this movie stood out because it wasn't afraid to adhere to Miller's creative vision. Sadly, many of the stories I read about how long it took for the movie to get made show that originality is not always appreciated, and that it takes a relentless effort on the part of the people who believe in the vision to make it come to fruition. Two links: http://vashivisuals.com/the-editing-of-mad-max-fury-road/ Interesting take about the filming/editing style of the movie. http://screenrant.com/tag/mad-max/ Multiple links here that are interesting. I personally can't wait to see the Black and White version when it comes out on Blu Ray.

I want to say two things about MM:FR right up front in our discussion. First, the movie is a good example of this maxim: Simple plot. Complex characters. It's a chase movie. We'll get into this in more depth tomorrow, but as far as plots go, it doesn't get much simpler than this narrative type. When I say "complex," I'm not talking Bergman. Rather the movie has complex enough characters to match the nature of the story. They are more than types, they feel real, even in a fantastical way. I think this is because they traffic in basic and universal emotions: Fear. Hope. Guilt. Lust. Despair. Anger. We, as viewers, may not be able to imagine ourselves existing within the story's physical world, although it's certainly fun to try, but we CAN relate to the character's PSYCHOLOGICAL experiences. But the characters are more than just shells into which Miller and the other writers poured in one emotion. Rather there are shades and layers of things going on. The major characters each go through some sort of psyche-change. Not subtle, but that's not what's called for in this type of story. The characters' respective changes feel authentic and are scaled to fit the narrative. The second thing is this: I felt more genuine emotion while watching this movie than perhaps all of the Marvel movies combined. I think this is not only due to the solid work done by the filmmakers and actors with each character, but the fact the stakes of the story are deeply human and -- critically -- SPECIFIC. This is not about the end of the world. Or the end of the universe. This is about Furiosa's desperate attempt to bring the Wives to safety vs. Immortan Joe's obsessive pursuit of what he perceives to be his rightful property. In other words, there is the BIG STORY -- all the bombast and spectacle -- but it's grounded in a SMALL STORY -- the lives of this ragtag group of fleeing souls who become, in effect, a kind of family. MM:FR is an object lesson which I hope everyone involved with comic book superhero movies will heed: Ground your stories in something we, as individuals, can care about. Sure, spectacle is great, but unless there are characters with whom we identify and about whom we care -- in a specific, genuine manner -- it's all just noise. The fact is Miller and crew proved with this movie you CAN have both: spectacle and authentic emotional experience. There is no good creative reason why that shouldn't be a primary goal for all of these type of CGI-laden franchise films. Anyhow those are a couple of top level impressions of MM:FR. Just a wonderful example of filmmaking and storytelling.

niz19, thanks for those links. I had featured the editing video in Saturday Hot Links and on Twitter. Interesting insight per Miller's visual storytelling. I wonder if the psychological impact of keeping characters in center frame is to consistently, even viscerally maintain a connection to and with them. This could be one of many reasons why - speaking personally - I connected with the characters and actually CARED about them. Keeping them 'up close and personal' and centered in frame, maybe that helped. I'll pull some links and add them to our list of resources. As to Miller having to fight to get his vision made, from a business standpoint -- if you put on a studio exec's hat -- it's understandable. Studios are risk averse. They just are. They're afraid to screw up because when they do, especially on a big budget movie, that can lead to pink slips and changes in regimes. Besides with the sheer number of spectacle franchise movies which have little to nothing original about them, yet go on to almost literally mint money in terms of box office and ancillary revenues, why even TRY to do something with an actual unique vision? Again per my previous comment, MM:FR shows it can be done, meshing strong storytelling with amazing visual effects to make an exceptional piece of entertainment. Thanks, niz19. Join us the rest of the week as we dig more deeply into the movie.

I think it was a sheer stroke of creative genius that Miller created not just a strong female protagonist -- who literally and figuratively drives the plot -- but one with an emotionally potent goal, liberating the wive-slaves. And that's more than just a feminist agenda, it's an archetypal conflict of matriarchy vs. patriarchy. (More to say about that when discussing character. The name Furiosa -- was Miller deliberately referencing the Furies, the ancient Greek chthonic deities of revenge? Shades of Aeschylus!)

Oh, yes. The whole matriarchy vs. patriarchy theme is played out wonderfully in the movie, reinforced and explored on multiple levels through multiple characters and multiple vantage points. And ha! Furiosa - the Furies. Damn, that has GOT to be the case, right? Never occurred to me, but even if it's subconscious, not conscious thing on Miller's part, it adds another lens through which to interpret her character. Furiosa is one of my favorite action character ever, male or female. We'll get into her and the whole lot of characters on Wednesday.

The first time I read they were going to do a Mad Max reboot/remake/sequel I wasn't very excited. I was really skeptical about it. I've been disappointed a lot of times by unnecessary sequels / reboots / remakes that just cash in a popular property and really don't care about telling at least a good story. (There are exceptions, but very, very few) Then, some very positive reviews appeared online and my curiosity was piqued. I decided to watch it in 3D. Wow. it's the movie I've enjoyed the most during 2015 so far. Some quick thoughts: I loved it is very visual, very little dialogue. A lot of things communicated through action and glances. I was surprised at how slim is the plot. - which is good. I cared about the characters and what is at stake even if it's a world completely different from the one we live in. I also liked the shooting style. No fancy shoots just to grab your attention so you can say "oh, what amazing effects", instead the special effects are grounded in the story, they are used to tell the story and feel so natural, not forced.

oh, nearly missed this in some enforced away-from-net time.. i have to both agree and disagree with some comments about this movie. 1) it is not original. There have been a lot of movies that have shades of what this one has. Chase movies: tons, little dialog: many. So when i see people commenting that original movies dont go well it makes me annoyed - this is (when first hearing about it) very similar to a lot of other more b-grade movies. What it has though, is style up the wazoo. It is a very simple (and almost silly) plot that doesn't sound like a good thing to sell... but it does this simple thing extremely well. pretty much everything you see is forshadowing or a call back. Every visual is pulling double duty, and can be read a number of ways. Even though its almost ludicrous in its over-the-top glorious reverence for insanity, everything makes sense, there is a very strong feeling that everything is done for a purpose backed by its own logic - logic reflected in a twisted and chrome plated mirror :) 2) The characters are complex. Nothing is explicitly called out, but a lot is hinted at. Miller makes the audience work - makes you think about the world and put 2 and 2 together yourself. Which makes watching so many scenes and feeling "ahh, yes, that would make sense" so much more satisfying. All of the characters have a past and wants and needs. All of them have their own goals that are made clear, and motivates their every action. As you might tell - i loved this movie :)