wabbit's warren

In response to the folks who say that Fury Road "isn't a Mad Max movie because Max isn't the main character," I call bullshit. Yes, there are other characters who share the spotlight with Max. One of them even surpasses him at some skills. And she (how dare it be a she!) is the grit stuck in the craw of the haters. Yes, Imperator Furiosa pisses some people (insecure males) off, because she dares to be an equal to Max. But equal is the key word here, and this is not an either/or scenario, folks. Furiosa being a badass doesn't make Max less of one. Furiosa being a main character doesn't make Max less of a lead, either. And his actions in regards to her and her motley crew make him more of a hero than most characters we are supposed to see that way.

He also has a character arc. In fact, other than Nux, another male, I might add, he's the only one who does. As badass as she is, Furiosa doesn't. She starts and ends the same way. Max, on the other hand, changes. He starts out the typical wandering vagabond. Then (never mind the details) he's captured. His escape attempt fails (nice touch, that), but he ends up traveling with a war party anyway, though sheer serendipity. This eventually leads to his escape and his encoutering the caravan featuring Furiosa. As a road warrior who lives only to survive (his own words), he initially refuses to help them. But in order to save his own skin, eventually he helps them in order to help himself. Somewhere down the road (literally), their battle becomes his own, and Max does the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing.

And then, wonder of wonders, this non-lead-character comes up with the plan that changes everything! Whoa! What a crazy thing for a non-lead-character to do! And in the end, his job done, Max leaves. And this is where I fell in love with this movie. I enjoyed every minute of it up until this, but this scene alone is worth the price of admission. Because this is the essence of Max. This is the truthfullness I alluded to in my earlier post. Max is a road warrior; a nomad. He is not a leader. He is not a politician. He is not a lover, but a fighter. He can't say with Furiosa (oh, the fact that there was no ship whatsoever in this movie was so refreshing!) because, to borrow from a song, he's a cowboy, and Marshall Dillion never hung his hat up at Kitty's place. This was so, so true to the Mad Max character, and I just died when I saw it. The coup de gras was his looking back nod of respect to Furiosa. It is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in movies in a long, long time. A simple nod. Not a kiss. Not a hug. And gods, not sex. Just respect. It shouldn't be so special to me, because it shouldn't be so rare, but both are true.


And you know what?

It made me want to cosplay Max.


Everyone wants to be Furiosa for Dragon Con, but not me. Despite my sex, I want to be Max.

I want to be the man who doesn't judge. The guy who doesn't have a problem giving a gun to a woman because she's a better shot. The man who does the right thing, and not because he's going to get sex for it. The guy who rises above my baser nature. The man who nods at a woman in respect.


Because what's that argument out there? Not all men? Isn't that it?

Indeed.

Not all men. Just Max*, in the best action movie I've seen in a long time.


Roll on, Fury Road!

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*Max, who is also crucial to the fight, thanks, along with Nux, who saves the day by being a martyr, actually - seriously, anti-man? Whatever.