Why The Original Mad Max And Fury Road Tell The Same Story
Why The Original Mad Max And Fury Road Tell The Same Story
Contents
The original Mad Max is a slower, more straightforward version of Furiosa’s violent quest for revenge on Fury Road’s chief villain Immortan Joe.
You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]
Despite being told from two very different points of view, both the original Mad Max and Fury Road tell essentially the same story. Released in 1979, the original Mad Max made an instant star of lead Mel Gibson, whose unforgettable depiction of the titular, gradually unraveling police officer turned a potentially simplistic revenge tale into a sparse, intense thriller that spawned an ambitious franchise. The original Mad Max may have been a relatively grounded revenge thriller set in the near future, but the movie’s sequels soon swerved into more over-the-top, campy sci-fi territory faster than their villains drove.
By 1981’s The Road Warrior, Max was already a hardened post-apocalyptic scavenger, while by the time part three Beyond Thunderdome arrived four years later, the wanderer was almost unrecognizable from the first film’s unhinged city cop. Fury Road famously spent over a decade in development hell, with Gibson – who was set to return in the early 2000s – eventually aging out of the role. The actor replaced by Tom Hardy, and the Mad Max movies were firmly back in high-concept sci-fi territory in terms of genre.
However, as unlikely as it may seem given their wildly different styles and tones, the original Mad Max’s revenge plot is largely is mirrored in Fury Road’s narrative. Fury Road essentially retells the original Mad Max’s story of a disillusioned agent of law and order breaking away from the system and indulging in vigilante justice to take down the threat posed by unruly, psychotic racers. The big difference is that Mad Max himself isn’t the central character of Fury Road, and as such, he’s not the one who undergoes a pivotal shift in perspective during the movie’s action.
Mad Max and Fury Road’s Broken Societies
Although it’s frequently misremembered as a post-apocalyptic thriller, the original Mad Max actually depicts a society on the brink of collapse and is explicitly set before the end of the world. While later installments portray a world completely without law and order, the first Mad Max introduces the titular antihero as a beleaguered lawman who is trying his best to hold together the crumbling social fabric of a city filled with crime and corruption. In contrast, Fury Road’s environmentally ruined setting shows society has long since collapsed but Imperator Furiosa is, in Immortan Joe’s twisted social order, also a cop of sorts who maintains the status quo – it’s just a much worse status quo. Both Mad Max movies see officers leaving their job to do what is right, but where Max finds the law insufficient, Furiosa is fighting Immortan Joe’s law itself and her former colleagues – rather than a rogue criminal gang – are the threat she hopes to put a violent end to.
Immortan Joe and Toecutter
Immortan Joe and Toecutter share more than actor Hugh Keays-Byrn in common, with both being monstrous villains having a soft spot for the young men they employ, and acting as an alternately terrifying or tender father figure to their gang. Both baddies realistically maintain control, like real despots and cult leaders, by swerving between support and savagery, leaving their followers uncertain what’s coming next. Immortan Joe may be a much more successful gang leader, but Fury Road makes it clear his status in the world doesn’t make him any less of a boorish, dangerous savage who will turn to violence to achieve his goals, much like the less powerful but equally ruthless Toecutter of Mad Max. These two depictions of evil may diverge in their details (Toecutter being an overpowered crook and Immortan Joe being a former army general gone mad with power), but the essence of how both maintain power in the lawless land of Mad Max is notably consistent. They are also the central targets for revenge for Max and Furiosa respectively.
Furiosa and Mad Max’s Matching Stories
In Fury Road, Furiosa’s story is the tale that the movie centers around. Despite boasting the title role, Max is portrayed as a near-mute character whose presence acts mostly as a human framing device, giving the audience an avatar of sorts through whose eyes they can be introduced to the world of the Citadel. It’s Furiosa’s plot that drives the movie, however, with her story essentially being a retelling of the first Mad Max’s revenge narrative. Where the original movie sees Max wreak bloody revenge on the gang who murdered his loved ones, Fury Road sees Furiosa… taking revenge on a much better-equipped and organized but no less ruthless cult of hoodlums for torturing, assaulting and imprisoning her loved ones. It’s a similar setup that may take place over a few days rather than weeks, unlike the more languidly paced Mad Max, but one which diverges more in character than the actual story.
The Vital Difference Between Mad Max and Fury Road
The difference between Mad Max and Fury Road comes down to the source of motivation that drives each movie’s main character. Where Furiosa is taking revenge on behalf of Immortan Joe’s enslaved wives, Max is taking revenge for a personal attack and despite hoping to maintain law and order early in the story, has no hopes of improving the conditions of the world he lives in. He has to abandon the law he swore to uphold to achieve some semblance of justice. Although the driving force of Max and Furiosa’s stories is the same and both are willing to sacrifice their humanity – and even their lives – to kill the monsters they are fighting, Max doesn’t turn to violence until it has already been meted out on his family.
Furiosa on the other hand stands up for women she isn’t directly related to whose oppression she could technically ignore or remain complicit in. Max has no hope of “fixing” or improving his surroundings, being motivated solely by anger and vengeance. In contrast, Fury Road’s heroine hopes to save the Citadel, an admirable goal in a bleak world where survivors often look out for themselves.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/mad-max-furiosa-fury-road-1979-original-comparison-explained/
Movies -Who Is Jo Mullein Far Sectors Comic Character Explained
The Offices Hilarious Its Happening! Reaction Meme Explained
What Makes Jurassic Worlds Blue Different
The XMen Just Killed [SPOILER] To Save Marvels Future
XFiles Walter Skinners Surprisingly Tragic Origin Story Explained
The Spy Who Loved Me 10 Ways Its Roger Moores Best Bond Movie
Why Jon Favreau Didnt Direct Iron Man 3
