Razorfist Concludes Mad Max Month: Fury Road Follies

Razorfist finished Mad Max Month with the last one, Fury Road. It get complicated.

I said that it gets complicated, but I mean that it gets more plotholes than a block of Swiss cheese. Razorfist loves the film, despite its deep and abiding flaws. I do not. However, it's clear the George Millar lost his mojo by this time and it shows on the screen. There's a reason for that: Mad Max is an extraneous character in his own film. There is nothing about this story, this plot, or any other part of this narrative that requires Max to be there to make it work. Furiosa could've--and should have--done it all herself. The film would have been a better, stronger, story had Millar had the balls to cut Max out entirely.

Which leads me to my chief objection: George Millar lied to me. He sold me a Mad Max film, and did not deliver. Bad as Thunderdome is, at least Max is a critical part of that trainwreck. The first is all about Max, and the second has Max as the catalyst that sets off the narrative and drives it forward. Even the game is all about Max. This film? He's a cypher, a nobody, without whom not one part of the actual story, beat for beat, changes. That's why it feels like sanctioned fan-fic (which is the most damning thing I can say, given that the creator helmed this film).

"Sanctioned fan-fic" cannot be tolerated as commercial products from IP holders. Like SJW Convergence, it does nothing but weaken the value of the IP and the reputation of the brand associated with it, and continued for too long it will lead to its collapse and fall into oblivion as the audience--repelled by the drop in quality--return the betrayal of expectations with mockery and abandonment. It has to be punished early, punished often, and punished severely if those who value the property wish it to endure, thrive, and continue to hold its value generations after its creation. The sake of our culture demands that this duty be done.