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EC-2021's avatar

I enjoyed the movie (and this piece) quite a lot and generally agree. The thing which most undercut that message, to me, was a necessary part of the Mad Max films.

The part where he rides off into the sunset, rather than doing as he's just convinced them to do and stick around to do the work necessary to keep a brand new and extremely vulnerable society working and safe.

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Chris Daley's avatar

Articles like this are why I'm a paid subscriber. I remember thinking exactly these thoughts when I first saw the movie - the scene where Max gives up the gun is one of the greatest in modern cinematic history. It's an incredible moment where two strangers who are facing insurmountable odds become an unstoppable team through a leap of faith.

The real life mirror which I think often gets missed however, is how this is also a total inversion of the image of masculinity represented by Chris Kyle and glorified in American Sniper (2014) and the mainstream media of the day. In Mad Max Fury Road, two battle scarred veterans of a forever war find a way to turn the tables and find peace. IRL, one shot the other instead.

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