OrangeRKN wrote:Jenuall wrote:I get the setup of the film and the intended motivation for Joe, but sending your entire army to attack/shoot/explode the rig carrying your wives (one of whom is, as noted, heavily pregnant) seems like a bit of a stupid way to secure your potential for an h eir!
Their consistent approach is to try and disable/halt the rig and/or to board the rig and capture the wives. Immortan Joe not wanting any harm to come to the wives and his unboard child is a specific plot point when the pregnant wife uses her body to shield Furiosa from being shot.
Nux literally aims to explode the entire rig as his aim to prove his worth by dying in battle! Also isn't it Joe that is trying to shoot Furiosa when the pregnant one sacrifices herself? Not exactly a safe point of engagement if the people you are trying to save are within "human shield" distance of your target! Oh and isn't it even Joe's vehicle that runs over the pregnant wife?
I guess I can accept that the aims of Joe himself were to protect and rescue the wives, but he goes about it in a pretty reckless fashion!
OrangeRKN wrote:Jenuall wrote:If Gas Town is the only source of fuel, and the rig we see them send to collect the fuel is not exactly huge, it seems reasonable to assume that Joe's Citadel does not have significant local reserves of fuel. Therefore pissing the stuff away on pyrotechnics still seems counterproductive to me.
As said we see very little of Gas Town and the film gives us no knowledge or how much fuel reserves Immortan Joe has, other than it evidently not being a problem. Assuming he has little because the rig isn't huge is reaching, especially when we don't know how often they go on supply trips or what reserves they already have. Really though, it's not that important. The film establishes that Immortan Joe has access to fuel, and throughout the rest of the film it is evident that he has enough fuel for it to not factor into the plot any further. There is no inconsistency in the plot or contradiction in how fuel is used and valued.
Yeah, it probably is a reach to assume too much about fuel reserves, but I still think the way things play out makes one of the central concepts of the movie harder to believe - either fuel is valuable and rare or it isn't. If it isn't that rare then those in control of it would not have as much power as demonstrated in the film, if it genuinely was so rare then it wouldn't be so liberally wasted on non-essential activity.
I'm not arguing that it's a major tear in the core concept of the movie, just that its hard to maintain belief in the concept that fuel is rare and valuable (a fairly key pillar for the franchise in general) whilst at the same time seeing something play out that seems intent on wasting so much of it. But yes maybe I am being too analytical, it's perfectly plausible that Joe is just borderline insane and couldn't give a gooseberry fool about wasting so much fuel to try and reclaim his wives.
OrangeRKN wrote:Jenuall wrote:We're supposed to believe that Joe seems himself as the best leader for the people - they come to Joe as he's supposed to offer them a better life than the alternatives, and that they stick with him from a combination of "devotion to a charismatic leader" but also a healthy dose of "we haven't got any other strawberry floating choice". Doing stupid things like wasting the precious amount of fuel you have is a surefire way to make your followers think "hold on, maybe this Joe guy is just a twat and we should overthrow him? Also why is he not letting us have any of that plentiful water he seems to have? And why does he get to shag all the best looking birds?!"
The War Boys are essentially a cult, indoctrinated (as we see in the film) from a very young age, and brought up with Immortan Joe as both their father figure and as a godlike entity. These are kids that are willing to kill themselves in battle because of their belief in an afterlife, their indoctrination could not be more clear. Immortan Joe lives at the top of a heavily defended fortress from which he controls all access to the water. The War Boys are completely dedicated to Immortan Joe, and the general populace who live at the foot of the citadel lack any means whatsoever to challenge him. The Bullet Farm and Gas Town are in an alliance with Immortan Joe primarily through trade, as water is a valuable resource, but also because the War Boys are a formidable army to face.
Again I see no inconsistency in the setup or in how the plot plays out.
The War Boys are definitely an interesting concept, indoctrinated to see Joe as their God and to effectively worship machines and all things mechanical above organic - even seeing their bodies more as machines than flesh. One thing that I didn't quite get however was that as far as I could tell the idea is supposed to be that the strongest and healthiest from the general populace are accepted into the citadel to join Joe's personal army of War Boys. As those who are let into the citadel they should also have greater access to Joe's water supply, and his doctor (or "Organic Mechanic"
) which should help keep them in better condition than those trapped outside. If these are the strongest then why are they all seemingly on the brink of dying and need "blood bags" to keep them alive?
OrangeRKN wrote:You're right that it should be enjoyed as the big action film that it is and that it intends to be, but I wouldn't call it dumb - everything about the film is smartly made and directed.
Yeah it is a hugely enjoyable action movie, it's well made and there is plenty about it that can be admired, and by the standards of this sphere of film making it's probably not fair to call it dumb. I think I'm still in a bit of a nit-picky mood with it and trying to work out why I thought it was shite on the first viewing!