If your friends have seemed a little more pumped up in the last few days, or if you’ve noticed an increase in road rage in your daily commute, then it’s probably because of Mad Max: Fury Road. George Miller’s gleeful, over the top post-apocalyptic Stagecoach is doing very respectable business at the box office thanks to overwhelmingly positive reviews and great word of mouth. If you haven’t seen it, please rectify that now. It is easily the best action film to come along in a long, long time. It is a smart, feminist take on the usual macho fare found in this sort of thing. It eschews CGI for old-fashioned practical effects and stuntwork. It is a meditation on everything from climate change to child soldiers, reproductive rights (something which I am glad to report angered Men’s Rights activists) to rape (the unspoken theme of the film is the use of rape as a war crime). Plus, come on, a flame-throwing electric guitar! What’s not to like?
Being that we live in the age of memes, the Internet has been quick to respond to the film’s many visual splendors. There is, for instance a LEGO version of the Doof Warrior; a fun, feminist “Hey Girl” examination of the film’s gender politics; and a Mario Kart version of the trailer. Now, though, the infiltration of the film into public consciousness is complete with the news that the film’s fans are adding reviews and comments to an Amazon page which sells – of all things – food coloring. Wilton Silver Color Mist is a silver food coloring spray, and it resembles to the shiny and chrome paint that the movie’s War Boys huff to prepare for their glorious trip to Valhalla. What a spray! What a lovely spray!