Film Opening Analysis: Mad Max Fury Road

We are able to recognise Mad Max: Fury Road is a science fiction film because of the indicators in the opening scene. The film begins with a narrative that introduces himself as Max, Which informs us that he is going to play a vital role in the movie. Whilst, the character summaries a bit of the background story about the nuclear holocaust; indicates his mission in the film it allows us the audience to guess the possible plot. Furthermore, we can hear guns shots and short dialogues in the opening scene. This suggests that the movie contains the sub-genre post -apocalyptic. By setting up the world they live in, where humanity is broken and fighting is crucial for survivable promising there will be a lot of action.

The scene then cuts to an establishing shot, which allows us the audience to see where the action will be taking place, in a desert setting after a catastrophic event.

Slowly, zooming into a behind the shoulder shot where we can’t identify the character but can assume that it’s Max, creates mystery because we are unable to see Max’s face clearly before the character gets into his car and drives away.

Diegetic sounds of the car chase scene: creates tension in the atmosphere, the audience to feel curious and adds a naturalistic feel to the movie allowing the viewers to feel present in the scene.

We then become aware that max is in danger when he gets captured by a group of people who he calls “scavengers” we later discover them to be known as war boys. Although we are not fully aware of their purpose in the opening scene, judging by their use of violence and force implies that they have bad intentions.

There are many effective camera shot/angles used in the opening scene for Mad Max: Fury Road. However, the one camera shot that stood out to me the most was the close-up shot when max was unsuccessful in trying to escape. This was effective because the audience couldn’t actually see Max ‘s facial expression when he got dragged back into the cave, which created suspense and tension in the audience’s minds.