Mad Max: Fury Road
The opening starts with a voice-over narration by an unknown character while some title credits are shown across the screen. The tone of the narrator is serious which intrigues the viewer from the beginning, combined with the vibrant black-and-red colour scheme of the capitalised title credits.
This kind of blend clearly demands the audience's attention; the viewer is thus given the impression that this movie is not of the subtle or light-hearted kind.
A lone character is finally shown in a desert setting with a jagged landscape, immediately establishing the frequently-exercised trope of abandonment and isolation in the post-apocalyptic genre.
The contrast and saturation is high throughout this scene which is eye-catching and the character is shot from an angle where the audience does not see the character face-to-face which ignites a sense of mystery, another component in catching the viewer's attention.
The focus is then switched to a lizard in the foreground crawling towards this character and the camera pans to the character proceeding to eat it, pointing out that this is not a conventionally likable character, although this is typical for the post-apocalyptic genre. This is the first close-up of the character.
A few fast cuts are then used to show the character packing up a few things and driving away leading to a car chase. No close ups are used to show the action here, only long shots are used to show the short car chase from a distance to establish the vastness of the setting.
There is no background music in this action scene which is uncharacteristic for a post-apocalyptic action movie, resulting in a realistic effect as if the viewer was witnessing this situation in real life.
The main character is injured but survives the impact just as the narrator says the word "survive", further emphasising the survivalist theme native to most action/post-apocalyptic movies.
A series of flashbacks are then shown as the character tries to get up revealing the character's grief and guilt towards an unexplained event which invites the viewer to sympathise and identify with the character.
The next scene is solely comprised of high-saturation, high-contrast shots in low-key lighting with a warm-toned centre due to fire flames and a cool-toned frame, hinting that the location is a cave.
The character is thus faced with another obstacle which they get out of shortly, accompanied by fast-paced music and quick cuts to increase the tension and sense of urgency. Some match-on-action shots are used to show the path the character takes.
Another montage of flashbacks are revealed through the character's eyes in an inappropriate time as he is trying to escape which implies that he is haunted by his own past whenever he tries to escape a situation, further emphasising the character's extreme guilt and anxiety; the montage employs fast cuts, dark colouring and a visual effect where the characters in his flashbacks transition into skeletons to represent this.
He tries to escape several times but something always gets in the way, whether it is his own flashbacks or the antagonists. This constant fluctuation between escaping and getting trapped increasingly heightens the thrill and tension amongst the audience.
Overall this film is unique enough to stand out from other post-apocalyptic movies while still staying loyal to the basic expectations and conventions of the genre.
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