8/10
Nonstop action overwhelms
16 April 2023
The three Mad Max movies starring Mel Gibson broke new ground in the post apocalypse genre. There was some form of catastrophic event where civilization fell apart over a very short time. There was always the underlying premise that there was a nuclear war and most of the survivors were in very arid lands. This movie applies the same premise, and the male hero is once again named Max. Although we do not learn that until the end.

There is a massive grouping of humans that are subjugated by a small band of ruthless men that have the total obedience to the death of their war gangs. When Max encounters that group, he is captured, enslaved and turned into a living blood bank. Max is played by Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron plays Imperator Furiosa, the leader of a small group of women fleeing across the wasteland in a makeshift vehicle that has both gas and water tankers.

A road war that dwarfs those of the previous iterations of the series takes place. There are many vehicles in pursuit, including a man playing a very heavy metal guitar. Some of the pursuing vehicles have large poles with men on the top that can be swayed so the men land on the tanker. The action is essentially nonstop and intense, yet the fundamental plot device of an understandable goal is lacking. It is hard to determine what the massing group of humans really is and how it is controlled.

At the end, there is the hint of the rekindling of civilization, but the mechanism that it will be implemented is fuzzy and ill-defined. If you are a fan of the road warrior style action, then you will love this movie. However, if you prefer that your post-apocalyptic stories have a basic plot towards the rebirth of civilization in an understandable manner, then you will be disappointed.
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