I put off watching Mad Max, Fury Road because I loved the first three Max movies, yes, even Thunderdome which actually may be my favorite of the three, and I didn't want to see the franchise ruined by modern Hollywood bs which I suspected when I saw Theron as the lead.
But I finally watched in and although I almost bailed in the first twenty minutes or so from freak overload I stuck around and am glad I did. Is this movie on par with it's three predecessors? No, it's not, but it wasn't bad either, it does entertain throughout it's run time, even if it's in a very simplistic way.
Back in the 70's (dating myself here!) chase films were big for a while; Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Vanishing Point, a few others. They consisted of just enough character development and plot to get by but mostly consisted of one long chase scene. That's what this movie is.
We don't learn much new about Max, or most of the other characters. We do learn Theron's characters back story but that's about it. The characters and "plot" are only there to support an action film that consists of a two hour chase through the desert and not much else.
The stunts are very cool, as befitting a Mad Max movie, the vehicles are also cool, as is the makeup, although the freak meter could have been dialed back a few clicks. And it did hold my attention throughout. But at the end of the day it's really nothing more that a lot of noise and explosions and loud music...I didn't hate it, and I don't think it tarnished the Mad Max legacy, but it didn't really live up to it either. If they're going to make more Max movies, and I hear they are, I don't think they'll be able to get away with this again. There needs to be more to it than there was here.
But I finally watched in and although I almost bailed in the first twenty minutes or so from freak overload I stuck around and am glad I did. Is this movie on par with it's three predecessors? No, it's not, but it wasn't bad either, it does entertain throughout it's run time, even if it's in a very simplistic way.
Back in the 70's (dating myself here!) chase films were big for a while; Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Vanishing Point, a few others. They consisted of just enough character development and plot to get by but mostly consisted of one long chase scene. That's what this movie is.
We don't learn much new about Max, or most of the other characters. We do learn Theron's characters back story but that's about it. The characters and "plot" are only there to support an action film that consists of a two hour chase through the desert and not much else.
The stunts are very cool, as befitting a Mad Max movie, the vehicles are also cool, as is the makeup, although the freak meter could have been dialed back a few clicks. And it did hold my attention throughout. But at the end of the day it's really nothing more that a lot of noise and explosions and loud music...I didn't hate it, and I don't think it tarnished the Mad Max legacy, but it didn't really live up to it either. If they're going to make more Max movies, and I hear they are, I don't think they'll be able to get away with this again. There needs to be more to it than there was here.