Mad Max Hauls In the Action To the Screens

With all the mistakes and mishaps Mel Gibson has found himself in we all still remember the great movies he's been in, and the famous franchise he started before he became a household name.  However, because of his recent mistakes and mishaps, I can see why George Miller, director of the three previous Mad Max films, decided to do this one without him.  Instead, Miller has enlisted Class-A actor, Tom Hardy, as the new Road Warrior.

In this sequel/reboot Max is caught and being held captive by Immortan Joe, who thrives on holding onto what little water there is in a world full of desert.  Max breaks free with the help of Joe's turncoat lieutenant, Furiosa; played by Charlize Theron.  Max and Furiosa are looking to escape Joe's clutches with a group of girls who have been forced to be his "breeders."  But Joe's got a lot of men to command and there is a lot of nothing between Max and the "green land".  

I've seen all the previous Mad Max films, however it's been so many years I was coming into this film as fresh as any newbie to the franchise.  The term, "road warrior" definitely helps to describe this picture as about 80% of it is car chase/actions scenes.  The visualization of this movie was phenomenal.  The scope of the sets and stunts were quite extravagant.  I also loved how the shots during the day was very red and orange while at night it's was blue and purple. 

 However, with that much action it leaves little room for plot and character development, which this film lacked a bit.  Hardy did an ok job as the lead, but it wasn't one of his better performances compared to movies like Locke and Warrior.  A step up from Hardy was Theron, who is just as good as she always is.  However, I'll give the best performance in this film to Nicholas Hoult.  The X-Men alumni transformed himself physically to where he was almost unrecognizable.  His arch seemed the most complete in this film and was quite satisfying.

It was quite entertaining to see this big spectacle of sand, and given the success of it's first weekend I can imagine they'll be a sequel.  I thought the film was quite interesting, but just needed a little more plot too it.  Seeing Mad Max in the theater was well worth it for the large amount of action.  So while I'm not drooling for more, I'd be interested to see what adventure Hardy gets into next if perhaps Mr. Gibson can make a small cameo.

RATING:  B-