Mad Max: Fury Road
2.5 Waffles!

Mad Max: Fury Road is one over-the-top, bombastic, adrenaline-filled chase scene. Love it or leave it.

Tom Hardy stars as Max – a former cop haunted by the events of his life in this post-apocalyptic desert wasteland that looks suspiciously like the Australian Outback (and not the one with the amazing bloomin’ onion). It’s a world where everyone just tries to survive, and Max’s number is up.

Our hero has been captured by marauders, and he is being harvested for his blood to replenish the soldiers who fight for the local dictator, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).

One of Immortan Joe’s most loyal and decorated, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), has decided enough is enough, so, during a mission to pick up more supplies, she decides to take off in a battle vehicle carrying extremely valuable cargo beloved by the heinous military strongman.

Of course, Max gets mixed up in this whole mess, and might find a chance for redemption, just like the kind Furiosa is seeking. What is she carrying?

Where is she going?

Why?

Director George Miller and the team sure know how to create a visually stunning movie, but you always get the impression it could be about so much more if Miller stopped the action for moment or two to let the characters breath.

Mad Max: Fury Road is an action extravaganza full of explosions, motorcycles, Frankenstein-style automobile mash ups, fire, guns, and more stuff that makes a man thump his chest in approval. They might as well call this Mad Max: Testosterone Road.

Yet, underneath it all is a story about redemption, the human spirit and hope if it was allowed to rise above the explosions. Writers Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris (along with Miller taking a co-writer credit) give the characters moments of nobility to shed light on their true motivations and make up, but the dialogue is left out. The audience is able to get the point, but it would be nice to give the actors some material to shine.

Theron and Hardy are very good at their craft, and find moments to add some depth to Max and Furiosa that might not have been there with lesser actors. A great actor can do something special with a look, and both of them are in overdrive due to the lack of dialogue.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a visual spectacle with a dash of depth tossed in.

Mad Max: Fury Road is rated R for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images.