A mixed bag

Rating: 3/10 (14 May 2015)

Being a big fan of the first two Mad Max films, I have been looking forward to Fury Road for years. Sadly as the end credits rolled, I only felt relief that it was over. The cinematography was beautiful, the action scenes well done, and everything had a glorious sense of momentum. Sadly these factors alone aren't enough to make a good film. Where things really fell apart for me was the poor dialogue & lack of any character building. The action was frantic, but without investing any time in the characters it was essentially meaningless. The few occasions where an attempt was made to create some emotion or character depth were woefully inept & even jarring at times. It soon became clear that the film could only be enjoyed in terms of action, but even that became too repetitive, like an overblown never ending repetition of the final chase scene from Mad Max 2.
The other really disappointing aspect was that Hardy didn't make a great Max. Mel Gibson played the part perfectly in the first two instalments & even when he was a 'burned out shell of a man' he had a certain charisma, & there were touching glimpses of his former warmth that was buried deep beneath the surface. Hardy on the other hand comes across as an unlikeable, clumsy fool & barely says or does anything at all till far into the film.
The one saving grace was Charlize Theron as Furiosa - somebody wrote in another review that she was more Max than Max. This is most definitely the case. She was the only character I cared remotely about & without her it would have been a real struggle to sit through the duration of the film. I would suggest that if any further Mad Max films are made, they should focus on her character because Hardy's portrayal of Max has killed off any interest I had in what might happen to him next.