Mad Max returns

Rating: 7/10 (2 March 2016)

This is the film that George Miller shall had done 30 years ago instead of the tepid Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome.
Tom Hardy steps into the boots of Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky. A man of few words, haunted by the past and cares little of the world he is living in.
Charlize Theron is Imperator Furiosa who wreaks revenge on evil Immortan Joe by taking his young wives whose sole purpose is to make babies and be his chattel.
As the ladies escape they come across Max who is help captive by Joe's gang and he reluctantly helps them escape while being pursued by Joe, his sons and other members of his posse.
No doubt this reboot expands the premise of Mad Max 2 and is effectively a one long bonkers chase film with stunning stunts and visuals.
As a nod to the original Mad Max, Hugh Keays-Byrne returns as the villain but plays a different character, the sadistic Immortan Joe. The Mad Max films has form of having the same actors playing different characters.
The film adds a feminist twist with Theron joining Hardy as the lead character and Max being helped out by a group of women escaping from Joe's clutches.
As for Hardy, it is unfortunate that he had so few lines and I have to say that he has yet to wrest the role from Mel Gibson.
The film won six technical Oscars and was a contender for the best Picture and Director Oscars. I doubt this film could be regarded as Oscar bait, it is just an unpretentious action-adventure movie.