No Mad Max here; sorry

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 2015)

There's some of the old films' magic here. Clever costumes and rigs and props made from scrap metal, with nutty personalized touches. People with crazy names. Some exciting actions sequences in the last half of the movie. But the main character, who gave the previous films their heart and soul, is gone. There's no Mad Max here. I don't even know who the stand-in is, but he has no personality. Charlize Theron is physically imposing but doesn't get to do a lot of acting. The supporting actresses are just eye candy for hetero men, their flimsy desert wraps artfully placed to just barely cover the naughty bits. The plot is a well-worn scheme about a tyrannical ruler who uses control of resources and a bogus mythology to suppress the masses. I guess if you haven't seen very many movies this would seem original. If you are over 40 you have seen this all before. Somewhat enjoyable but not inspiring.