The title could be Mad Max: Cover Girl Models and the character of Max could actually be cut out of the movie and not that much lost story wise (everything important he does could be done by Charlize Theron or Nicholas Hoult's characters), which is never a good sign... But what fantastic big screen entertainment!
It's basically one long chase with a few pauses, and very little character development apart from "burnt out person finding humanity" which is given to three people - there's tough bitter Max who finds his again (for the third movie in a row), female warrior Theron who finds hers (with a connecting-with-the-sisterhood slant), and brainwashed fanatic Hoult who finds his (rather like a deprogrammed ISIS fighter). I guess there's also Abbey Lee Kershaw who starts as an angry cover girl model/wife and becomes nicer after befriending Melissa Jaffer.
But all that's primeval and completely works as drama. And what a fantastic chase - tremendous stunts, some of which literally take your breath away. I felt a pang it couldn't have been shot in Australia but the Namidian desert looks gorgeous and most of the supporting cast speak in Australian accents. Art department, costumes, etc are fantastic.
I also really enjoyed the cast - Tom Hardy made a very good new Max (so glad they didn't go with Sam Worthington), Theron is a first rate kick arse heroine, Rosie Hungtinton Whiteley is a spectacularly good looking Queen Bee, Hoult excellent in perhaps the film's best role, Megan Gale a believable Valkyrie. I loved how these grand dames of Australian tv and theatre like Melissa Jaffer and Jennifer Hagan finally get the chance to play action heroines, and the nod to series heritage by having Hugh Keays Byrne back.
The film is jammed full of great touches - like John Howard as a book keeper type figure with massive feet, Quentin as a genius (was he meant to be like Master from Beyond Thunderdome?), the rock guitarist leading the baddies into battle (like a piper for Highland regiments), the ISIS parallels, the whole world.
I get the feeling the original concept of the film had Max in Charlie Therzon's role - i..e the person who is bad but then changes their mind and helps the wives get to safety - then George Miller and co realised that had unpleasant men-owning-women overtones so added Therzon's character... with the result that Max's got a little sidelined. (This is only guessing I could be wrong).
Incidentally I can see why men's rights groups got upset with this because Hugh Keays Byrne, the villain, is after sole custody of his kids and the movie takes a pro-mothers-should-have-custody-over-their children line.
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