In its fourth iteration, you have to see the Mad Max series as revolving around a character whose character arc has long since been complete, and whose one and only inner conflict will never be resolved.

If you take a look at other franchises, particularly those with limited exposition, you will quite often find that the author focuses on the new, fresh and colorful characters instead of the one constant, inalterable, taciturn protagonist.

Mad Max is about the legend of the road warrior, and the lives he has touched – the witnesses of his existence, who must be perceived as the actual 'storytellers' of the legend. With this in mind, I find that Fury Road was a full fledged Mad Max movie.

With a perfect Mad Max, I'd even say. ;)

I rather think that Fury Road's success is based on shamelessly old, traditional storytelling and SFX methods. Future installments could well improve on that: There still are a few rather annoying digital effects among the glorious handmade stunt extravaganza, and I didn't much care for the speed-upped sequences.

I can't say I have high hopes for the sequel, but we'll see where it goes. We'll see. ;)

He was superb in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet. Much as I like Hardy I've yet to see him do something that would rival that performance.

No Mel Gibson, no warrior kid with a boomerang, no Gyro Captain = not a true Mad Max movie.

In other words, no Mad Max movie is actually a Mad Max movie except for the second one :-P

You mean the third one.

Nah, I just didn't feel like writing out all the things that could make a "Mad Max" movie a true Mad Max movie at the time. The first movie is a true Mad Max movie too because it contains the right ingredients like the 2nd movie. The first movie has Mel Gibson, the V8 Interceptor, a bad ass villain, very dark scenes and that late 70s and 80s style. One of the things that can make a true Mad Max movie is a loyal dog companion too. The third movie's only Mad Max ingredient is Mel Gibson. And Fury Road doesn't have Mel Gibson. I heard Fury Road has a bad ass villain but that is it. So Beyond Thunderdome and Fury Road simply do not have enough of the right ingredients to be Mad Max movies. Would you call a pizza a pizza if there were no bread, sauce and cheese??? I will still see this Fury Road movie because my tastes are not just limited to Mad Max movies. And I'm sure the movie is very entertaining too based on what I've heard about it but I can't accept the movie as a Mad Max movie.

You mean like Fury Road? :-P Look, this is simple - go see it, then we talk.

I just got back from watching it, I saw it in 3D.

I did NOT like this movie.

I like Tom Hardy, I love Charlize Theron (she's sexy and one of my favorite actresses), I like the Mad Max series (especially The Road Warrior), I love post-apocalyptic situations...

However, I thought Mad Max: Fury Road was absolutely cringe-worthy from beginning to end, as did the person I saw it with.

I respect that people have differing opinions, it's what makes us human and not robots, for example I think Depeche Mode is one of the best bands of all time, and I've been insulted at record stores for buying their albums.

More power to those of you who liked it. :-)

I watched it for the boomz and I think that's what's good about it.

Saw it yesterday. Absolutely incredible in every sense of the word.

Some people say it's light on plot. I disagree. I think it just had the intelligence not to spend time on things that it didn't need to spend time on. Whereas a lot of action movies are padded with woefully stale exposition and unwelcome half-hearted attempts at characterpization and gravitas, Fury Road only told what it needed to tell. It used a line where other movies would have used a monologue, and a look where other movies would have used a line. In my opinion, it was actually quite an intelligent, artful film when things weren't exploding, and a balls-to-the-wall no-holds-barred thrill ride when things were.

Again, incredible in every sense of the word.

Yeah, Mel Gibson is a legitimately good actor. That being said, Hardy worked a LOT better for me as Mad Max. However (and I know this will shoot my nerd cred), I actually was rather underwhelmed by The Road Warrior, so...
He's my new hero! He needs a spinoff series. "Mad Guitar Guy Strapped To A Truck Playing Metal While Things Explode." I'd see that in Theaters.

He'll surely make a comeback in the next movie (which is supposed to be a prequel I think?) :))

The fact that there are going to be more movies actually worries me. It seems like there's nowhere to go now but down. Then again, I'm sure that's what everyone thought about Fury Road before it came out, given that it was the followup to a disappointing followup, 30 years late, with a rocky production cycle.

EDIT: Actually, just checked Rotten Tomatoes, and I guess Thunderdome was well-received too. For some reason I had the idea people didn't like it.

Still... where do you go from here? There are only so many times you can one-up the "car chases in a desert" thing.

That's the problem with online nerdrage in general. Just because a few entitled basement dwellers wax lyrical about age ratings does not mean that a film is bad. You would assume that the Robocop reboot was a terrible film if you went by the nerdraging about the PG-13 rating and the fact that it was a reboot, but it was actually relatively well-received, and deservedly so.

Opinions among forum dwellers rarely have a genuine bearing on the real world.
*** SPOILER ***

If it does happen to be a sequel, I'm going to hazard a guess that at the very least he'll need a new guitar then.

Hence Prometheus.

*ducks and runs for cover*

Precisely.

I sure hope you didn't go to the Prometheus School of Running Away from Things.