What I Watched -- Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road was not properly named.  It should be called Furiosa.  Here's why: Tom Hardy, who plays Max, is terrible.  (I liked him in Locke, and probably there wasn't much that could be done with the terrible dialogue that was written for Max, but still.)  Charlize Theron, who plays Furiosa, kicks ass.  She deserves a movie title, if for no other reason than that she transformed herself from her typically stunning, red carpet self into a hardcore beast.

There are some problems with her character.  Like why the heck does she have half an arm?  It was never explained or even alluded to, and it was totally unnecessary.  There was nothing she used her metal hand for that she couldn't have done with a real hand or a pistol.  I suspect the explanation for how that happened to her, and why she hates the bad guy, got left on the cutting room floor.  The other theory that I've heard is that it's a tribute to folks with prostheses (possibly a relative of the script writer?), specifically because it is never discussed.  That's just how she is.  Deal with it.  I think it's probably more likely the former.

Then there's the whole issue of the plot.  Yes, yes, I know.  T reminded me several times that this is an action movie and plot isn't the point.  (I don't even consider what I'm about to say a spoiler, but you might.)  Why on Earth, Furiosa who is otherwise awesome, would you spend 2/3 of the move running away from the bad guys, and then decide to turn around and go right back towards the bad guys?  What a ridiculous premise.

There were a few interesting camera shots, or key moments when all the sudden the picture changed from color to black and white.

Bottom line: despite its obvious, sometimes excusable-because-it's-an-action-movie flaws, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this.  Even now that I've seen it, the previews still make me think it's horrible.  All credit to Charlize.