Where the world has gone post-apocalyptic, and the survivors live under the rule of warlords and savages while driving nitrous fueled muscle cars and serve as vicious "war boys" to their masters. Watching it not once, but twice on my home theater, along with several months of gestating between my disappointing theatrical experiences, allowed me to see it in a new light. Fast forwards 3 months and I now have the Blu-ray disc in my hand, as well as a plethora of things gleaned from discussions on the forums about the nuances of the film in my mind. Their redeeming factor was having Mel Gibson be the lead, as his charisma can cover a lot of sings. It took me going back and watching the original 3 to realize, even the original movies weren't that good. No matter how much I disliked it, I decided that I wanted to see what other people saw, so I went back a second time, gestated over the material and still didn't feel any better. Everyone said I was nuts, didn't know what I was talking about, or just looked at me in stunned surprise when I said I wasn't a fan. I saw nothing of the Mad Max I grew up with and the complete lack of verbal storytelling was horribly off putting. To say I was disappointed was an understatement.
Leaving the theater I would have rated the film 1.5/5 straight off the bat. However, I went opening night and left with jaw hanging to the floor, and unfortunately it was not out of awe and amazement.
When the film hit theaters the response by critics and filmgoers alike was INSANE! The film STILL holds a 98% on rottentomatoes and I haven't found more than a handful of professional reviews that has anything bad to say about the movie. I was stoked beyond belief when I heard a new Mad Max film was coming to the big screen, and even more excited with Tom Hardy as the lead character. Years later George Miller has resurrected the franchise with Fury Road, a weird hybrid of remake, reboot, and sequel all in one. Mad Max has been a staple of my life since I was in my teens, watching Mel Gibson play the famous road warrior across three films. I have to say that this has been the hardest review I've had to write in my career.