Will ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Live Up To Everything The Fans Are Expecting?

Fans of the original Australian movie franchise, Mad Max (and its follow up movies, The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome), can dust off their muscle car replicas and get ready to get in character for the latest Mad Max movie to hit the screens in May, Fury Road. For years, the Mad Max movies have attracted fans from across the globe, first they gathered in small groups or individually, but, with the advent of the internet, droves of fans have joined together to celebrate the iconic Aussie movies.

Most will know the Mad Max character as the Australian actor, Mel Gibson, but considering Mad Max: Fury Road will be released 30 years after the last installment, it is time for a new contender to step up to the plate. Tom Hardy will now play Max Rockatansky, and it will be interesting to see what comparisons die hard fans of Mad Max will make between the two actors. The fact Tom is English and not Australian will probably be the first hurdle. But, considering the trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road, it looks like Tom Hardy just may be able to step up and fill Mel Gibson’s considerable shoes.

Fans might also be disappointed that Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed in Namibia and not Broken Hill like originally predicted. So will this movie be a true Mad Max movie worthy of the franchise name? Well, for starters, George Miller is still on board as co-writer and director, so there fans will not need to worry about continuity and direction, even if the movie has been twenty-five years in the making and has hit just about every hurdle a movie could along the way, from costing issues to flooding at Broken Hill being the reason why Mad Max: Fury Road was not filmed in Australia.

But, even if Mad Max fans are concerned about how Fury Road will turn out, there will still, no doubt, be plenty turning up to screenings across the world, some even in full Mad Max costume.

“There are plenty of fans here in the Northwest. Even if the theater doesn’t want us, we’re going to show up anyway.”

Mad Max enthusiast Bill Brown, 52, said the above to the Wall Street Journal. He is planning to show up at his local premiere of Mad Max: Fury Road with his replica of the Interceptor, a black muscle car made famous in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. He is not the only one making a vehicular display for the Mad Max premiere either. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there could even be a special Australian premiere “parade of the movie’s post-apocalyptic vehicles down Sydney’s George Street, with drivers and crew wearing costumes from the movie.”

Mad Max: Fury Road will have its world premiere on May 14 at the 68th Cannes Film Festival and then open to the general public in the U.S. on May 15, 2015. It will also star Charlize Theron as one-armed newcomer Furiosa, and Zoë Kravitz (the daughter of of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz).

The following is a movie synopsis (courtesy of IMDb).

“An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and almost everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order. There’s Max, a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland.”

If Mad Max: Fury Road is successful, there is the potential for Tom Hardy to head up another three Mad Max movies.

[Image credit: Village Roadshow Pictures]