Mad Max Is Epic, 'Boldly Feminist' Joyride

Well, this is an, um, interesting change of pace: Men's rights activists are up in arms over Mad Max: Fury Road, claiming the flick is feminist propaganda. One well-known blog is calling for a boycott, according to the Hollywood Reporter, but critics' reviews aren't likely to keep audiences away. (The film has a 99% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this posting.) Here's what they're saying:

• Chris Klimek at NPR writes this "visionary" installment is "a kinetic, hallucinatory, boldly feminist chase flick that, with its vibrant color palette, harrowing stunt work, and show-don't-tell style of yarn-spinning, leaves every Marvel movie and every Fast & Furious in its irradiated dust." It's the "most visceral blockbuster since Gravity" and "reinvigorates the doomsday genre like no film since The Matrix." As for Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, she's the "true protagonist."
• Director George Miller's Fury Road is lovely, "crazed art," writes Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal. To boot, it's "a gleefully violent—and improbably feminist—phantasmagoria that turns epic road rage and long stretches of vehicular omnicide into an eye-boggling joyride," he says. Furiosa and Max, played by Tom Hardy, team up to take down a warlord, but Furiosa is "the brains and heart of the operation" and "much more interesting than Max."

• In the works for more than a decade, the flick is well worth the wait, writes Kenneth Turan at the Los Angeles Times. It "will leave you speechless, which couldn't be more appropriate" as the film favors action over dialogue. You could actually mute it and still enjoy yourself, he says. The editors and production designers deserve serious credit, but the lion's share goes to Miller for creating this crazy "post-apocalyptic extravaganza."
• It may not always make sense, but it's "hell on wheels," powered by "Miller's indisputable visionary genius," writes Peter Travers at Rolling Stone. "That the characters come through so vividly is a tribute to the actors," he says, shining a light on a "terrific" Nicholas Hoult, who plays one of the warlord's minions. "But this is Theron's show," he adds. "Get prepped for a new action classic. You won't know what hit you."

(More movie review stories.)