So back when I saw Mad Max, I was surprised by how much it wasn’t what I expected it to be — it didn’t take place in a desert wasteland, it barely felt post-apocalyptic at all, there wasn’t a lot of spikepunk machinery, it was just like a guy out for a fast drive in the countryside who encounters some unruly teens.

This, though… well, this is basically exactly what I was expecting. Max is a badass who drifts into a town under siege from a bunch of baddies; he helps them out a bit, but then is like “fuck it, I’m leaving, you’re all on your own,” but then comes back and is like “all right, I’ll help” and then you have the big climactic action setpiece.

If I had seen this in the ’80s when it was popular, I would have known exactly what it was: A generic action movie like every single generic action movie of the time. But of course in the years since, Fury Road came out and internet nerdery fell in love with it and I have read so friggin’ much about George Miller and how he directs action and so forth.

And so what I’ll say is: It’s not wrong. This is a propulsive movie that keeps moving briskly forward as if it were a bus that can’t slow down — the ninety-minute running time keeps it honest. And it looks really good in a lot of places (particularly on this 4K disc — the HDR in some of the explosions is absolutely intense). So, y’know, good job on the action sequences, visual style, and pacing.

But on the characterization front… well, there’s only one character who I think even has any characterization, and it’s not Max. Everyone else is a total cipher (Max) or a cartoon (the bad guy, who might as well just be called Skeletor, but I think is like Lord Humongous?). And on the world-building front, despite starting the movie with a little mini-documentary attempting to explain how the world got here, it just doesn’t make a lick of sense.

If you’re a person who loves action movies, you’ll probably love this. But otherwise, it’s just an okay movie with some good action scenes.

(As an aside, it’s weird to think about this movie in an EV and solar world. The whole conceit of the franchise just disappears.)