Mad Max cast dismiss men's rights backlash at Cannes launch

It has been dubbed the "feminist" reboot of Mad Max: an all-action film matching its male lead with a one-armed warrior woman.

Now the stars of Mad Max: Fury Road have defied its "men's rights" critics to praise the film's very modern take on equal opportunities. 

Charlize Theron, the star of the film, admitted she had been initially "cynical" about promises to make the female lead as prominent as her male counterpart, but that the final version celebrated women without putting them on a pedestal.

Tom Hardy, who plays Max, batted away suggestions he may have balked at being surrounded by women, saying he had not considered it for "one moment".

The director, George Miller, said he chose to invite his wife Margaret Sixel to edit the film, saying she would bring a unique perspective to the action genre.

The film, which was awarded five stars by the Telegraph's Robbie Collin, has screened to a rapturous welcome at the Cannes Film Festival, where British stars Hardy and Nicholas Hoult answered questions from the press.

Theron, who spends much of the film driving a heavily armed truck as she attempts to rescue an imprisoned harem of women, said she had initially found it hard to believe Hollywood would follow through on promises to keep her character as central as had been promised.

"I saw the potential in this right from the beginning," she said. "I heard loose talk about it and there was a lot of talk about a female character that would stand alone, alongside Max. So for a female actress that sounds really good.

"Seeing it through is something else. I've been doing this a while and I had my cynical self peek out once in a while. But George just never disappointed. He promised me something and delivered on it.

"For me it was incredible to play a woman, not try to be a man, and celebrate everything there is about being a woman and not trying to put women on a pedestal. Being surrounded by women who are just real. 

"I know that I was given a great opportunity."

Revealing he had worked closely with his wife on the project, Miller added: "If it was the usual kind of guys, it would look like every other action movie you see."

When asked about whether he had any qualms about working on such a female-dominated version of Mad Max, Hardy said bluntly: "Not for one moment. That's kind of obvious."

The film has already provoked fury among self-proclaimed men's rights activists, who have complained at the reimagining of an action story to involve a woman.

One blogger claimed the film is a "Trojan horse" for filmmakers to "force a lecture on feminism down your throat", adding: "Nobody barks orders at Mad Max."

Speaking of whether the film is feminist, Theron said: "Feminism is such a tricky thing to throw around because I don't think a lot of people know what women mean when they speak in that articulation... Really what it boils down to is just equal rights."