Mad and Madder

Mad Max: Fury Road is everything you’ve heard. Fast, furious, but no Vin Diesel. For a franchise that has been dormant for 30 years, the film (and its 70 year old director George Miller) has a confidence and drive that grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let go for two hours. Like The Road Warrior (the previous high benchmark of the series for many people) Fury Road is basically a chase movie, but it’s remarkable how much character detail and emotional themes are woven in amongst the virtually non-stop action.

Tom Hardy makes a fine Max (it’s doubtful anyone will miss Mel Gibson) but the true star of the movie is Charlize Theron as Furiosa. Her character is an awesome badass but she’s a well-rounded one, with enough hints given to explain why she’s seeking redemption by rescuing the sex slave wives of Immortan Joe (the very creepy Hugh Keays-Byrne). Max is merely along for the ride for the most part, but still gets plenty of moments to shine. Nearly all the supporting characters are memorable too, from Nicholas Hoult’s warboy with a heart of gold to The Doof Warrior, who shoots flames from his guitar just because he can.

The action is incredible and looks refreshingly real after all the CGI spectacle we’ve been subjected too lately in movies. This feels like the same world as the other Mad Max movies while also updating it enough to keep it relevant. As epic and over the top as the story is, it never forgets the humanity of the characters so this is one of few relentless action movies that you don’t have to turn your brain off to enjoy. Extremely belated sequels don’t have a good track record (Dumb and Dumber To, anybody?) so the fact that Miller and co were able to make a film that pays respect to the earlier films while blazing a new trail is amazing. Can’t wait to where Max ends up next!