Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

By all accounts, “Fury Road” should not have been so good. The George Miller epic return to “Mad Max” is a film that snuck under the radar of many movie fans and comes in through the dusk to grab us by the throats once more. When it comes to post apocalyptic cinema, Mad Max is the crème de la crème of the sub-genre, and George Miller is bold enough to re-visit a universe that paved its way through cinema over thirty years ago. With “Fury Road,” George Miller doesn’t try to change the formula of his trilogy too much, opting for the same visceral post apocalyptic action epic that made Mel Gibson Mad Max. Yet he also strives for a visual stimulation that ushers in a new era that puts Tom Hardy in the seat of Mad Max.

There’s no real change this time around with Max. He’s still Mad Max, a feral and tortured road warrior who is haunted by the deaths of the people he once knew. He’s captured by the Citadel, a powerful empire that runs the world and controls the planet’s dwindling water supply. Forced to be a breeder, he finds himself in the middle of a war when female warrior Imperator Furiosa attempts to break out a group of women forced in to servitude. What “Mad Max” doles out is another hefty installment of our favorite road warrior while also introducing a slew of fascinating and complex characters, all of whom are strong, female, and keep Max from dying a hundred times over. Max is merely the spectator of the story, sometimes playing party to the events that unfold, and accidentally becoming the aide to savior Imperator Furiosa when he decides to break free from his binds that make him a prize captive for the evil Immortan Joe.

The world is a wasteland, and yet the vast scopes of sand and dunes make “Fury Road” one hell of a visual spectacle. Through such a simplistic landscape, director Miller is able to concoct a dangerous and harrowing world where only the strong survive, and the savage thrive. “Mad Max” is one giant car chase through the desert where Furiosa has to evade the forces of Immortan Joe while keeping a steady pace through many villages that have a bounty on her head for betraying her master. This puts her and her band of women through the wringer, battling hordes of motorcycle riding, and truck operating maniacs that seek to bring down her operation and bring back the women that belong to Immortan. Through this Miller stages some amazing stunts and fantastic battles that make Max and unwilling contributor to Furiosa’s cause, and then gradually someone who feels compelled to help her when he realizes saving his own hide just isn’t enough to ease the torment of the past.

Hardy is a wonderful replacement for Mel Gibson as Mad Max, possessing the same mental ticks that make the character so dazzling. Hardy wears the skin of the character without a hitch, and picks up the series with pathos, complexity, and a new kind of humanity that make Mad Max an every man who knows how to survive this harsh desolate world. Charlize Theron is incredible as Furiosa a roughneck warrior who takes it upon herself to rescue the wives of Immortan when they seek a life out from his rule. Theron’s transformation is fantastic, as she holds her own against Hardy, bringing to life this very heroic and courageous young woman. Furiosa is one of the finest and most well realized heroines of cinema in years, one of Miller’s banner protagonists who has had everything taken from her, and yet continues to fight the forces of Immortan’s Citadel.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg in a slew of wonderful performances from folks like Rose Huntington Whitely, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Nicholas Hoult who is wonderful as the Warboy Nux whose self-prophesized destiny to die is interrupted by the larger cause. “Fury Road” is one of the finest films of the year, an action packed, artistic, and emotional piece of apocalyptic cinema that I enjoyed greatly. I can’t wait to see Miller re-visit this universe again very soon.