In 1979, director George Miller changed cinema with his action-packed apocalyptic vision of the future in Mad Max. Thirty years after going Beyond Thunderdome, Miller returns with Mad Max: Fury Road.
Fury Road returns us to the harsh apocalyptic future with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) becoming embroiled with the rebellious Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) and several female slaves on the run across the wasteland from their tyrannical former ruler, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his epic army of crazies.
Miller has truly set another cinematic benchmark with this high-octane extravaganza formed around one astonishing car chase. He expands the Mad Max world/mythology epically in scale/scope. It’s visually amazing, with impeccable design, cinematography, editing and music and effortlessly balances exhilarating action (full of bewildering practical stunts/choreography with little CGI) with surprisingly deep character moments. It never fails to excite or trigger emotions and remains gloriously bonkers throughout.
Tom Hardy fills Mel Gibson’s shoes excellently with great stoicism, physicality and inner-torment. He’s different from Gibson yet pure Max. The supports are also great (even small characters). The ever-engaging Theron creates a strong, layered female figure, Nicholas Hoult has a ball and Keays-Byrne (who famously played the original’s villain, The Toecutter) is a striking villain, aided by his equally disturbing clan.
Fury Road is masterful cinema from a master filmmaker, completely reigniting the Mad Max legacy.
