In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
With such incessant and vivid action, there is very little time given us to worry about the creakiness in the plotting.
Charlize Theron joins Hardy’s lone wolf ex-cop in George Miller’s deliriously strange action adventure, a rollicking Grand Theft Auto revamped by Hieronymous Bosch.
The antithesis to dour dystopias, this belated fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise puts the fun back in fucked-up futures as it delivers precision-executed lunacy, alongside a generous helping of heart.
It makes the other Mad Max films seem, in retrospect, like demo reels for the kinetic rush of this chase epic.
Imagine a movie where Tom Hardy is the point of calm. Max’s re-enfranchisement is a triumph of barking-mad imagination, jaw-dropping action, crackpot humour, and acting in the face of a hurricane.
Perfect or not, however, Fury Road remains endlessly unique, exhilarating and unpredictable. Luckily for us, George Miller just might be madder than Max is.
Ozploitation on a studio budget? Oh what a day! A lunatic vision, as hilarious as it is hellish. And some of the greatest action ever put on screen.
A fitting franchise addition that's full of surprises.
For vehicular mayhem, it certainly can’t top the latest Fast and Furious. Still, for those who, like Hardy and were mere babes when the original was released it may have a novelty factor older viewers find missing.
There is much to enjoy about this adrenaline-fuelled reboot, but two hours of relentless action can get a bit tiresome.
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General release. Check local listings for show times.