20 Greatest Summer Blockbusters Ever Made
16. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
RottenTomatoes Score: 97% (8.6/10)
Box Office: $378.4 million
Why It's Awesome: Three decades after the last Mad Max film was released, director George Miller, now 70 years old, returns with what is somehow not only the best film in the series, but easily 2015's best action film, and an instant all-time classic.
Given the difficult shoot, recasting of the title character and intermediate period between movies, it would have been easy for Fury Road to be a disaster of epic proportions that simply failed to connect with audiences. Thankfully, the total opposite was true.
Tom Hardy gives a physical, near-wordless performance as Max Rockatansky this time, doing a lot of his best work tied to the front of a car. Miller has made a joyous art spectacle out of the film's lengthy and numerous chase sequences, boasting eye-wateringly gorgeous cinematography and physical stunts you'll scarcely believe didn't result in a number of dead stuntmen. Then there's the costumes, the editing, the sound design, the score... everything.
Performance-wise, though, the film is promptly stolen away by Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, one of the strongest and most interesting female characters in the history of action cinema.
It's tough to imagine any action fan not losing their mind over Miller's bracingly intense action film, which sets an extremely high bar for future similar films.