Is it possible that George Miller, aged 70, coming off the back of two Happy Feet movies, has just delivered what is perhaps his greatest ever film - his defining magnus opus? Absolutely. For all that is great and memorable about the original Mad Max movies (the first two in particular), there is something so vibrant, fresh and kinetic about Mad Max: Fury Road that it's like watching the magnificent debut of a new, exciting filmmaker - only said new, exciting filmmaker happens to be George Miller staging a massive comeback. Because Fury Road is a blockbuster masterpiece - the kind of action movie that, once over, you can't wait to revisit. Not only does Miller succeed in rendering a picture that embraces the soul of Mad Max, he updates it for the 21st century, carving out a relentlessly violent, mainstream blockbuster that also happens to be a feminist allegory. No, it doesn't make an inch of sense that it works until you sit down to actually watch it - but you must. Tom Hardy's Max isn't as instantly iconic as Gibson's, but the real hero of the movie is Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, anyway - a determined badass in the vein of Alien's immortal heroine Ellen Ripley, who drives the narrative and won't take no for an answer. Throw in some fantastic, intricately detailed world-building, physical stunts that feel real and weighty, glorious cinematography, and all the weirdness that has made George Miller the icon that he is today, and Mad Max: Fury Road feels like the motion picture that the Australian director has been working towards for the sum of his long, eclectic career.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
