The Best Action Movie of the Decade

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2015)

After three decades, Mad Max returns to cinemas. I had high hopes for the fourth installment (to my knowledge confirmed as a midquel between Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome) and the return of George Miller's direction gave me hope, even without Based Mel. That is why I am happy to report that Fury Road wholly delivered. It is not as good as Road Warrior, but hey, being 2nd best ain't too bad.
I'll start with the obvious. Tom Hardy is great as Max and is worthy as a successor to Based Mel. His Max carries all the nuances Mel carried and while not as dynamic as Mel Hardy still keeps his stoic demeanor flawlessly through the film. A newcomer in the series is Charlize Theron as the warrior Imperator Furiosa. She's totally badass, even more so then The Amazonian in Road Warrior. She may be one of the coolest female badasses I've seen.
Speaking of these two, what makes Fury Road work as an action movie is how fragile Max and Furiosa are. The peril is real as is the threat of them dying. It is easy to root for them and feels great to see them succeed. However, it is just as easy to root for the villains. They're so delightfully insane that it's just pure jot to see them on screen. One dude has a powdered wig made of bullets and sits in a chair mounted to a car. Another dude is eyeless and rides on top of a car playing a flaming electric guitar for a majority of the film. The villain of the film, Immortan Joe, while not nearly as good as Lord Humungus from Road Warrior, is still pretty cool and his design is one of the best villain designs I've seen in a while.
The guy who steals the show is Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult. He is so insane it is awesome, and his character arc throughout the film is strong, poignant, and genuine. Goofy like the Gyro Captain, but also a tragically well written character, Nux serves as the most memorable side character. Good thing he has lots of screen time. The War Boys in general may easily be the best and most fun group of baddies I've ever seen in a movie. On the downside, the sex slaves Immortan Joe is chasing aren't memorable and are just kinda there and some of their dialogue is confusing. They're walking talking MacGuffins, but what else could they be?
The thing to be most commended is the action. Fury Road starts fast and never lets up. It is basically one long action scene, but the action is so visceral, intense, genuine, and mad that it never gets old or tiring. This is without a doubt the best and most fun blockbuster action I have seen in a theater in quite some time. The direction is pitch perfect and the editing is high octane. The sound also perfectly accompanies the direction in bringing these sweeping car fights to life. The sound effects are perfect and the score, ranging from classical or booming orchestral, compliments each scene.
The plot is-oh come on who watches Mad Max for the plot? There's a truck. In it are sex slaves a tyrant wants. Max gets tangled. Drive away from the tyrant or die trying. That is Fury Road. It serves its purpose and echoes a typical Mad Max plot and serving as a segway into the mind blowing action scenes. For all its runtime the movie is entertaining as Hell while also being masterfully crafted.
In short, this is the Mad Max movie George Miller dreamed of making. As a Mad Max film, it succeeds in leaps and bounds. It is one of the most intense and thrilling action movies I've ever seen and rights all the wrongs commercialized blockbuster have inflicted. Nostalgic without ever feeling rehashed, this trip down Fury Road is one Hell of a ride that should not be missed. Please, I urge you to go see this film if you are A) A Mad Max fan B) An action movie fan C) One who actually cares about great quality high budget movies not about rehashed superheroes or toy lines.
Don't let this suffer the same fate as Dredd. Help the return of the violent R rated testosterone high action movie succeed.