Mad over Fury Road...but in a good way.

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2015)

**Thematic spoilers!!** It has been 30 years since Thunderdome and Max still roams the desert...but he is plagued by flashbacks, visions, and voices. Tom Hardy plays Max (formerly portrayed by Mel Gibson), and Charlize Theron takes second billing as Imperator Furiosa. The majority of this film involves vehicle chasing, which most die-hard Mad Max fans will appreciate. Dozens of souped-up, industrialized, militarized, and modified vehicles tear up the desert with a mix of explosions, gunfire, and flame-throwing. The ongoing train of mechanized war machines are painted against a picturesque desert scene filled with dust storms and lightning flares. As with the earlier Max films, craning and tracking camera shots keep the action up front and intense. Even though Max is the title character, the film's secondary themes are those of fertility, paternity and maternity. Max has very few lines in the film which allows time for these secondary themes to take shape. Much like Thunderdome, Fury Road deals both with the innocence of the young as well as the desperation and conflict of the old. This latest entry is probably the best of the series. Highly recommended. Do you smell that? It's aerosol inhalant and diesel fuel...and this is Fury Road.