What a lovely film!

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2015)

It's been 30 years since George Miller last showed us the insanity of his post apocalyptic Australian wasteland, with the long gap partly being due to the film's production being almost as chaotic as the world the film is set in with the film is set. It had many difficulties including being stuck in development hell for years, filming being repeatedly delayed, and difficulties in securing locations to shoot the film. Miller had plans to do the film as far back as 2003 with Gibson intended to reprise his role but took a further 10 years before tuition. But fortunately Miller persevered through all this turmoil to once again to return to the driver's seat of the franchise and create this masterpiece that is his best film yet.
At the start of the film we watch as Max (Tom Hardy) is captured by an army known as the War Boys ruled by a dictator known as Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Shortly after being captured one of Joe's soldiers called Furiosa (Theron) drives off in an armoured fuel truck with his wives so that they do not have to bare the children of a monstrous man and tries to drive to her childhood homeland. Because of this Joe sets out with an army to chase her down and Max is used as a blood bank attached to one of the chasing cars. Eventually after freeing himself he joins Furiosa and helps in fighting off the legions of War Boys sent by Joe in a non stop chase spanning the entirety of the film.
And when I say non stop chase, I mean non stop chase. From the very opening of the film to the end they don't go 5 minutes without some exciting action sequence with almost the entire scene being part of some chase or fight scene. Whilst under a lesser filmmakers control such action could be repetitive, Miller keeps it original by varying the action sequences and the beautiful scenery making it a masterpiece to watch.
Also the action is all so well made. In contrast to a lot of recent blockbusters like Fast and Furious, most of the film is done with practical effects and stunt work with CGI used very sparingly making for a much more high octane and realistic action sequences. They pull off everything in this film flipping cars, people dangling from or even jumping between speeding cars and even being engulfed flames. It's hard to tell who's more insane, the people coming up with these incredible stunts or those who take part in them. The scale of the stunts alone is impressive, but the consistent creativity and range of the stunts within the chase should keep any fan of action gripped to the screen.
On top of the mayhem of the chase sequences, the entire world is absolutely insane. It's strange to think that the same mind to create the likes of Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City also creates a world like this with the likes of woman having their breasts milked as a resource, a legion of pale thrash metal dressed soldiers and vehicles ranging from a tank plated gas truck to a barge led by a guitarist who shoots a flamethrower out of his guitar. It's a compliment to Miller's imaginative style that he can create such a bizarre whilst progressing the story and having constant action.
Beyond carrying out incredible stunts, the cast also give some impressive performances. Tom Hardy does a great job filling in the dusty leather jacket as Mad Max. We're quickly reintroduced to him at the beginning of the film so newcomers to the franchise are familiar with his back-story with Max explaining how he lost his family and blames himself, with their loss leaving him with nothing but the instinct to survive. Oddly this short explanation of his character is the most that Hardy speaks in the film. Instead of dialogue Hardy conveys most of his character through his look of exhaustion as a man who has been through far too much.
Then there's Theron as the metal armed and strong Furiosa who is amongst the likes of Sigourney Weaver in Aliens and Michelle Yeoh in Supercop as one of the best female action heroes. She often steals the show in the film as a more human character than Max, although just as dangerous as he is at one point even brawling him and showing herself to be just as deadly and resourceful as he is. There's a great deal of mystery to her back-story, with most of her history just being hinted upon. Also similarly to Hardy, Theron communicates so much through her hardened look showing herself to be the product of the destroyed world in which they live.
I just love everything in this movie. I love the detail in the way that all of the cars are adapted for the desert environment. I love the beautiful bright cinematography. I love that the chase lasting from start to end never for a second loses steam. Miller's imagination mixed with an incredible crew has created a glorious Symphony of madness and violence unlike any that had come before it. Apparently Hardy has already signed on for three more Mad Max films and with Miller's creative mind behind them they'll definitely be something to look forward to.