Director: George Miller
Year Released: 2015
Rating: 3.0
A good thirty years after his last Mad Max movie, Miller brings his old creation back (the back story in this one is a non-factor): a former police officer (Tom Hardy), in a post-apocalyptic hell zone, teams up with warrior princess Furiosa (Charlize Theron) to save a warlord's brides from his control (they're his "property") ... and return to a land of peace and serenity (that contains foliage and water!). With dialogue limited to grunts and slang terms and character development at a (very) bare minimum, this is more or less a very creative and intense two hour car chase, as Hardy and Theron storm through varied lands and find clever ways of fending off those pursuing them. Miller, having those thirty years to plan this one out, unloads a visual buffet (from the stark sets to the icky make-up to the vehicle and character design) for the audience ... and barely bothers to include any let-up in the action (aside from a handful of breaks). I'm not sure what little subtext that is there ('strong' female with the assistance of a rogue male 'rescuing' slave women from a cruel patriarch) is particularly ingenious, but the technique most certainly is.
