Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller is back in his post apocalyptic world of Mad Max, messing around with fast rigs on desert landscapes. He has a new Max, Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson, and Charlize Theron is along for the ride. The results are a blast, probably the best in the franchise when it comes to action. I'm going to have to give a few points to Gibson over Hardy for his Max portrayal. Hardy is good in the role, but Gibson is the original and best Max, even if Gibson is a total asshole. The film starts off with a shot reminiscent of The Road Warrior (a.k.a. Mad Max 2), and then it just goes berserk. Max gets himself captured by a really disgusting looking, villainous ruler named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and finds himself hanging upside down and providing blood for a pale, bald Joe minion, Nux (Nicholas Hoult). A shaven-headed Theron shows up as Imperator Furiosa, a one-time loyalist of Immortan Joe, who tricks him and kidnaps his wives, intent on taking them to some sort of green promised land. When Joe figures out she's making a run for it, his soldiers (who look a little like the cave creatures from The Descent) take off after her. This includes Nux, with Max strapped to the front of his car wearing a facemask reminiscent of his Bane getup in The Dark Knight Rises. The folks who put the look of this movie together, from it's terrific cinematography, to its costuming to its incredible stunt work, all deserve praise and extra beers.