The term 'non-stop thrill ride' is overused in describing movies, whether it appears in trailers or wherever else. It's untrue in basically every case. But for my money there's an exception. Have you seen Mad Max: Fury Road?
Mad Max, the main character and post-apocalyptic landscape, goes back decades, as it was in 1979 that director George Miller released the first film in his brainchild series. Here we follow Max Rockatansky, a police officer in the not-too-distant future struggling as society collapses around him. Max is a good guy, he's just hopefully outmatched in this world. Played by a very young Mel Gibson, it was a breakout role in a tiny budget film made in Australia. The destitute environment, essentially a barren wasteland where gasoline is the scarcest resource, hammers home the situation that develops. The police are quickly losing control, though a few of them are still out there, and gangs have taken over the countryside. After a string of personal tragedies Max and his souped-up police car set out to get revenge. We're shown how Max goes a little mad and Mel Gibson was unsurprisingly perfect for the role. This first film was a box office hit considering the shoestring budget but I don't think it's all that great today, at least outside of the world-building and iconography.
The sequel, The Road Warrior (1981), is one of the few great examples of a follow-up besting the original. Max is now alone (though with a doggo) and purposeless, except with the drive to survive. He stumbles upon a new aggressive gang (the 'Marauders') who attack a walled compound of normal people. It's all about gas, as it frequently is in these movies. Max ends up striking a deal with the settlers: he'll help them escape if they provide him with fuel for his car. The action and chase sequences in this film are great and a legend rightfully grows around Max. If you see any of the old movies, make it this one.
The third movie may be the most recalled of the three, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). I feel like the term Thunderdome is heard with some regularity, in sports or elsewhere, when talking about a face-off in one form or another. In the film it's literally a giant metal cage used for death-matches, so I guess the usage fits. Pieces of this movie are totally iconic, especially Tina Turner's get-up as the villainous Aunty Entity. But even as I read the plot summary to refresh my memory I don't remember the rest at all. You can skip it.
To sum up, between 1979 and 1985 director George Miller completed a trilogy starring Mel Gibson and creating a memorable character. But what may have been even more lasting was the style and visuals of the world he created. The desert, the fights for gas and chaos on the roads. The leather jackets and outlandish gang outfits. New little societies popping up and how they would look. That's the real legacy of the old Mad Max movies.
It was thirty years between Thunderdome and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). I'm sure it was a little controversial Mel Gibson didn't return but, let's be honest, by that point it was for the best. You might think that after all that time there wasn't demand for more Mad Max or there wouldn't be a good enough new story to tell. Well, George Miller doesn't care what you think. He was going to make the most insane movie yet.
You don't need to see any of the old movies to watch Fury Road. Everything you need to know about Max Rockatansky and the world he lives in is established in only five minutes (i.e. Max is a driver, a survivor, a little haunted and, amidst the desolation, runs into a nasty group of people). Along with setting the pace you don't possibly think can continue.
This time Max (now Tom Hardy, who's more understated than Gibson) is actually captured, and by the largest, craziest foes he's faced so far. They're led, no, ruled by an intimidating warlord called Immortan Joe (the same actor played the villain in the original Mad Max btw). He commands a large force of shaved-head 'War Boys,' zealots who worship their leader and all things mechanical and consider dying for him an honor. Joe holds power through this army and considerable wealth, seen in the number of people, machines and resources, like water, he controls. He also has a harem of five wives, used for breeding, which brings us to the main plot.
These women attempt an escape from Joe and are aided by one of his lieutenants, Furiosa (Charlize Theron). Enraged, he sets off with the whole army to take them back. At first Max is just along for the ride, strapped to the top of a vehicle. But he's soon in the middle of it. The defining element of this movie is it's all one long chase filled to the brim with outrageous stunts. Sure there are lulls in the action but there are no breaks in the intensity. The pursuit is never-ending and the motivations of the ragtag group on the run are ever-shifting. Oh, and this chase is the easily the coolest one you've ever seen.
I'm not going to spoil a thing about this movie. I just want to say it's impressive George Miller pulled it off. After decades in development hell he was granted a chance to improve on his creation. He nailed it, using a big budget this time, and made something unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. It's a perfect action film that holds nothing back (it's violent and at times very weird) and has to be included at least as one of the best overall movies of the 2010s. It fits, and yet transcends, the films that came before it. If you haven't seen this yet (and, you know, it doesn't sound entirely revolting), make that a priority on the biggest screen you have.
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