Movie Review: Mad Max 4

Movie: Mad Max: Fury Road

Rated: MA

Reviewer: Brett Ladhams

Rating: 8.5/10

If you are anything like me and barely tolerated the Americanised abomination that was Mad Max mach 3, you are in luck this time around.

Resurrecting the franchise always seemed a risk - but you can forget Beyond Thunderdome as Fury Road is more a spiritual successor to MM2.

We can thank a world suitably messed up to warrant this new post-apocalyptic tale of uber-loner Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), with equal praise going to Aussie director George Miller, as he knows a thing or two about cult filmmaking.

Kicking off with Max and the rebuilt XB Interceptor under chase by the 'scabs' of the wasteland, it isn't long until he's taken prisoner (again) and the XB is stripped for parts.

Not one to suffer the indignity of capture, Max finds himself on the run with the equally steadfast Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), both begrudgingly accepting they have much in common.

Both are lone wolves willing to help others escape the oppression of a tyrannical world led by Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).

Across the board, the characters simply work - from Max and Furiosa to the water-addicted bottom feeders and right up to antagonists Immortan and The People Eater (John Howard).

Local lass Courtney Eaton, as the 'breeder' Cheedo the Fragile, deserves a mention also.

But like all proper road/chase films, the vehicles can be both the saviour and the monster and Tarantino and Spielberg would flush with pride at MM4's road action - even if both happily admit to learning a thing or two from Miller in the first place.

As the chase/escape plays out, the links to MM2 become more prevalent.

The narrative is virtually identical - from the subtle cues like the music box and men strapped to the front of vehicles right down to the philosophical change of 'direction' toward the end.

In a neat box, you could almost categorise it as Pirates of the Caribbean meets Fast and Furious.

But with a Gatsby-like level of extravagance and attention to detail, Fury Road is stylish, aggressive, wonderfully-crafted and, for the most part, proudly Australian.

Bravo.