Mad Max: Fury Road (15)

Director: George Miller

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Nicholas Hoult

ICONIC film series that are revisited decades later can often be a recipe for disaster.

Millions of Star Wars fans were pretty much universally disappointed with The Phantom Menace which came out 16 years after the original trilogy.

Similarly, there are 12 years between Terminator 2 and Terminator 3 and while the former was considered one of the all-time best action films, the latter was flawed and uninspired.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a refreshing change from that troubled formula.

Because while it may have been a whole 30 years since Mad Max was last on our screens, the new film captures the essence and atmosphere of the series as if no time has passed at all.

George Miller, who made the original three Mel Gibson movies in the 70s and 80s, returns to the director's chair.

He may now be 70 but proves that age is just a number because, if you did not know, you would think it was a visionary young filmmaker in his heyday.

For those new to the series, the Mad Max films take place in a post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland in which most survivors have been reduced to savages.

Rather than a reboot, Fury Road is the fourth instalment of Max's continuing adventures but with Tom Hardy replacing 59-year-old Gibson as the 'road warrior'.

With a backstory more assumed than told, anti-hero Max clings on to his sanity following the death of his wife and daughter and is driven by his often conflicting urge to survive and sense of honour.

The plot sees him team up with Furiosa (Charlize Theron on top form) to rescue sex slaves from warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) which he needs to continue his bloodline.

This theme of treating humans as 'things' and 'property' runs through the whole film.

Hardy is excellent in the lead role – quite a feat considering there is very little dialogue for him to get his teeth stuck into in the literally high-octane film.

Miller's skill as a director may have not changed in 30 years but film technology certainly has and he fully takes advantage of that.

With little time to catch a breath, most of the movie is incredible scenes of car chases, hulking trucks being smashed and battles at full throttle with Immortan Joe's brainwashed 'war boys' in pursuit.

B-movie in style but with slick Hollywood execution, the stunning action sequences are some of the best committed to film in the last few years.

The dusty, arid, sun-scorched landscape is also heavily stylised but fits the tone.

Turbo-charging its way back into cinemas after 30 years, Fury Road is a triumph.

RATING 8/10

DAVID MORGAN