Mad Max: Fury Road

'Max' has never been more appropriate description of this film's philosophy - yet at the same time there's a welcome economy to the film's storytelling. A fleeting prologue voiceover aside, little time is wasted on establishing lore, motivations, backstories, relationships and so on. The film's ideas and themes emerge nimbly – some sharply considered exposition aside - and the details of the world are dispensed at a pleasant pace instead of an immediate overload, perhaps considerate of the fact many viewers will already be in need of a mild sedative. It is a captivating world, and a brutal one. There is crossbreeding, brainwashed kamikaze troops lusting for Valhalla, slavery, corrupt & grotesque leaders, and many more horrors besides. The transformation that was underway in the original Mad Max films is complete – a dark future, although slivers of humanity still creep through.

The much-heralded / lightly-feared (by some) feminist subtext emerges as one of the film's most unexpected assets, especially in a genre and series that sometimes overdose on testosterone. The postergirl is of course Charlize Theron, whose Imperator Furiosa is a powerful, intelligence and sly character, perhaps more so than the titular character. A strong case could be made that she's even something of a secondary protagonist here, with a clearer emotional arc than Max himself. More interesting, though, is the film's approach to a hoary old trope. After introducing some deceptively stereotypical damsels in distress at an early point – in the dystopian equivalent of a gratuitous wet t-shirt scene - Miller and his co-writers spend the next 90 minutes challenging, exploring and mildly subverting those gender roles to quite pleasing effect.

The entire story hinges on the protagonist – Immortan Joe – pursuing the convoy in search of his 'stolen' property – i.e. these five fertile women. The film – and hopefully the audience – is clearly quite disapproving of this idea of women as 'objects', and does its best to articulate those disapprovals. As the narrative barrels towards its destination (and eventually back towards the point of departure), these women become more active participants in their own story. A further twist to spice things up sees a group of elderly women introduced, who turn out to be some of the most capable, accomplished fighters in the film – a welcome riposte to the stark age and gender divide in action films generally.

Fury Road doesn't go quite as far as it could - one or two of the damsels remain damselled, and a few men do step in to save the day from time to time - but nonetheless it's supremely satisfying to see male and female characters operating on a level playing field for much of the running time (although, in this violent world, that also inevitably means some of the women don't see the end of this high-stakes, bloody roadtrip). As a matter of fact, it's the women who ultimately literally ascend to a position of power and authority as the film cuts to black – an encouraging, hopeful closing image if ever there was one.

And it's not the lively gender politics of the film that minimise Max's role in proceedings, but rather Hardy's performance. His gruff accent doesn't manage to transcend its ridiculousness, and for that reason largely struggles to convince when he is speaking – thankfully, something of a rarity. Max is at his best, then, when keeping mum, and some of his straightforward gestures and nods make for some of the most effective, affecting and humourous character beats. At the start of the film, he has been dehumanised, the brutality of the world having worn him down, and he's running on fumes (aka survival instinct). He's also kind of an asshole. But as the story progresses he becomes the familiar Max of mythical proportions, re-calibrating his moral compass and becoming a righteous, unstoppable force for good instead of selfishness. He is in many respects reminiscent the ronin in Yojimbo, or The Man With the No Name – although, as he belatedly concedes as a new friend hovers on the border of life and death, his name is Max.