Mad Max: Fury Road

In a post-apocalyptic world, a woman (Charlize Theron) rebels against a mad tyrant. She is joined by a group of female prisoners, a drifter (Tom Hardy) and a former zealot (Nicholas Hoult).

I didn’t think a film could run purely on diesel, chaos and adrenaline but here we are. It takes real guts to take $150m of studio cash, drive it out into the desert and burn it up in a two hour car chase, but the risk pays off here.

Fury Road plays on raw emotion; fear and paranoia are the cruel masters of all, even those in power. The chasers and the chased have everything in common. Got to keep moving to live. Trust no one. Fuel and bullets are king.

Against this background the tiny uneasy moments of happiness, trust, beauty and companionship stand out like diamonds in the rough.

This is a vibrant, disturbing, kinetic film that plays by its own rules. Powerful and original visual imagery take centre stage along with brilliantly executed action set pieces.

I’m not sure it’s the masterpiece some say it is, but something so bold and willing to break new ground deserves all the accolades it gets. I can’t believe it took me 5 years to watch it!