After three decades, the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max has finally returned. This sequel takes us on a trip unlike the earlier films or action movie ever made; it is like a mixture of something old and something completely different, which tastes of an explosive cocktail made of adrenaline and testosterone. Mad Max: Fury Road is the epitome of a summer action movie that not only focuses on the explosion, but also focuses on the character development, thick backstories, epic (R-rated, gut-wrenching) visuals and even a hint of feminism (who am I kidding, this movie is basically feminist propaganda). Who would’ve guess you can fit all that in a two hour long, chasing adventure movie?

I walked in the theatre with no expectations whatsoever of this movie; I didn’t know who Mad Max was, what the movie was about or who directed it, but this only made the experience even better. Mad Max is the type of movie that has to be seen to be believed. Mad Max: Fury Road is a sequel, or rather a short chapter in Max’s life, that began when the lone survivor, Max was captured by a warlord, who tortured and stripped him of his freedom, all the while he has mysterious and haunting delusions of his past life. Eventually, he frees himself and joins forces with another one of the war-boys, Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who steals the warlord’s five wives to return them to the “green land” of happiness. Because when most of the world’s a desert, green sounds like the best place to go. Of course, their actions upset the warlord who is unwilling to give up his beautiful wives, the potential mothers of his children, and thus began an almost endless chase to freedom in an endless desert.

Even though the movie’s storyline seems straightforward, the character development and visual effects built up anticipation that had me (and the rest of the cinema) on the edge of my seat for the epic finale. Hundreds of cars were blown up in the roaring flames of hell, the laws of physics were defied and people were crushed by monster trucks. Mad Max: Fury Road despite what it seems is not a “Michael Bay”, no matter what other people say, it does borrow some extravagance from Bay’s films and structure from the Fast and Furious franchise, but its style is that of George Miller’s alone. Nothing compares to the imagery created by George Miller’s, especially in the scene in which Max is rinsing blood off his face after being engaged in an epic fight with mother’s milk siphoned from a gas tanker as warriors and trucks charged towards him in the distance. This scene shows how the movie is constructed with layers of crazy, hints of humor and laced with outlandish poetry, that surfaces at world’s end.

As I left the theatre in amazement, I had a single legitimate question in mind: Who’s really the hero in this movie? Max may be the one driving the truck and throwing a few punches, but he wasn’t the one running the show. Furiosa, on the other hand, singlehandedly rescued the wives who have been captives since they were babies, initiated the plan to steal the warlord’s oil tank (which is the second most valuable thing in this world) to transport the wives to freedom, blew up other warlords who kept water and resources for themselves, and in the process gathers more wives (mothers) to take back the land that they and the rest of the world deserve. Each one of the wives (mothers) plays an important role in this plan, and all earned their own freedom, through kicking the war-boys’ asses, exploding a few brains, and sacrificing themselves so that others could move forward. I think naming this movie Mad Max: Fury Road may be unsuitable because of what actually goes on in the movie, it feels more like Mad Women: Reclaiming Justice to me.

At its core, the movie’s feminist ambitions rules out all other summer action films with its unforeseen female roles. The trailer hinted all this in one scene that we all missed in which one of the wives, heavily pregnant, flings the door of a carriage and flaunts her belly, like a shield, at her enraged pursuers, to protect the other wives from getting shot, because she knows that the warlord would not hurt an expecting mother. Later, another scene shows our ‘hero’, aiming at a searchlight with a sniper rifle in the dark, missing the shot. Then, with one bullet remaining, Furiosa takes the rifle, rests it on Max’s shoulder, and hits the target. Job hired! — Tough Guy: Cushion’s Job.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a movie that should not be missed; filled with action to the brim (but not too much), constructed with adrenaline and intense excitement, laced with feminism, and leaves a coolness in you as you exit the theatre. I hope that you enjoy the movie!