01. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – It’s easy to get pretty underwhelmed by the assembly line. The sameness of the various productions, always hitting identical beats in their storytelling, in their characters, in their action sequences – it can all make us resigned to a certain rhythm of things. We know what to expect and hence, we don’t get as excited as we probably should. We view any achievement above the average as something worthy of hyperbolic praise. For the most part, the magic is gone.

And then along comes this miraculous wonder, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. On the surface, a late-in-the-game sequel/soft reboot to an admittedly great series. But George Miller doesn’t just give us a great action film; he doesn’t even just give us the best film of the summer. He gives us a transcendent achievement in action cinema. It’s that rare film that shakes the most jaded viewer out of their malaise and screams, “See? The people deserve more! You deserve more! We can be so much better!”

Ostensibly one big action sequence with only a few moments of rest in between, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD still manages to give us a rich backstory, iconic characters to root for or despise and real emotional stakes in all the chaos. Charlize Theron’s Furiosa is a figure that will be cheered on for decades to come. Nicholas Hoult provides one of the most unlikely and satisfying character arcs of the year. And then there’s Max, nicely filled in by Tom Hardy. Max is an important part of the film but he isn’t the main one. And that’s how good this is – Max is made the supporting character in his own movie and we don’t even mind.

And all of this on top of the action itself. Filmed with visceral flair and almost entirely with practical effects, it frankly makes even the most bombastic Hollywood blockbusters look safe and lazy in comparison. To watch MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is to be in the presence of an instant classic.