I’m a stranger to the Mad Max canon, but this movie looked too good to pass up.

What’s It About? In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, ultimate survivor Max joins forces with Furiosa, a war-rig driver, to evade the armies of a powerful warlord and deliver stolen cargo to a hidden “green place.”

STRAIGHT UP: The king of summer action movies. 4.5/5

What I Liked

A stand-alone sequel – It’s definitely possible to love Fury Road even without any knowledge of the previous Mad Max films.

Nicholas Hoult as Nux – My favorite character in the movie. He’s got a great look, delivers some of the film’s best lines, and has the strongest character arc, completing a brilliant face turn during the adventure.

Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa – Furiosa is just cool as hell, thanks in large part to Theron playing the role to perfection.

The cult of the V8 – I’m amazed by the creativity and attention to detail that went into designing the costumes, machines, and culture of the wasteland’s internal combustion-powered nomads. In its own way, Max’s world feels like a logical evolution of the ’80s muscle car craze.

Economical storytelling – Dialogue in this film is sparse, and what exposition there is either unfolds concurrent to the action or is otherwise kept brief. Such lean storytelling should always be admired.

The vibrant desert – Even though the film’s color palette is mainly harsh shades of brown and red, skilled use of lighting and contrast makes each shot feel bright and distinctive, instead of muddy and bland.

The Doof Warrior – Everyone’s favorite flame-spewing guitar player also serves as an organic source for the film’s awesome heavy-metal soundtrack.

What I Disliked

Where’s Max? – Even though his name is in the title, Max seems like just a guy along for the ride. Maybe that’s the point – if so, I wouldn’t know – but I thought Max was the least interesting character in the movie.

The Wives – These characters are really just a bunch of MacGuffins, which is disappointing considering the expanded roles given to other women in the film.

CLOSING THOUGHT: Mad Max: Fury Road is such a wonderful curiosity in this day and age – a classical action movie in an age of blockbusters; a work that combines modern filmmaking techniques with retro sensibilities; a story that deals in B-movie cheese as well as moments of genuine poignancy. It’s also been delivered at the perfect time – Fury Road looks and feels so different from all the other big-budget fare out there that it’s impossible to ignore, and the elements that set it apart get to shine even more brightly. I’ll pull up short of calling this a perfect action film – it drags in a few brief spots, and claims of it being a feminist revelation for the genre are somewhat exaggerated – but at the same time, I’m fairly certain that I won’t see a better movie for the rest of the summer.