Film Critics Are Going Mad for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

If anyone was worried about whether Mad Max: Fury Road would be as good as the first Mad Max installments, it seems it wasn’t the critics. With the premiere of the latest Mad Max movie, a full thirty years after the last installment hit our screens, many wondered if the story had lost its appeal. Although dystopia, apocalyptic, and post-apocalypse genres are popular now, that is no guarantee Mad Max would deliver — even under the same director and writer, George Miller.

Mad Max: Fury Road continues the story of Max Rockatansky and stars Tom Hardy in place of the original Max, Mel Gibson. Starring alongside Hardy is Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa. The movie has opened to rave reviews, some of the early screening reviews of critics going mad over Mad Max can be found here. One critic even referred to it as the best movie of 2015. But, now the movie had been released to the general public, here are some more reviews by critics.

Todd McCathy, film critic from the Hollywood Reporter, says as follows.

“This madly entertaining new action extravaganza energetically kicks more ass, as well as all other parts of the anatomy, than any film ever made by a 70-year-old — and does so far more skillfully than those turned out by most young turks half his age.”

Peter Travers, film critic from Rolling Stone magazine, says as follows.

“Welcome back, George. We missed you in the land of the dark and twisted. The long-incubating Mad Max: Fury Road is an R-rated, rocket-?fueled romper-stomper, a nonstop chase epic powered by a reported $150 million budget and Miller’s indisputable visionary genius. One look at Max, and the kiddie fans of Happy Feet would be traumatized for life.”

Alonso Duralde, film critic from the Wrap, says as follows.

“Fury Road is a breathlessly intense opera of violence and vehicular mayhem that demands both awe and multiple viewings to absorb everything that’s happening in his packed, but never overcrowded, widescreen vistas.”

Ty Burr, film critic from the Boston Globe, says as follows.

“Mad Max: Fury Road isn’t a reboot, it’s a power-up — an outrageously kinetic, visually inventive, dramatically satisfying demolition derby that pits the matriarchy against the patriarchy while standing as the action film to beat for the rest of the summer, possibly the decade. It may be the best thing Miller has ever done.”

Even Rotten Tomatoes seems to love Mad Max, giving the movie a current rating of 99 percent and certifying it as definitely “fresh.”

Have you seen Mad Max: Fury Road yet? What do you think? Are the critics right in going mad for Mad Max? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

[Image credit: Village Roadshow Pictures]