The second-best action movie heading into the final month of the year has got to be Mad Max: Fury Road, which also happens to be one of the best remakes of a movie ever. I’ll be honest in saying that I didn’t like the 1979 original movie, which starred Mel Gibson. I waited until maybe five years ago to watch the film, preferring to keep it as one of those classics to watch on a rainy day. Not so much. It was more disappointing to me than both Blade Runner and Total Recall. That is saying something, as both of those movies I felt were overrated. Blade Runner gets some slack because it was so far ahead of its time. However, I still thought it was overrated.

A few things about Mad Max: Fury Road before I get into the review: I mention that it is the second-best movie going into the final month. No action movie will beat the incredible Sicario, which will compete until the end for the best film of 2015. Also, December is when both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant were released, and I felt both were guaranteed to be better than Mad Max: Fury Road. Also, this movie isn’t my type of movie anywhere. So while I will recognize it as a fine film, its score will be slightly better than how I felt when I watched it.

As mentioned, Mad Max: Fury Road isn’t the type of movie I go for anymore. As I get older and watch more and more movies, I classify myself as a 2/3 independent movie and 1/3 big blockbuster fan. I never thought I would turn into an indie movie guy, but that’s precisely what I’ve become. I still can’t do artsy, but I totally can do an independent. So, a movie like Mad Max: Fury Road no longer whets my appetite. I like character-driven films. I enjoy dramas that prompt me to think. I like being able to relate to a movie. I can’t do any of these things with Mad Max: Fury Road. But, again, that doesn’t mean this was a bad movie.

I was initially unwilling to give this movie a chance due to my dislike for the original and my general aversion to remakes. I feel like everything is being remade, and I very rarely think that a remake is needed. As my friend Tim put it, “Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.” And I tend to agree. I thought this particular movie would be especially horrendous, so it was a shock of all shocks when I saw that it earned a 98% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I thought this had to be a mistake. And then, when friends reported back to me after seeing the movie that it was really good, I figured it would just be a matter of time before I saw it. I’m glad I could at least wait until it came to Netflix, although I could imagine that it would have been even better on the big screen, considering what I liked about the movie.

George Miller (Mad Max, Mad Max: The Road Warrior) returns to the story that has defined his career. However, unlike his first three movies, he makes this one much edgier, heavier, and more post-apocalyptic. We still have the rogue former cop and road warrior working through Australia’s barren, dry lands. Max (Tom Hardy – Warrior, The Drop) doesn’t adhere to the laws of the land. Whereas most of the population follows the rule of King Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne – Mad Max, Moby Dick), Max goes at it alone. Though King Immortan Joe controls the water supply, the people fear him too much to do anything about it. King Immortan Joe has five wives (or so he thinks), hoping to produce many sons and keep his legacy going until the rogue Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron – Young Adult, North Country) rescues the wives in an attempt to get them to safety, known as The Green Place. I believe it can be loosely assumed that if she can save the wives (one of whom is carrying a child), she can limit the potential for heirs and hopefully draw Joe and his men in, perhaps even ruining his reign entirely. So it becomes a game of hide and seek as well as kill or be killed as Furiosa, Max, and their small group of misfits tries to outwit, outsmart, and outlast (mini Survivor reference) Joe and his multitude of men and, seemingly, unlimited resources. It’s not a complicated plot to follow, but it’s also not so simple that it makes you feel dumb. It’s a perfect popcorn flick for those who go to the movies just for a release.

There’s been talk that Theron could receive a nomination for a Best Actress Academy Award. While it had two A-list movie stars, each has at least five better acting performances in their career than this movie. While Theron and Hardy were better than this movie needed, it’s not a movie that deserves any recognition for its acting. However, it does deserve Oscar nominations for sound mixing and cinematography. The cinematography was outstanding. You could sit in your seat yearning for water because every scene in this movie looks so dry. Also remarkable were the various vehicles used to transport the characters from one point to another. The makeup and costumes were also very, very good and could be up for consideration.

The most surprising movie of the year? My vote going into the final month of the year is Mad Max: Fury Road.

Plot 8.5/10 (interesting)
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10 (for all of the characters that were in this film, they each had their identity… one got lost along the way…I thought that was pretty impressive)
Acting 8.5/10 (well above average for a film like this…Theron was great…Hardy is a bona fide action star)
Screenplay 8.5/10 (smart)
Directing  8.5/10 (exceeded expectations)
Cinematography 10/10 (beautiful backdrops of a dystopian desert)
Sound 10/10 (easily the best sound mixing I’ve heard this year)
Hook and Reel 9/10 (consistently excellent)
Universal Relevance 9/10 (who knows what happens after the Apocalypse? Why couldn’t it be this?)
90%

A-

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

• The Book of Eli
• I Am Legend
• Escape from L.A.
• Waterworld
• Death Race