Mad Max world is fire and blood this is no understatement.

After a hiatus which would seem an eternity, director George Miller finally returns to the post-apocalyptic Mad Max universe. A place in which resources such as fuel are viciously fought over and where water is ruthlessly rationed to the remaining survivors of this barren wasteland. Rust, desert and decay are in abundance and are the few remaining features of the landscape which in itself emphasises a notion that only those with the will to live will survive and the weak will perish.

Fury Road follows Mad Max (Tom Hardy), a man on the brink of insanity and reduced to a single instinct ÔÇô to survive. Within the opening few minutes this instinct is tested as he is hounded down and captured by Warboys, pasty whitepetrol crazed followers of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a warlord and tyrant who enslaves survivors of the wasteland (Max being one of them) inside a desert fortress known to us as the Citadel.

It is from here Immortan Joe conducts his rule withÔÇÿjustÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿnobleÔÇÖ duties such as rallying his people into a frenzy over water only to withhold it from them and draining the blood of his enemies intravenously so that he might strengthen his Warboys. In addition to his morally justified rule, he keeps five ÔÇÿwivesÔÇÖ locked away with whom he wishes to conceive an heir to his empire.His rule is barbaric and understandably the five wives, aided by Max and Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) a high ranking soldier within ImmortanÔÇÖs army, decide to flee within a juggernaut tanker known as the ÔÇÿwar-rigÔÇÖ. Engulfed in a haze of rage, Immortan Joe leads his mechanised cavalry of Warboys through canyons, desert storms and marshes in order retrieve his ÔÇÿpropertyÔÇÖ.

Despite the simplistic narrative structure, Fury Road is a film that doesnÔÇÖt fail to grab your attention. Whether it be from the awe-inspiring cinematography which capturesevents such desert storms which rip apart men and machine alike in a crisp and vivid way, or the orgy of explosions and ultra-violence as Warboys, in acts of sacrifice jump onto opposing vehicles laden with spikes, with grenades primed to detonate. Greater realism is added by the fact that most of the action is filmed using real vehicles, props and stuntmen and is then further enhanced by the use of CGI. Moreover the soundtrack which accompanies the film throughout, composed by Tom Holkenborg, serves only to add to the exhilaration of the chase and the next kill in the wasteland.

Where Miller really excels aside from his imaginative ways in which a Warboy can be dispatched, is in his depiction of female characters. Whilst Tom HardyÔÇÖs portrayal of Mad Max is magnetic and commands respect, he takes an almost supportive role when compared with Charlize Theron whose resilience in the face of overwhelming odds is akin to that of a wasteland equivalent of Ellen Ripley from ÔÇÿAlienÔÇÖ. Her sex does not define her and this is echoed within the ImperatorÔÇÖs first encounter with Max and WarboyNux (Nicholas Hoult) in which she ruthlessly attacks Max with a pair of bolt cutters, despite not being armed with her mechanical prosthetic arm. Her strength is matched by her determination for survival and proves to be more than a rival for any male aggressor.

In addition to this robust form of feminism, what also makes the film unique is that it strays away from the narrative clich├® of the male/female romantic relationship and is instead replaced with an eventually established mutual respect between Furiosa and Max as they work in unison to survive.

Overall Mad Max: Fury Road is a whirlwind of vibrant colours, powerful characters and breath-taking cinematography mixed in with a healthy amount of very believable, yet brutal violence. ItÔÇÖs not for the fainthearted but there is a realism that transcends this futuristic script into a world that the audience can really buy into. Rated 10/10.