While I was on vacation, I saw the following film and think you might like it as well.

In Theaters: Mad Max Fury Road

When we last saw Mad Max, the character was in a somewhat bloated adventure “Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome.” After a three-film run, the former policeman trying to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic world seemed to be destined for the half-life presented by home video.

That is until the recent release of the newest film in the franchise, “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which follows the plot formula of the second film.

Once again Max is involved in an effort to get a valuable commodity past a rampaging hoard of bad guys. In the previous film, it was gasoline. In this film, it is fertile young women.

This is a film that is spoiler proof. We know that somehow, Max will get his cargo where it needs to go, but the difference is that in this film, Max is really a supporting character most of the time. The film’s lead is Charlize Theron who plays a woman who has been working for the film’s villain, Immortan Joe. This is a film about redemption, not for Max, for Furiosa (Theron).

Before I go any further, an advantage to this film is that director and writer George Miller wisely didn’t try to work it into some sort of continuity with the other films. It’s a stand-alone adventure and benefits from that approach.

Unlike the previous movies, there is a more in-depth depiction of the society, such as it is. Immortan Joe had figured out a way to pump water out of deep wells in the desert. His control of the substance gives him enormous power. Since many people have been affected by radiation, Joe is trying to rebuild society by having a group of normal young women bear his children.

They are the commodities that Furiosa wishes to liberate. She wants to return to the women’s colony from which she was kidnapped many years previous. Max stumbles into her plans, after he’s captured by Immortan Joe and used as a source of untainted blood for one of Joe’s soldiers.

The action is amazing in this film, which uses a minimal amount of computer-generated imagery. What audiences see is the product of technicians and stuntmen and I, for one, was quite pleased to see this “real” kind of filmmaking.

I was also amazed at the buzz the film created as “feminist” filmmaking. Because female characters are heroes in the film – action heroes no less – there have been commentators who have spoken about the film’s politics. There have certainly been previous films in which actresses play lead action roles, but for some reason, this movie has garnered that kind of attention.

I view the comments as more of a criticism of the lack of strong roles for women in many films these days. Many actresses have spoken about this subject for years.

I really liked Tom Hardy in the role of Max and hope if the series continues he can stay with it. Hardy’s Max is smart enough to understand when he has to dig in his heels and when to simply let events carry him. It’s a very understated performance, which also helps the film.

For a superior summer action epic, you won’t go wrong with “Mad Max Fury Road.”