'A Stone-Cold Action Master Class' Critics Love 'Mad Max: Fury Road' [Video]

RTX1C1JH (640x484) — IN PHOTO : Cast members Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy pose at the premiere of "Mad Max: Fury Road" in Hollywood, California May 7, 2015. The movie opens in the U.S. on May 15. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

"Mad Max: Fury Road" premiered on May 7 at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The reviews of the fourth "Mad Max" movie has been very positive. (Watch the trailer below.)

According to Hit Fix, "Fury Road" is "a stone-cold action master class, beautiful and brainy." The report further adds that the movie "throws off the current definition of the blockbuster."

This sentiment was echoed by Vanity Fair, as it wrote that the movie was exactly how a "big cinema spectacular should be." It added that the fourth "Mad Max" movie transported the viewers to a "thoroughly realized world that’s wholly unlike our own." The post also said that "Mad Max: Fury Road" stands out in a season swamped with superhero sagas and reboots.

"Mad Max" released in 1979, was made on a budget of less than $500,000. The Australian movie went on to be become the biggest blockbuster of the time raking in about $100 million world wide. It also spawned two sequels - "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" in 1981 and 1985's "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."

It has been 30 years between "Thunderdome" and "Fury Road." According to Hit Fix, director George Miller decided to return to the post apocalyptic world because of the "notion of human cargo." The report further adds that Miller has widened his view to include characters to make the viewers understand just how "broken" the world is.

The story of "Mad Max: Fury Road" is such that viewers need not watch the previous trilogy to get it. According to Empire Online Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), is captured by the War Boys, the followers of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), and taken to his lair. There he meets Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a trusted follower of Immortan Joe's. She drives the War Rig, a massive death fortress on wheels.

The War Boys are shown as religious fanatics believing that they will be rewarded in the afterlife, for the sacrifices they make for Immortan in the present life. Max is held captive so that his blood can be used to help the injured or sick War Boys.

Critics were surprised to find that "Fury Road" differs from the other "Mad Max" movies because of its feminist theme. Although the movie does include the macho elements, Miller is also able to show women fighting to become free from the oppressive system.

The other female leads in the movie Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class) are also shown shown fighting against their hopeless situation. Empire Online also says that "Mad Max: Fury Road" shows that the women were trying to get "mankind back on track," and it's the men who are like beasts.

An important character is the fundamentalist Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Vanity Fair also writes that Nux is a true believer of Joe's promises and lies who wants to die a "glorious soldier’s death." Critics also note that this was Miller's version of what it would take for someone to become a suicide bomber.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is set to hit theaters in the U.S. on 15 May.

Video: Mad Max: Fury Road - Official Theatrical Teaser Trailer [HD]