Theron's intense, unrelenting performance as Imperator Furiosa absolutely makes the movie and is the main reason it sticks with you long after you've left the theater. With the exception of Edge of Tomorrow, Mad Max: Fury Road champions female empowerment in a way that action films never really have before. The glory shots of the actress's bodies à la Lara Croft: Tomb Raider are few and far between, and their strength isn't neutered like the Avengers series repeatedly does to Black Widow.
The storyline revolves around Furiosa and the group of women she's trying to protect so strongly that she ends up completely overshadowing Tom Hardy's Mad Max. For instance, in one of the scenes where Max is trying to shoot down one of Immortan Joe's cronies, he actually ends up handing the gun to Furiosa since he knows she's infinitely more capable. It was a beautiful, simple, feminist affirmation that yes, women can kick just as much ass in action movies as the guys, if not more.
