It's Never A Bad Time To Watch Mad Max: Fury Road

If you're anything like me, you'll watch "Mad Max: Fury Road" anywhere, any time. Hell, just writing this sentence made me decide to put it on for the umpteenth time. George Miller's post-apocalyptic Ozploitation franchise had already managed to amass a sizable fanbase after its first three movies, starting with 1979's "Mad Max." However, thanks to Miller's 2015 entry (which saw Tom Hardy replace Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky and Charlize Theron originate the role of Imperator Furiosa), it suddenly became a whole new ball game ... or drag race, if you'd like to stay in-universe.

Like the title of this article states, it's truly never a bad time to tap back into "Mad Max: Fury Road." It's exciting, visually stimulating, and does an excellent job of bringing together a killer ensemble cast who mesh well with one another in service of Miller's excellent story. Read on to find out where you can stream the action-adventure film now, should you be so inclined. (You should.)

At the time of writing, George Miller's scorched Earth epic is available to stream on AMC+, the streaming arm of the AMC Network. Because Prime Video also offers access to AMC+ through an add-on subscription offering, Prime Video users can also technically access "Mad Max: Fury Road" through their membership, although it'll come at that pesky add-on price.

Other than that, fans can currently rent the film for $3.99 on iTunes, in addition to renting or buying a digital copy from Premium Video On Demand platforms such as Vudu (where it's available to rent for $3.99 or buy for $14.99). That's just about all your current viewing options for "Mad Max: Fury Road" if you don't have a Blu-ray or DVD in your physical media collection. Of course, "Fury Road" has also streamed on HBO Max in the past and will presumably be available at some point in the future on Warner Bros. Discovery's new streaming service Max.

The real question is: why not? The thing about "Mad Max: Fury Road" is that, despite its obvious embellishments when it comes to the post-apocalyptic style of the film, the underlying messages are as relevant today as they ever were. The movie came out shortly before Donald Trump's presidency began in the United States, and it feels as though a lot of the prevalent themes of the film only became more urgent from the time he took office. It's not to say these issues weren't issues before then; they've been issues for far too long.

"Fury Road" is frank in its interrogations of fascism, patriarchal violence, sexual abuse, displacement, and class struggles. That's all laid out plainly for you, and there are no curtains obscuring those situations at play in ruler Immortan Joe's society. Those realities are at the core of the greater battle that Tom Hardy's Max finds himself a part of. And if you keep up with even a fraction of the news, it's obvious that all of these themes continue to be relevant, regardless of which political party is in power (or whose politics dominate the primetime cycle). The way George Miller chooses to display these ills is that of a purposeful devil, creating a satisfying evil in Immortan Joe, and, further, what he represents.

Further still, "Fury Road" is a unique visual feast that both pays homage to the previous films of the franchise while bringing itself into the modern era and doing its own thing. Many of its awe-inspiring death-defying stunts were totally real and done in camera, including explosions, many of the chase sequences, and even the terrifying truck jumps. The film is truly a testament to the limits of filmmaking, but its high-octane container never forgets to leave room for its rich emotional inner life, the one that comes naturally when highlighting the kinds of issues "Fury Road" does. It's smart, insightful, and entertaining filmmaking, the kind that many aspire to but never quite reach.

Every element of George Miller's vision — the stunts, the acting, the costuming, the production design, the script — came together seamlessly to expand upon a world we all now know so well because of this installment, and it has grown to rightfully have a life of its own. If you haven't revisited its heart-pumping adrenaline ride lately, now's the perfect chance to hit the "Fury Road" once more.