Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

In 1979, George Miller's Mad Max was released and instantly became a cult classic. The sci-fi hit spawned sequels in 1981 and 1985 before the franchise was shelved for three decades. In 2015, George reinvented his futuristic tale, and instead of featuring only a male protagonist (Mel Gibson) as he originally did, he matched Max (Tom Hardy) with a strong-willed female warrior. In Mad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron stars as Furiosa, a rebel fighter who opposes the oppressive rulers in post-apocalyptic Australia. The six-time Oscar winning film's supporting cast includes Nicholas Hoult and Zoë Kravitz, among others. Whoever said women can't lead big-budget action flicks hasn't seen this critically-acclaimed, gritty, galvanizing picture.