REVIEW — “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”

A rich and furious cinematic joy ride fueled by vengeance and adrenaline, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is an apocalyptic epic that demands to be witnessed.

Academy Award-winning mastermind George Miller began his dystopian saga with Mad Max in 1979, followed by Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985). The legend was revived with 2015’s multiple Oscar-winning blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road, starring Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.

Writer and director Miller now returns with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, an all-new original, standalone action adventure he penned with Mad Max: Fury Road co-writer Nico Lathouris that reveals the origins of the powerhouse character. The Warner Bros. Pictures release follows young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) as she is kidnapped from the Green Place of Many Mothers by a savage gang of bikers led by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Told in five chapters, the film tracks Furiosa’s journey through the Wasteland and its three kingdoms: Gastown, the Bullet Farm, and the Citadel, presided over by The Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). As her two tyrannical captors war for dominance, Furiosa plots her escape back home, fueled by her thirst for revenge.

As the young Furiosa, Browne is exceptional. The actress carries the first half of this film and bears a majority of the character’s suffering before handing the role over to Anya Taylor-Joy. Taking over the part of Furiosa from Theron, Taylor-Joy is equally formidable. Forced to endure devastating loss and cruelties at the hands of her deformed captors, Taylor-Joy keeps Furiosa’s rage silently steeled behind her eyes. It is a powerhouse performance from the gifted actress, further cementing her status as a high-caliber star on the rise.

With a fake nose, long hair and wiry red beard, Chris Hemsworth is wonderfully despicable as the film’s main villain Dementus. It is a welcomed change of pace seeing the normally heroic action star embrace a darker, more sinister role. His hysterically demented character is scary good and one that you cannot turn your back on. He masterfully alternates between a buffoonish villain that could easily be shrugged off as too wacky to take seriously, and a vengeful demon that is forever in hot pursuit and relentless in his cruelty.

Miller set the bar high with Fury Road by delivering a blockbuster with a high level of cinematic intensity that has gone unmatched, until now. Whereas Fury Road was an enthralling two hour chase scene, Furiosa delivers just as much heart-thumping action, but with a more structured narrative than its predecessor. Instead of being set to a constant rolling boil, the action in Furiosa is allowed to simmer before fully turning up the heat. Furiosa is another astounding achievement for the legendary filmmaker and arguably the most phenomenal action film in years. Personally, it is the most riveting prequel film I’ve ever seen. The film also stars Nathan Jones as Rictus Erectus, Josh Helman as Scrotus, and Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack, a road warrior that aids Furiosa on her quest for vengeance.

George Miller’s Mad Max saga has been his life’s work, however, the 79-year-old auteur still has roads left untraveled. The visionary director has plans for at least one Fury Road follow-up titled Mad Max: The Wasteland, and perhaps even more stories will follow down the road. With Furiosa earning high praise and rave reviews from fans and critics alike, continuing the adventures of Max Rockatansky seems like a lucrative endeavor for Warner Bros. Pictures. Hopefully Miller has enough gas left in his tank to steer his wasteland saga into Valhalla. 5/5

Rated R with a runtime of 2 hours and 26 minutes, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga opens in theaters May 24, 2024.