‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’- Film Review | George Miller’s Prequel Will Be a Lovely Day for Fans

It is almost unbelievable that Mad Max: Fury Road was released nearly ten years ago. When director and co-writer George Miller returned to the famous Australian action-dystopian franchise he started in 1979, nobody knew what to anticipate. But when describing a near-perfect action movie, the fourth installment quickly comes to mind, thanks to its spectacular visual storytelling and non-stop practical action that consistently gets better with each rewatch; it’s simply one of my favorite action films of all time. One hopes that will apply equally with Miller putting together the prequel/ spinoff entitled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which serves as an origin story for Charlize Theron’s standout character from Fury Road. The downside to one of the summer’s most anticipated films is how anything can come close to following up on a cinematic masterpiece like its predecessor and stand on its own. Does it? It is very close to a near-perfect experience but still proves that this world Miller created with blood, sand, and violence still has life to stay awesome.

What’s the Story: Snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers, young Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy with Alyla Browne in the first half) falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by the Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.

The point of making a prequel and not feeling pointless is to plant the seeds of what we already learned and expand upon them years before the events, especially regarding the essential characters told through five separate chapters. I’m one of those who wanted to see some kind of continuation, yet it left me curious about what’s there in our protagonist’s backstory. Now I can see why he wanted to make this to give a glimpse of why Furiosa became a part of this deranged world we see later. What sets this apart from the last film is the storytelling, which I liked. Miller and returning writer Nico Lathouris didn’t go out of the way to make this as simple as following an extended car chase through the desert—a common complaint. Instead, Furiosa doesn’t avoid the typical craziest we come to expect. This has a lot going for it, not only in building upon the world of the wasteland and its factions but also in exploring more than almost a character-driven piece. In that attempt to deliver more meat to the story, you can expect to get specific answers viewers probably asked within the saga, which allows us to have more appreciation for certain aspects we’ve never noticed before.

Anya Taylor-Joy knew she had the difficult task of playing the younger version of one of the best female heroes in recent memory. It seemed impossible to follow up with Theron. Luckily, she crushed it, shaved head and all. She probably didn’t appear on-screen until an hour in, but it didn’t matter with the great Alyla Browne showing the character’s struggles to survive at a young age and deserves equal attention for her work. When I saw her as the character, I could not imagine if Theron stayed. Much like Max, it’s a role that doesn’t require a lot of dialogue. But Taylor-Joy says it all with her bright eyes to convey her feelings about what she desires the most: Getting revenge on those who took her away and finding her way back home without telling anyone the location. So far, I haven’t seen a performance from her that I didn’t like, and this convinces me to want to see Taylor-Joy in more action roles since her turn as Furiosa is another positive addition to her career.

Everyone will talk about how fantastic Chris Hemsworth is in this and how extensive range he gives us. Although this isn’t his first villain role, I could tell from the trailers that he would steal the show and that this would be the performance that I remember him for the most, aside from Thor. He seems to be having a blast playing the menacing warlord Dementus, whom his followers worship while wearing a prosthetic nose and beard that makes him almost recognizable aside from his voice. Sensing a tragedy that felt upon him where we’re unsure if he’s ever been a sympathetic person before the world went into chaos, you know this man has given up hope. Besides those two, Tom Burke is the most surprising character that Furiosa can latch onto. Praetorian Jack, the driver for Immortan Joe (Lacey Hulme), can be seen as a Mad Max-type based on his appearance. Still, he finds this understanding between him and Furiosa, treating her with dignity and helping her. It’s a mentor-type relationship I could’ve used more of, but thankfully, it doesn’t lean toward anything romantic.

Unlike its predecessor, Furiosa incorporates more noticeable CGI, which I thought would bother me since the color grading had a more polished look than this gritty style of the world. While some background shots took me out, the visual effects quality is passable, though not always seamless. But it’s no secret that Miller, who’s 79 years old, always finds a way to captivate the audience with an insane set piece involving uniquely designed cars, motorcycles, and even paragliders during a War Rig chase on location. I had a blast sitting in the theater, wondering how they captured everything, hoping nobody was seriously injured. They’re spaced out enough not to feel cluttered, and all the action sequences are admired through the combined elements that make them stand out. Whether it’s the stunt work, Simon Duggan’s cinematography, the score from Tom Holkenberg, or Eliot Knapman and Margaret Sixel’s editing, all of them make these come to life. Also, the sound design never disappoints, especially hearing those engines rev up.

With a length of 148 minutes, the first hour was legitimately great, and it was almost enough to call it one of my favorites this year (and there hasn’t been a lot). But then, around the middle, I almost started to feel the pace when little action was happening, only to recharge afterward. Honestly, it’s long, but I never thought it was boring. When you walk out of the theater and go out the rest of the day, the first question that comes to mind is whether Furiosa is better than Fury Road. Probably won’t be an easy answer for everyone, but I do perfect Fury Road over this. Considering how entertaining this was, I think they match perfectly. But I believe it’ll get even better on a second viewing.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga puts a positive name to prequels with George Miller at the top of his game yet again. It might not be on the same high-octane level as Fury Road, but it didn’t have to be. Everything from the incredible action and memorable performances of Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth makes this enough to be a worthy addition to the blockbuster franchise that’ll make us want to spend more time in this wasteland.