Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga releases May 24th, 2024.
From the man who brought you Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City comes the action-packed epic event of the summer. Visionary filmmaker George Miller returns to the post-apocalyptic wasteland that he created with the fifth entry into his highly acclaimed franchise: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. It’s been nine years since Mad Max: Fury Road and the esteemed filmmaker is now in his seventies, which had a lot of fans questioning whether he still had the ability to replicate the breath-taking extravaganza from nearly a decade ago. The simple answer is… hell yeah.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Plot
Young Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) is ripped away from her family by the maniacal Dr. Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and his band of murderous marauders. She spends her youth honing her skills and planning for the day she can take out the ultimate vengeance against the man who took everything from her.
The Critique
I would follow George Miller into the Australian desert any day of the week. His track record with the world of Mad Max has earned him a place on the Mount Rushmore of accomplished action filmmakers in history. While each of the five films are undeniably great, the two entries post Mel Gibson have revved their engines and soared all the way to Valhalla.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is interesting because it’s the first film in the series to not feature Max Rockatansky. It feels like a necessary evolution to explore other entities within this expansive world and the character of Furiosa — a fan-favorite newcomer originated by Charlize Theron in Fury Road — was a perfect launching point. The franchise has progressed significantly since the 1979 original. In that first film Max is a family man with a career. He’s a police officer facing off against a motorcycle gang in a world on the verge of collapse, but it still exists within a semi-structured society. That society is all but gone by Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.
This continuous progression is maintained with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Despite a plethora of returning characters and a similar aesthetic, this film is very different than its predecessor. The action set pieces remain a staple, and they’re as awe-inspiring as you’d hope for them to be; however, sprinkled throughout the action is a deeper understanding of its characters. There’s more time dedicated to the story, and as a result it’s runtime extends well over the two-hour mark.
Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give it is this. I was desperate for drink as the film began. I told myself I’d rush to the concession stand just as soon as there was the smallest lull in the pacing. Before I knew it over an hour had passed and I had refused to budge. I endured a parched mouth as dry as the deserted wasteland I was watching because the story was just too captivating to miss. Chris Hemsworth delivers his best performance yet. He’s over-the-top and chews every bit of scenery he’s in. It’s clear that he’s enjoying himself, as is the entire cast. Anya Taylor-Joy is a certified action star, carrying the weight of the film’s biggest moments on her shoulders.
If there is going to be one unanimous complaint made from audiences it will undoubtedly be the film’s excessive use of CGI. The CGI is obvious and very often it looks bad. I absolutely would have preferred a more practical approach to the stunt work we see, but the CGI wasn’t enough to deter me from having an absolute blast. In fact, as the film progressed I began to accept this vision for what it was and the CGI became as significant as the characters themselves.
In Conclusion
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a beautiful spectacle. An action epic on a scale that we rarely see these days. I left the theater feeling overwhelmed with joy, adrenaline and dopamine pulsing through my system. George Miller is currently seventy-nine and we have to wonder if he has another film of this caliber left in him. If this concludes the saga it will have ended on a spectacularly beautiful note; yet, I desperately want to see this world on the big screen once more.
9/10
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