Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy is getting rave reviews from critics. The George Miller film’s screening at the Cannes Film Festival received enough positive word-of-mouth that would pull the audiences to the theaters. While the film has seemingly impressed many, it has a long road to achieve the level of success of its prequel film, Mad Max: Fury Road. The 2015 film was a huge critical and commercial success, with a 97% Tomatometer score.
Taylor-Joy’s film also stars Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke, and the performances of these actors were also commended by the different critics. If Furiosa manages to turn these positive reviews into box office numbers, fans can expect Miller to move ahead with his other dream projects in the franchise.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa Receives Largely Positive Reviews From Critics
The story of a young Furiosa was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and critics are heavily impressed with the final product. Set nearly 20 years before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, the film explores the life of Furiosa after she was snatched from her home and placed with a Biker Horde led by Warlord Dementus. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Furiosa while Chris Hemsworth plays the ruthless villain Dementus.
@ashleey_lee, a reviewer for @MovieNetworkPR, wrote on X that Furiosa is “indescribable.” She revealed that she was immersed in the chaotic world created by George Miller. She also praised the performances of both the leads of the film. Wendy Lee Szany of @themoviecouple_ described the film as one hell of a ride and called both Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne’s performances as powerful. Browne played a much younger version of the titular character.
Manohla Dargis of the New York Times was all praises for Miller, whom she called “one kick-ass prophet of doom.” Robert Daniels wrote for RogerEbert.com that the movie blows one away “to Valhalla and beyond.” Hoai-Tran Bui of Inverse shared that the film was a “hyper-realistic vision of the apocalypse,” while Owen Glieberman of Variety shared that the “darkly bedazzling” movie fell short of a Mad Max homerun.
George Miller's #Furiosa is nearly indescribable. He immerses you so deeply in his chaotic world that you lose all sense of reality, leaving you breathless and captivated. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth give completely wild performances. pic.twitter.com/f072emYQCo
— Ash (@ashleey_lee) May 15, 2024
#Furiosa is one hell of a ride. Anya Taylor-Joy is so powerful and fantastic in the role, as is Alyla Browne. It’s packed with action the whole way through. Love Hemsworth’s performance as Dementus. Definitely want to see him in more roles like this.
This was a fun one!! pic.twitter.com/d9RylIxdkP— Wendy Lee Szany (@WendyLeeSzany) May 16, 2024
“Miller is such a wildly inventive filmmaker that it’s been easy to forget that he keeps making movies about the end of life as we know it… It’s only with Furiosa that I now understand he’s also one kick-ass prophet of doom.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times
“A big, entertaining popcorn movie, told with a sense of adventure and play…. Furiosa aims to blow you away. And it does. To Valhalla and beyond.” – Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
“Furiosa is a jaw-dropping achievement. It’s a hyper-realistic vision of the apocalypse, a Greek myth made into an outsized blockbuster spectacle.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
“It all adds up to is a movie that can be darkly bedazzling, and that will be embraced and defended in a dozen passionate ways — but it’s one that, to me, falls very short of being a Mad Max home run.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
According to Deadline, the film is expected to earn $50 million on its opening weekend in North America. Anything less than that mark might be concerning for the film, which was made on a massive budget of $168 million.
Furiosa‘s Critical Score Is Less Than That Of Mad Max: Fury Road
While Furiosa is being celebrated by critics, it hasn’t achieved the level of critical success enjoyed by its predecessor. Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron earned a 97% Tomatometer score from 438 critical reviews and received an 86% approval rating from the audience. According to Box Office Mojo, it collected $380.4 million at the global box office.
In comparison, the critics score for the Anya Taylor-Joy film stands at 89% from 37 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, as of writing. Out of the 19 Top Critics who reviewed the film, 15 of them have given the film a ‘Fresh’ rating while 4 of them have given it a ‘Rotten’ rating.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will hit the US theaters on May 24, 2024. Fans can now enjoy Mad Max: Fury Road by streaming it on Max.
