In 2015, George Miller revisited the post-apocalyptic wasteland in Mad Max: Fury Road, giving viewers one of the most thrilling modern action films with two compelling, mysterious leads–Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) and Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). Miller successfully ‘rebooted’ the franchise – a triumph in itself, but he took his revisit a step further by writing a prequel for the terrifying and electrifying Furiosa. Taking on one of the most badass women to grace the screen, Miller gives Furiosa space to grow, grieve, and develop the insufferable hatred that navigates her throughout the original film. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, despite not topping the sheer thrill and excitement of Fury Road, manages to create a passionate action spectacle and extract strong performances from both leads. 

If Furiosa has one problem, it’s that the film over-explained the origin of its heroine. Miller fleshed out the world he established in Fury Road and took away almost all mysteries associated with the heroine’s rage, skill, and bionic arm. Additionally, some familiar faces return, including Nathan Jones’s Rictus Erectus and Angus Sampson’s Organic Mechanic, but are offered no real enhanced depth of character. Immortan Joe returns  (Lachy Hulme replacing Hugh Keays-Byrne) as well yet awkwardly exudes less of a terrifying presence despite relatively more dialogue. Naturally, the most exciting character to witness was the newly introduced Dementus, expertly brought to life by Chris Hemsworth. 

Hemsworth is a constant in all chapters of the film, as Miller divides Furiosa into vignettes of Furiosa’s life, from childhood abduction to where Fury Road began. Between his physical transformation and commitment to his character’s insanity, Hemsworth delivers one of the most profound performances of his career.  Unlike Immortan Joe, Hemsworth’s Dementus is loud, unpredictable, and unhinged; he easily places himself amongst some of the top action villains to bless the big screen.

Opposite of Hemsworth, Anya Taylor-Joy quietly and boldly attacks Furiosa, a character Charlize Theron embodied with power, confidence, and fiery passion. With minimal dialogue, Taylor-Joy’s challenge — similar to Theron’s — was to show more of the turmoil and grief that her character had to endure. While I found her performance compelling, Miller and co-screenwriter Nick Lathouris’ script over-explains every detail of her upbringing, making it less emotionally impactful. The challenge of a prequel is we already know the ending; there is little at stake because we know she will triumph. Thus, the spoiler of her ending and the over-explanation of her beginning made for a mild emotional draw to her grief. 

Outside of performance and plot, the cinematography and stunts — what we really came to the theater for — were nothing less than an indulgent spectacle. Just like in Fury Road, we cannot help but feel the adrenaline once the score and vehicles speed up. My only wish is that there was more. By adding explanation, expansion, and context to a complicated world, we miss out on some of the extended stunt pieces that we fell in love with in the 2015 film. 

Furiosa marks a great beginning to Blockbuster Summer. Both Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth attack this film with passion and vengeance, bringing us a prequel that almost captures the same level of thrill as its predecessor. Miller brought passion and, dare I say, fury to his reimagining of the Mad Max world, and he has gifted the film world with a quintessential badass female action character. All I can say now is go witness her. 

Review Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas

Feature Image Credit to Warner Bros. via Variety