Movie Review: ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,’ an absolute EPIC

“Furiosa” is Intense and Amazing

I’ll be transparent: I am in the minority when it comes to my opinion of “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015). I remember badly wanting to see it due to everyone regarding it as an action masterpiece. While I do agree that “Fury Road” is a massive achievement in stunt work and action, I feel like it’s a mostly hollow movie with a two-hour car-chase scene. So naturally walking into “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” I expected a similar experience. Now, having seen “Furiosa,” I can happily say that I loved it. The film manages to give life to the barren wastelands of the “Mad Max” franchise with an intense five-part story, all the while staying true to its roots with some amazing action set pieces.

The Prequel Challenge

Like any good story, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” hooks you right from the start, quickly setting the stakes and showing just how deep the story will go with its title character. Every prequel has one goal (a seemingly hard one to achieve) and that is to give the first film more weight. “Furiosa” does just that. The character of Furiosa in “Fury Road” is mysterious, to say the least; you know she wants to do the right thing while doing whatever it takes to make it home. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” throws you right into Furiosa’s origins while leading us toward how she becomes the badass we all know.

The film manages to give life to the barren wastelands of the “Mad Max” franchise … while staying true to its roots with some amazing action set pieces.

The most crucial aspect of making this prequel effective was casting someone to carry the torch as a younger version of the established Furiosa character. Anya Taylor-Joy embodies Furiosa. I always feel skeptical when a young actor is cast as a freshly popular character, but somehow Taylor-Joy manages to live up to Charlize Theron’s previous Furiosa performance while also making her mark on the role.

It wouldn’t be an entry in the “Mad Max” franchise without a wacky set of side characters, and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is no different. While we already saw most of these characters in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the newer additions in “Furiosa” are the ones that stand out, specifically Chris Hemsworth as Dr. Dementus. At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised, but for some reason, I was shocked at just how much Hemsworth commits to the role of this psychotic antagonist. He not only plays a deranged, broken bike gang leader, but he adds such a great dynamic to the journey Furiosa is on.

“Furiosa” Final Thoughts

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” surprised me in so many ways and gives you everything you’d want from from an origin story about someone as cool as Furisoa herself. “Furiosa” is undeniably an epic that to most will be another notch in writer/director George Miller’s belt (having also previously directed every “Mad Max” film since the original in 1979), giving us reason to claim he’s one of the best sci-fi directors working today.

SCORE: 4/5

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is rated R and is in theaters May 24, 2024! There are no post-credit scenes.

Memorial Day at the Movies

The upcoming holiday weekend will see the entertainment industry rolling out new projects as the summer season symbolically commences. In addition to the R-rated “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” the family-friendly “The Garfield Movie” also hits theaters May 24, 2024. Check out our review:

Movie Review: ‘The Garfield Movie,’ so much, but so little