“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (2024) is directed by George Miller and stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke. It serves as a prequel to the events happening in “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015).
The film explores the upbringing of a young Furiosa (Taylor-Joy) who is kidnapped by an evil warlord named Dr. Dementus (Hemsworth) and plans to enact vengeance on him. The film is told through different chapters, each showing the audience how this once innocent girl turns into one of the most feared names in post-apocalyptic Australia.
Unlike its predecessor, “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), this film is not as impactful on the audience. “Fury Road” is a far bigger movie with how it portrays its action sequences and story.
While “Furiosa” also does feature many awesome action scenes, it is a bit more grounded and instead focused on a personal story. Many prequel films tend to focus on the wrong aspects, such as what made the original film so popular, instead of doing something new. Fortunately, this film does not have that problem.
Where the film excels the most by far is the amazing lead performance given by Taylor-Joy. The audience believes every moment she gives on screen as Furiosa. Taylor-Joy does not look like Charlize Theron, who played the character in “Fury Road,” but that makes her performance even better.
The transition from one great actress to another is mind-blowing, as both do a phenomenal job. Taylor-Joy has starred as the lead in several other movies, but she is given the chance to play a meaty role in this film and delivers. Without her, this movie would not work.
Hemsworth’s performance as the villain Dr. Dementus might be one of the best roles in his entire career. For years, Hemsworth was widely known as the big muscular guy who played Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hemsworth has a lot of screen time in the movie, and not once will the audience think of Thor when he is on screen.
Hemsworth is just as good as Taylor-Joy in this film. He is given a lot of material to work with and steals the show every time Dementus is shown. Hemsworth does not usually play the villain, but it is an absolute blast to watch when he is. His performance as Billy Lee in Drew Goddard’s 2018 thriller “Bad Times at the El Royale” proves this point.
“Furiosa” also gives the audience many amazing action set-pieces and sequences, and no scene in the film is boring. It may not be the adrenaline rush that is “Mad Mad: Fury Road,” but it will still excite many viewers.
The costume design and makeup are another thoughtful touch by the production crew. The world where this movie takes place has so many layers of history. It does a good job explaining how this post-apocalypse happened and the formation of certain groups of people such as Immortan Joe.
This movie is similar to other big films like “Star Wars” (1977) because every character has a unique look. The design of each character in the “Mad Max” universe feels appropriate for the stories they tell. No one feels out of place or overly exaggerated with their character design.
Where the film suffers is in its length and usage of CGI. The film has a runtime of two hours and 28 minutes but feels twice as long at certain points. If the editors shortened some of the action scenes and got rid of a few unnecessary scenes, the film would have a much better pace.
“Fury Road” mostly uses practical effects for its action sequences and car stunts. Contrarily, there is a lot of CGI used in “Furiosa.” Sometimes it is painfully noticeable, and it is another technical aspect that could have used more time to polish in the editing room.
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is a prequel that gets a lot of things right. For one, it will entertain the audience whether they are fans or not. It features two great performances, stellar action sequences and a powerful story of a lost childhood and revenge.
Rating: 4/5
