By Jamil Weeks

The Mad Max series has been a bizarre window into the maniacal genius of George Miller. Throughout the decades, George Miller has plunged moviegoers into the chaotic depths of a post-apocalyptic world where warlords and their gangs rule over the remaining pockets of civilization in the desert wastelands. With his latest installment in the Mad Max franchise, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Miller delivers a prequel to his previous film, Mad Max: Fury Road. As the movie title suggests, the story in this film tells the origin story of Furiosa, deviating from the previous films in the series where Max Rockatansky is the central character. Instead, Miller delves into the life of Furiosa, from her beginnings as a child leading up to the events that take place in Fury Road. Rather than have Charlize Theron reprise her role from the Fury Road, Miller taps Anya Taylor-Joy to portray Furiosa this time around. Joining her is Chris Hemsworth, who plays the deranged Dr. Dementus. Furiosa is kidnapped as a child and finds herself a captive of Dementus. Furiosa’s mother fails in her attempt to rescue her and falls victim to a brutal death by the hands of Dementus and his gang of miscreants. The movie becomes a classic tale of revenge with Furiosa looking to avenge the death of her mother and honor her late mother’s wishes of making it home to the “green place’.

The acting performances are what you would expect from a Mad Max film. Over-the-top, but in a good way. A prime example of that is Hemsworth, who seemed to have a lot of fun in portraying Dementus. While the facial make-up was a little distracting at times, Hemsworth shows off his acting chops as the deadly warlord who takes a young Furiosa under his wing. Furiosa fills in as a daughter-like figure for Dementus, who you discover is emotionally scarred from the murder of his family. The death of his family, particularly his daughter, is why Dementus develops a soft spot for Furiosa. The dynamic between Furiosa and Dementus is intriguing because even though he genuinely cares for her he is also the cause for her emotional pain that will later fuel her murderous revenge. Dementus is so emotionally damaged from the murder of his family that he wreaks the same violent carnage on others bringing them down to the same bottomless pit of anguish he finds himself wallowing in. Hemsworth is captivating as Dementus in a way we have never seen him before on screen and delivers perhaps his greatest triumph as an actor in Furiosa.

While Hemsworth gives a tour-de-force performance, Anya Taylor-Joy lends a more subtle portrayal as Furiosa. In fact, her character, like Tom Hardy in Fury Road, barely has any lines of dialogue. Anya is asked by Miller to do a lot of acting with her eyes, facial expressions, and gestures. Anya gives moviegoers a quiet but powerful performance as the defiant Furiosa. When Furiosa looks at Dementus, you can feel her seething with anger just in her incensed gaze at him. Anya effectively conveys the emotional weight of a woman who has experienced heartbreaking trauma but must suppress those feelings and remain strong to survive the harsh realities she finds herself in. Pulling this feat off with limited lines of dialogue speaks volumes to her acting capabilities. In addition to the nuanced vulnerability of Furiosa, Anya also sells herself as a strikingly believable action star. Anya sells the toughness, grit, and resilience of her character in every action sequence, proving herself worthy of her A-list status in Hollywood.

While Anya manages to leave her mark on this film, her presence as Furiosa is limited. For a good portion of the screen time, we see Furiosa as a child. The young Furiosa is played by Alyla Browne. Just like Anya, Alyla does not have a lot of dialogue in Furiosa due to her character becoming mute as a response to being a spectator of her mother’s brutal torture and murder. Alyla’s interpretation of a young Furiosa coping with the death of her mother while learning how to navigate the lawless environment surrounding her lays the groundwork for who Furiosa becomes as an adult. Alyla impressively embodies the bitterness and sadness of a young child who has been kidnapped, separated from her family, and witnessed the death of her mother. Once she is traded in a deal between Dementus and Immortan Joe, played by Lachy Hulme who replaces the late Hugh Keays-Byrne, Alyla demonstrates Furiosa’s perseverance and strength as her character gradually evolves into the type of heroine that fans witnessed in Fury Road. Miller does a great job at fleshing out Furiosa where you clearly understand her motivations and root for her character to ultimately win given what she has suffered through as a young girl.

One of the main reasons to watch this film is the action. Like his previous film, Miller delivers some insane action sequences that you just will not find in any other film out there today. The death-defying, adrenaline-fueled stunts and action sequences are nothing short of breathtaking. The action depicted in Furiosa is tumultuous and symbolic of the mayhem in the world in which this story takes place. While Miller elects to infuse more CGI into the action scenes of this film in comparison to his previous Mad Max films, Furiosa still supplies Miller’s unique trademark brand of bedlam action. The movie is filled with loud explosions and tanker chase scenes. Miller is known for finding a way to capture the beauty in pandemonium and brutal violence with the lushness of the color palette used to film this movie. The creativity in how Miller constructs an action sequence and depicts violence not only showcases his brilliance but also makes you ponder what kind of diabolical thoughts are lurking in his head.

The low box office numbers of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga are not indicative of the quality of the film. Maybe current circumstances such as inflation, a variety of streaming options, and a shortened time gap between a film’s theater release versus home release have diminished the general public’s interest in supporting most films in theaters. Maybe the fact that you have a Mad Max movie without Mad Max is another possible reason for Furiosa’s disappointing ticket sales. However, Furiosa is so good that not only does it deserve to be viewed on the silver screen, but also in IMAX. With high-octane action, immersive world-building, brilliant acting, and fleshed out characters with clear motivations, Furiosa is another gift from the movie gods bestowed on humankind. Hopefully word of mouth spreads and is able to give the film a last-minute push in the remaining weeks the film is in theaters. George Miller develops films specifically for the big screen with his brand of extreme action, over-the-top stunts, and deafening sound design. Furiosa is an absolute epic of a film that promises to be one of the best films of the summer blockbuster season. Miller masterfully provides the characteristic stunning visuals that fans of the Mad Max films have grown to love while effectively expanding the story of the characters and the dystopian future of those characters. I urge everyone that finds their way to this blog to go to the nearest theater this weekend and indulge yourself in the anarchy, madness, and the beautiful savagery of Furiosa.