The rarest prize in the cinematic wasteland: a prequel that enriches its predecessor!

Blazing across the arid wasteland of franchise cinema, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga roars onto the screen, a feral escapee from the fertile imagination of George Miller. In this post-apocalyptic prequel, we plunge headlong into the raw, untamed origins of one of the Mad Max universe’s most intriguing figures, a fierce young girl destined to become a legend in a world where the desert is an endless, unforgiving expanse, dotted with the remnants of humanity’s last gasps for survival.

Young Furiosa, played with startling poise by Alyla Browne, begins her journey in an Edenic sanctuary, a lush haven far removed from the desolation that defines the wasteland below. But peace is a fleeting mirage, and her tranquil existence is shattered when she’s kidnapped by the marauding thugs of Dementus, brought to life with chilling charisma by Chris Hemsworth (who also seems to have borrowed John Neville’s prosthetic nose from The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen). Hemsworth, cast against his typically heroic type, clearly relishes the chance to cut loose and channels a deranged villainy so profoundly different from his usual earnest swagger that it feels as though he’s reinventing himself completely. Dementus, like the best Mad Max villains, oscillates between unsettling charm and explosive rage, making him a formidable presence in the wasteland and a credible counterbalance to the already known malevolence of Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).

Miller, aware that he’s shading in the prologue to a story and character arc we’re already familiar with, opts to overtly embrace the telling of the story, dividing Furiosa’s life into chapters, each one a milestone on the unforgiving highway of her life’s journey to Fury Road. From her initial captivity under Dementus to her rise under the grotesque rule of Immortan Joe, Furiosa is a relentless march of survival and transformation, a counterbalance to Fury Road’s unrelenting pursuit. Hulme does a superb job of picking up the mantle of portraying Immortan Joe, a silver-haired tyrant both masked and menacing, from the late Hugh Keays-Byrne. He provides the first half of the film with a grotesquely captivating anchor, finding fresh terror for a character whose ending is already known and creating a nightmarish reality of the tripartite Citadel-Gas Town-Bullet Farm axis that is both repulsive and riveting.

Anya Taylor-Joy’s entrance as the older Furiosa signals a shift, both in narrative intensity and emotional depth. Her portrayal is a masterclass in subtlety, her eyes reflecting the scars of her past and the fierce resolve for her future. Even in the film’s most chaotic moments, Taylor-Joy’s performance brings a poignant, almost lyrical quality to Furiosa’s journey. She conveys volumes with a glance, a frown, or a fleeting smile, her minimal dialogue speaking louder than words ever could.

Miller’s direction is a triumph unto itself, orchestrating action and visuals that belie his years and eclipse directors half his age. Every sequence is a full-frontal ocular assault, from a three-day desert chase to the spectacular aerial assault on a war rig. They’re not just action spectacles; they’re symphonies of chaos and order, meticulously choreographed to push the boundaries of what’s possible in action cinema. Although some of the earlier scenes suffer from an overuse of CGI, much of the cinematography captures the stark beauty of the wasteland, contrasting sharply with the pastoral paradise of Furiosa’s lost home and the elevated oasis of The Citadel, creating a visual dichotomy that mirrors the film’s thematic division between light and darkness, as does the evolution of Dementus’ deeply symbolic cape.

Although it’s a wholly rewarding experience, the prolonged setup might test the patience of those eager to witness the high-octane action that defined Fury Road. While the film’s sprawling narrative ambitiously covers vast temporal ground, it sometimes loses the relentless, tight focus that made its predecessor such a visceral experience.

But these are minor quibbles in the grand sweep of the evolving Mad Max saga. Compared to the previous films, Furiosa stands proud and defiant, a rich tapestry of character-driven storytelling and explosive action. It might not accelerate to the relentless pace of Fury Road, but it turbocharges the drama with a deeper, more nuanced exploration of its eponymous heroine. Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth deliver performances that are as unforgettable as they are unexpected, anchoring the film in a blend of human vulnerability and brutal savagery.

Perhaps Miller’s greatest achievement with this saga side-step is crafting what might be the first prequel that really, and I mean really, works. Not only does it blend seamlessly with and genuinely enrich the film which preceded it, but it’s possibly the only prequel that, if someone were coming to view the films for the first time, I’d recommend watching before Fury Road. Over the years, the Mad Max saga has encountered its fair share of potholes and questionable detours, but between Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, it’s clear that Miller’s vision for a post-apocalyptic antipodean odyssey is firing on all cylinders. Bring on The Wasteland!

furiosa: a mad max saga review
Score 9/10
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