Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Is Another George Miller Banger

It would’ve been easy for Furiosa to rest on its Fury Road laurels. Thankfully, director George Miller has returned to his Mad Max saga with more than a fresh coat of paint on old chrome—he’s taken all the stylish exuberance built up in the 2015 film and expanded it from a chase into an epic. If you’re thirsty to see more of Furiosa, Immortan Joe, Gastown, and the raging gang wars of the wasteland, this is a guzzling delight of gorgeous grit just for you.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa. Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures

Much like Mad Max himself, Furiosa has origins wrapped in tragedy by the world surrounding her. Told in chapters, the film relies on light narration to showcase the titular character growing from the daringly emotional Alyla Browne into the stoic Anya Taylor-Joy. Her adventure takes her from the safety of her paradise sanctuary to the bloody roads of the nomadic Biker Horde—led by the smirking intimidation of Dr. Dementus, played with a suitable dose of mustache-twirling by Chris Hemsworth. With Dementus having set the wheels of pathos and loss in motion for Furiosa, the quiet warrior may find a better home within the towering empire of Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), even if it’s a home she’ll have to hollow out for herself.

Furiosa has a more distinct and compelling origin than Max, ensuring this isn’t just a similar story with different garb. More significant stakes beyond her initial loss fuel her quest for revenge, and she takes big gambles in her mission to serve long enough before bloody satisfaction can be had. She crawls under convoys amid dangerous chases and risks her life for unlikely allies when she could quickly flee. She takes a considerable amount of damage, not the least of which involves the story behind her mechanical arm. There were many moments amid the fast-paced aggression and heavy body counts when I stopped thinking about how the film matches up with the events of Fury Road and became lost in the moment, watching with great anticipation to see how she would make it out of the current chaos.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Adding to the picture’s allure is a knowing drive for revenge that goes beyond wanting the villain’s demise. It helps that Dementus desires to keep Furiosa around for his sense of redemption, which is not all that is warranted by his actions. More intriguing about Dementus is how he has lived long enough to consider how spiritually draining revenge becomes in the long run. His hardened nihilism has created a sense of giddiness in the violent leader, who takes pleasure in everything from the collectivism of his bikers to the prospect that nobody will ever get what they truly want in this wasteland. He’s the perfect rival for Furiosa, challenging her in more ways than a chase through the dunes.

Chris Hemsworth Dementus. Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures

All of this strong storytelling makes the eye-popping action all the more badass, and the abundance of thrilling sequences set to the breakneck intensity of Tom Holkenborg’s score makes it hard to pick a favorite moment. Every chase builds with more vehicles and weapons until it feels like a convoy can’t prepare for any assault. Carnage comes from land and air, and even Furiosa’s initial post of working beneath the rig feels just as prone to explosive ends. The high-octane adrenaline is always in full view with locked and looming cameras, letting the eyes soak up as much of Miller’s masterful staging as possible. It’s a fully realized world that the director divulges with grace, whether it’s a crowded battle within Joe’s stronghold or a trek through the vast sands.

Furiosa is the badass return to Mad Max that one would expect from George Miller. He doesn’t just give us more of the titular rebel, the realm of Immortan Joe, or the chrome-obsessed War Boys—he also adheres to what makes a returning property film work well. A good film will give the fans what they want, while a great movie will give them what they never knew they wanted. A Mad Max side-story prequel wasn’t something I knew I wanted, but it turned out to be one of the best prequels ever made.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures