Director George Miller certainly made a name for himself with the original MAD MAX movies in the early 1980s, and proved he’s still got it in 2015 with the high octane MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, re-casting Max with Tom Hardy, and introducing new characters including Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron. Miller returns again with a FURY ROAD prequel titled FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, which puts Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role as a younger Furiosa, and Chris Hemsworth plays the villain Dr. Dementus. If you enjoyed FURY ROAD, chances are you’ll be right at home with this new effort, even though it feels like it’s lacking some of the punch its companion film had.
The film is broken up into five chapters of Furiosa’s life, and the first half actually spotlights Alyla Browne as the teenage version of the title character. This younger Furiosa is part of a peaceful and seemingly healthy village existing in a post-apocalyptic world, and when spotted by savages, she is captured and taken back to the hometown of Dementus (Hemsworth), who grills her about where she’s from. Furiosa’s mother bravely attempts to save her, but doesn’t survive the ordeal, and Dementus keeps the girl captured as his slave. As time passes, Dementus and his crew eventually meet with Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), who controls the surrounding supply cities… this is the same character who was the main villain in FURY ROAD. Dementus makes a deal to take control of the fuel city and work in conjunction with Joe, but of course has his own plans. Eventually Furiosa escapes, and hides among Joe’s army masquerading as a young boy good with mechanics. She is paired with truck master Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), tasked with transporting fuel and food through the perilous desert roads, but ultimately realizes she must do whatever she can to survive when no one can be trusted.
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA is a worthy entry in the MAD MAX franchise, and works well as as a companion piece and prequel to FURY ROAD. The action sequences are beautifully staged and chaotic in the best possible way, making us wonder how they shot this stuff without getting seriously hurt. The visuals are breathtaking and masterfully executed, and the overall look and feel of the movie is spectacular. But there are some definite pacing issues, and the five separate chapters break things up in a way that doesn’t feel very chohesive. I very much enjoyed Alyla Browne’s performance as young Furiosa, but was a little surprised how long the film took to bring in Anya Taylor-Joy, especially considering she’s the marketed star of the production. And one she shows up, she’s given very little dialogue, so ends up being a tough girl among savages with an intense stare, and we never get much sense of who she is or could be as a character. If you’ve seen FURY ROAD (and Lord knows you absolutely should before seeing this), then you know what Furiosa ends up being, and what lays ahead for her, but I felt like this was a chance to give up more depth to her and a definitive backstory, and instead those elements are kind of thin. Thankfully Chris Hemsworth as the baddie here is rather entertaining and clearly having fun with the role. I also really enjoyed the addition of Tom Burke here as a sort of pre-cursor to the Mad Max archetype Furiosa will eventually meet.
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA was quite entertaining and satisfying for what it was, but it definitely feels like it’s missing some of the grandness FURY ROAD did so well, and it’s a little disjointed in its execution. The two hour and 28-minute run time also doesn’t help things here, as a tigher and shorter version of this movie probably would have improved the overall feel of the production. In the end, not as good as what came before it, but still a fun viewing experience that shows Miller can still make engaging and exciting films.