By Chris “Boogie” Brown
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is the direct prequel to the 2015 motion traditional, “Mad Max: Fury Highway.” That is the fifth movie within the Mad Max franchise, and just like the earlier entries, it’s directed by the legendary George Miller.
As you’ll be able to surmise from the movie’s trailers and synopsis, this prequel units up the origin story of protagonist Furiosa, the fierce warrior featured within the aforementioned “Fury Highway.” Masking 15 years of her life, Furiosa examines the place she got here from, her upbringing, how she arrived on the Citadel, and what drives her to the enraged state of redemption that we witness on this movie and in “Fury Highway.”
I believed “Furiosa” was an unbelievable prequel that additional fleshed out the “Mad Max” universe that director George Miller has constructed. Whereas “Fury Highway” was finally a kinetic chase movie that moved at a frantic tempo, “Furiosa” is extra nuanced, taking its time to inform a sprawling story that spans a number of years and 5 chapters. Because the movie takes viewers on a deep dive into this dystopian wasteland, we not solely see the origins of Furiosa however are additionally launched to acquainted characters, areas, and story arcs established in 2015’s “Fury Highway.”
Though “Furiosa” doesn’t have the identical pacing and cadence as “Fury Highway,” it by no means loses the spirit of that movie, as we’re supplied with a number of high-octane motion sequences all through. The creative motion in “Furiosa” combines sensible stunt work and visible results, contains prolonged one-take pictures, and is totally immersed in thrills and suspense. Whereas “Furiosa” doesn’t comprise the sustained quantity of motion as its 2015 predecessor, the vehicular motion, spectacular stunts, and riveting camerawork on show are excellent. One prolonged set piece particularly through the movie’s second act is solely superb and rivals what got here earlier than it in “Fury Highway.”
By way of performances, standouts embrace Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Pleasure, who each excel of their portrayals of the lead character, “Furiosa.” Whereas the previous performs Furiosa through the youthful years of her backstory, the latter performs the grownup model and completely captures the spirit and fierceness of Charlize Theron’s portrayal in “Fury Highway.” Though Anya’s “Furiosa” doesn’t have a variety of dialogue within the movie, she successfully emotes by her eyes, physique language, and motion prowess all through. Moreover, Tom Burke does an awesome job as Praetorian Jack, a grizzled commander of a Citadel battle rig.
Nonetheless, of all of the performances, the show-stealer in “Furiosa” might very effectively be Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus. As the principle villain of the movie, Hemsworth provides a charismatic efficiency incorporating shades of wit, power, maniacal ruthlessness, and desperation, delivering a number of memorable monologues all through. If I’m being sincere, this may increasingly presumably be my favourite Chris Hemsworth position thus far—he’s merely that commanding and heightens each single scene he is part of.
In relation to the movie’s path, George Miller continues to be a grasp of his craft and reveals no indicators of slowing down. Miller orchestrates this sprawling epic with nuance, visible storytelling, and pulls out spirited performances from his gifted forged. As well as, the movie seems to be beautiful due to the wonderful cinematography by Simon Duggan, who provides the movie a saturated and stylized look that’s each aesthetically vibrant and interesting. Lastly, the manufacturing design, costume design, technical deserves, and memorable rating by composer Junkie XL are all unbelievable and left me very impressed.
Total, I discovered this movie to be an exhilarating cinematic expertise that actually deserves to be seen in a premium theatrical format. For my part, “Furiosa” is correct on par with “Fury Highway” by way of high quality and leisure. Whereas “Fury Highway” contained extra entertaining motion unfold throughout its whole runtime, I personally discovered the detailed storytelling, world-building, character work, Easter eggs, and intelligent callbacks in “Furiosa” to be equally spectacular and a nice shock.
“Furiosa” is likely one of the greatest prequels I’ve ever seen. It not solely enhances “Fury Highway” completely however may also change the best way you watch “Fury Highway” going ahead. The proverbial handoff from movie to movie is seamless and can depart die-hard followers of “Fury Highway” grinning from ear to ear. Ought to George Miller select to provide us a sixth chapter of this legendary 45-year-old franchise, I’m utterly right here for it!
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Story” is presently enjoying in theatres in every single place and is likely one of the highest movies I’ve seen thus far in 2024. This one comes HIGHLY advisable—get pleasure from!
