Review - Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. It's been nine years since George Miller released the last Mad Max movie, Fury Road. And, well, we're here with the new movie Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , which is directed by Mad Max franchise creator George Miller. This movie stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Lachy Hulme, Nathan Jones, and Angus Sampson, just to name a few. 

        Okay, so, as the title would suggest, this movie tells the story of Furiosa, and it explores her childhood in the Green Place of the Many Mothers, shows how she was taken from there, and finds herself at the mercy of a warlord named Dementus. Years later, as a young woman, Furiosa seeks to exact revenge against Dementus, and finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Immortan Joe and his followers, who seek to rid the Wasteland of Dementus and his followers. 

       Okay, so much like with Fury Road, Furiosa is pretty light on plot. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives the audience easy to identify characters with easy to follow motivation. For instance, Furiosa's motivation is to seek vengeance against Dementus and finds the route back to her childhood home. Dementus' motivation is to completely rule the Wasteland. And the motivation of Immortan Joe and the warlords is to be rid of Dementus, who pretty much became a wrench in their well-oiled operation. By not putting an overabundance on plot detail, and giving the audience just enough to keep up, George Miller made a movie that is pretty straight forward and easy to follow. Also, the movie boasts a runtime of about two-and-a-half hours, but it's filled with gorgeous scenery and balls to the wall action. 

        The performances in this movie were fantastic, with Anya Taylor-Joy leading the pack as Furiosa. I will say, as much as I enjoyed Charlize Theron in the role of Furiosa in Fury Road, Anya Taylor-Joy definitely brings a lot more humanity to the character, making her a truly likeable protagonist. On the other side, Chris Hemsworth truly chews the scenery as the over the top villain Dementus, who leads a legion of bikers. Another key character we see is Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack, who is kind of a mentor to Furiosa in the back half of the movie, which is really cool. I will say that Tom was very likeable as Praetorian Jack, and certainly worked as one of the few decent people that Furiosa comes into contact with. 

        There are a few familiar faces from Fury Road, such as Immortan Joe, Rictus, the People Eater, the Bullet Farmer, the Organic Mechanic, and even a brief appearance by the Doof Warrior. And, while we see Nathan Jones, Angus Sampson, and John Howard return as Rictus, Organic Mechanic, and the People Eater, unfortunately both the Bullet Farmer and Immortan Joe were recast, as both Richard Carter and Hugh Keays-Byrne sadly passed away before production began on this movie. However, both Lachy Hulme as Immortan Joe and Lee Perry as the Bullet Farmer were absolutely fantastic, and definitely looked like their counterparts from Fury Road. The one new addition in Immortan Joe's army is another son named Scrotus, played by Josh Helman. And, his performance is definitely in line with his Fury Road character of Slit. 

        Now, the main draw is seeing the world of Mad Max. In addition to locations like the Wasteland and the Citadel, we also see the Green Place when it was still very green. And, we get to see both Gastown and the Bullet Farm, which are these two massive refineries overseen by Immortan Joe's forces, which is really cool. And, of course, the attire and vehicle designs is very much a part of the world of Mad Max, with Dementus' motorcycle-drawn chariot, as well as early versions of Immortan Joe's war rig, as a major highlight. 

       Overall, what's important is that this movie isn't just a studio cash-in, but a genuine passion project by George Miller, who has been the driving force of every Mad Max movie since the very first one. And, it's because George Miller put genuine passion into it that makes it an absolute thrill that pretty much puts most every other movie I've seen so far this year, with the exception of Dune Part Two. I'm giving Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga a rating of 5/5. Head out to the theater and check this one out. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys in my next three reviews: Chad Vader,  Beetlejuice, and Alien.