If you know me, it is no secret that I am not a huge fan of sequels that actually turn into franchises. To me, there are only two film series where the sequel ends up being the best film in the series: Aliens will never be topped, but The Road Warrior is a close second. With Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga being the fifth film released in the series, I was curious to find out whether it would surpass the bar set by the second film or needs to be left for dead in the wasteland.
Co-written and directed by George Miller, this cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Alyla Browne, Tom Burke, Chris Hemsworth, Lachy Hulme, and John Howard. Taking place before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa (Taylor-Joy & Browne as her younger version) is kidnapped as a child by Dr. Dementus (Hemsworth), the leader of a renegade biker group. In the wasteland, there are three major civilizations: The Citadel (which has food and water), Bullet Land, and Gas Land, who exchange their products amongst each other. Dr, Dementus is able to take over Gas Land, and part of his new deal with The Citadel is to give Furiosa to its leader in Immortan Joe (Hulme). Furiosa starts to grow into an integral part of the team that transports their product to the other production centers under Praetorian Jack (Burke). As time passes, Dr. Dementus comes up with a plan to take over all three production facilities so he can rule all of the wasteland, and Furiosa looks to stand against him on multiple levels.
I am just going to say it: I LOVED THIS MOVIE! It’s roughly two and a half hours long and it really did fly by. Even knowing that going in, it really did move well without having any useless scenes that could have been edited out. Having Miller direct really works as a plus with his eye for detail made sure each plot point has an integral part that pays off in the end.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has that great Road Warrior feel with its great action and some of the best car action scenes since that second film in the series that put me right inside the vehicles during those awesome sequences. The cinematography really enhances the script, especially knowing that it was shot Australia, like the previous films, which kept me engaged.
For this type of film, the entire cast does very well with no performance I had any issues with. Taylor-Joy and Brown are spot-on as Furiosa, especially given that except for the very end of the film, she only has a few lines (and were short at that). Their performances really showed how the character becomes who she is in Mad Max: Fury Road. In all of the things I have seen Hemsworth in, this is the best performance of his career as a psychopathic leader in a world of anarchy. It may not be on the level of Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight or Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, but his Dr. Dementus reminds me of the greatness of those past performances.
Rarely do I ever do this, but I was able to screen this movie in a Dolby Cinema auditorium and paying for this type of upgrade is truly worth it. I now have a favorite film of the year so far, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is it, getting my very coveted “Bomb City Promise” that it will make my Top Ten of the year when it is all said and done alongside the very coveted full price in the theaters in a Dolby Cinema presentation.
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