‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Review: A Four-Star Masterpiece

Movie reviews

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” masterfully weaves breathtaking action sequences into a gripping origin story that both improves “Mad Max: Fury Road” on repeat viewings and stands on its own.

Near the end of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” the vain warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) challenges Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy): “The question is: do you have the courage to make this epic? »

The phrase feels like director and co-writer George Miller might have asked himself in the mirror, faced with the prospect of delivering a worthy prequel to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” one of best films of the 21st century and one of the best. of the greatest action films of all time.

To get the inevitable question out of the way, “Furiosa” is no better than “Fury Road.” But that’s an incredibly high bar to clear. However, “Furiosa” is the greatest prequel film ever made.

Telling the full story of Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron in “Fury Road”), Miller masterfully weaves the breathtaking action sequences he is known for into a compelling origin story that times improves “Fury Road” on repeated viewings and stands on its own. .

Unlike “Fury Road,” which rarely takes its foot off the gas, “Furiosa” is told at a much more deliberate pace, particularly in its first hour. The film begins in the idyllic “Many Mothers Green Place,” where Furiosa (Alyla Browne), a young elementary school girl, picks an apple from a lush green tree.

After being kidnapped by bandits, Furiosa’s mother (Charlee Fraser) makes a valiant but unsuccessful effort to save her daughter – all while keeping the Green Place hidden from those who would exploit it. The reason the oasis is kept secret is made clear with the introduction of Dementus, an incredibly self-centered leader whose appetite for conquest cannot be sated.

Addressing his legions of bike marauders with a deliberately exaggerated Australian accent, Hemsworth is hilarious but frightening. His grandiose speeches are reminiscent of those of The Humungus from Miller’s 1981 film “Mad Max: The Road Warrior.” With his judicious use of grievance politics to motivate his legions to “take back what’s ours,” Dementus also bears more than a passing resemblance to real-life politicians of a more recent generation.

As Dementus leads his troops across the desert (with a caged Furiosa in tow), he clashes with other despots, including “Fury Road” antagonist Immortan Joe. Shortly after, Furiosa moves from preadolescence to adulthood, finally giving Anya Taylor-Joy a chance to take on the lead role.

As soon as the “Queen’s Gambit” actress enters the fray, Miller puts her foot on the gas. The film’s biggest action scene, which reportedly required more than 200 stuntmen and 78 days of filming, is a masterpiece that rivals any War Rig chase scene from “Fury Road.” There’s a bit more CGI in this one than in its predecessor, but the technology is used cleverly – another tool in Miller’s arsenal.

Despite her late introduction and limited dialogue, Taylor-Joy is magnetic as Furiosa. Even when she hides from head to toe in an attempt to blend in with the hive of scum and villainy that surrounds her, she is inevitably spotted. Miller loves using bug-eyed reaction shots to punctuate hyper-violent moments in the “Mad Max” series; although he returns to it briefly in the film, Taylor-Joy’s extremely expressive eyes are a special effect in their own right.

Part of what made “Mad Max: Fury Road” successful was the way it built a fully formed world by showing it instead of telling it. Every grotesque peasant, every deluded War Boy and every jacked-up monster truck, taken together, formed a Hieronymous Bosch painting set in a post-apocalyptic Australia.

“Furiosa” also resists the urge to overexplain. But since it tells a much deeper and broader story, there is naturally more to say. In just over two hours, Miller effectively tells the story of a woman who is torn from her mother, goes through hell, and emerges intact, albeit with a chip the size of a War Rig on the shoulder.

Rewatching “Fury Road” the day after “Furiosa,” the scene in which Charlize Theron’s Furiosa collapses to the ground and screams to the sky had so much more weight now that we saw exactly how she got to that point. Improving on one of the best films of the last decade would be reason enough to see “Furiosa.” But even on its own, the film is a masterpiece from one of the greatest living authors.

Rating: **** (out of 4)

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” hits theaters on May 24.