The Big Picture
-
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
is a highly-anticipated prequel that dives into the backstory of the iconic character Furiosa. - The film follows Furiosa through her young adulthood, showcasing her journey to becoming the leader viewers saw in
Mad Max: Fury Road
. - Early reactions praise George Miller’s action filmmaking and stunning cinematography, while also noting that the film struggles with pacing issues.
Only one month remains until audiences get to return to the post-apocalyptic world of George Miller and the engine of anticipation is revving loudly. Easily one of 2024’s most-anticipated films, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the long-awaited prequel to Miller’s legendary Mad Max: Fury Road that expands on the backstory of Imperator Furiosa before becoming the war captain of the ruthless Immortan Joe. With fan-favorite Anya Taylor-Joy taking on the mantle of the title character from Charlize Theron, excitement has been building ever since the main cast was officially announced in 2020. Now, the first reactions are rolling out and critics have much to say about where Miller takes the franchise after years of waiting for another installment.
Furiosapicks up 15 years before Fury Road and tracks Furiosa through her young adulthood 45 years after the collapse, showing how she became the leader and skilled survivalist viewers see in the 2015 film. Whisked away from her home in the Green Place of Many Mothers, she finds herself in the middle of a war between Dementus, the tyrannical leader of the great Biker Horde whom she’s taken by, and the Immortan Joe, head of the Citadel. As we learned last December at CCXP, Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth, is heavily explored as well, depicting him as the man who took everything from her and a “product of the Wasteland” who fully embraces the immoral kill-or-be-killed mentality of the world. Through her myriad of challenges, all Furiosa wants is to find the means to return home and get her long-awaited revenge on Dementus.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Mad Max film without some killer action sequences, several of which have been showcased in the trailer. One moment that has been building intrigue of late is a massive 15-minute action scene that Miller says took 78 days to film and over 200 stunt performers per day to translate to the big screen. It’s meant to bake storytelling and character-building into the action itself, Taylor-Joy said, showing how the writer-director has thought long and hard through every last detail in hopes of creating something worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Fury Road.
What Is Everyone Saying About ‘Furiosa’?
Beyond the duo of Taylor-Joy, Furiosaalso featuresTom Burke, Alyla Browne, Charlee Fraser, Quaden Bayles, and John Howard, with Lachy Hulme taking on the role of Immortan Joe, while Nathan Jones and Angus Sampson reprise their roles as Rictus Erectus and the Organic Mechanic. There are many reasons to be excited about where the Mad Max franchise is heading with the prequel, but what did early viewers think about Miller’s latest tour through the wasteland?
Collider’s own Therese Lacson had high praise for star Anya Taylor Joy but noted that the film struggled with inconsistent pacing.
Fandango’s Erik Davis praised Miller’s “powerhouse action filmmaking” and the prequel’s “stunning cinematography.” Meanwhile, David Ehrlich noted that the film manages to make Fury Road “even richer.” Other critics say this is Miller at his best and laud the film’s epic worldbuilding and expansion of the universe’s lore.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and teamup with Mad Max.
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
- Director
- George Miller
