The first three films in George Miller\u2019s Mad Max <\/em>series in the \u201870s and \u201880s provide a bit of backstory for Tom Hardy\u2019s Max, but Fury Road<\/em>\u2019s other \u2014 and far more interesting \u2014 hero, Furiosa (Charlize Theron) was an opaque mystery. The single biographical detail we knew was that she had been taken from the Green Place and longed to return. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga<\/em> serves as a prequel to show how Furiosa changes from the little girl in a land of abundance to a one-armed, grease-smeared warrior desperate to claw her way out of hell \u2014 and has to do so without ruining the mystique that made Furiosa an almost mythological figure from just a single appearance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of that near-legendary status is due to Fury Road<\/em> itself, a towering achievement in action cinema that ranks among this century\u2019s greatest of any genre. However, a lot was due to Theron\u2019s performance as the laconic badass. For Furiosa<\/em>, Miller casts Anya Taylor-Joy, who is already a real star but isn\u2019t known for the physicality that Theron brought to the part. In a movie filled with absolutely wild shit, Taylor-Joy\u2019s presence as Furiosa is perhaps the most implausible element. Yet the actress playing Furiosa doesn\u2019t detract from how spectacular Furiosa<\/em> is overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furiosa<\/em> begins with the character as a child, played by Alyla Browne. After a motorcycle-riding grunt kidnaps her from an idyllic pocket of this nightmare, she is presented to the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), who claims her as his daughter. She eventually ends up in the clutches of The Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), as the two men struggle for power in a broken world with this young girl who they see only as a pawn. As Furiosa grows up, she only wants to find her way home to her people, and she\u2019ll do anything to get there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Taylor-Joy is ferocious enough in Furiosa\u2019s quest, but the one significant improvement over Fury Road<\/em> might be the addition of Hemsworth as the villain. His Dementus is astonishingly funny and weird and terrifying, an excellent foil to both Furiosa and The Immortan Joe. Whether starring in drama (Rush<\/em>) or comedy (Thor: Ragnarok<\/em> and the 2016 Ghostbusters<\/em>), Hemsworth is a far better actor than he\u2019s often given credit for. Some people likely underestimate him due to his good looks and hulking physique, the former of which he tries to cover up here with a thick beard and prosthetic nose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are mutated monster trucks and massive motorcycles, and it is just glorious in every bit of its excess. Miller and action designer Guy Norris know how to make a relentless, innovative action sequence, never content to repeat even their own work from Fury Road<\/em> or any other action movie. I was rapt for all of its 148 minutes. Its length and chapter divisions with titles like \u201cLessons from the Wasteland\u201d give Furiosa<\/em> an epic, operatic feel, as does the score from Tom Holkenborg, which is bombastic in the best of ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet Furiosa<\/em> isn\u2019t a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. In its opening moments, a voice asks, \u201cAs the world falls around us, how must we brave its cruelties?\u201d It explores how humanity \u2014 both as a species and as a part of some individuals \u2014 survives amidst all this savagery. It isn\u2019t only Furiosa\u2019s courage and badassery that impresses us; it\u2019s the connection she forges with those she encounters in this awful world that does not reward any softness. Her ability to care isn\u2019t a vulnerability; it\u2019s the source of her strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Furiosa<\/em>: A Mad Max Saga <\/em>cannot quite fill the massive boots of its predecessor Fury Road<\/em>, it comes admirably close, a feat for following one of the best films of the last few decades. This is a truly special franchise that refuses the pull of inertia to simply serve up a blockbuster that doesn\u2019t challenge the audience. Instead, we\u2019re given something truly original that even five films in feels like nothing we\u2019ve ever seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is in theaters this weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/furiosa2-1024x683.jpg\")
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Furiosa<\/em> is a lot of things (it is also just a lot<\/em>), but it\u2019s never subtle. Furiosa\u2019s clan is the Vulvalini, and The Immortan Joe\u2019s sons are named Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones) and \u2014 god help me \u2014 Scrotus (Josh Helman). (Side note: it is worth staying through the credits, not for the goofy, second-long post-credits scene, but to see all of the bonkers character names, which are more entertaining on their own than many entire movies.) Jenny Beavan\u2019s costumes and Colin Gibson\u2019s production designs create a cobbled-together world, where salvaged parts are the only way to make something whole. The legendary War Rig is assembled from a variety of sources, and the fashion is ancient Rome meets leather bar meets steampunk chic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nA-<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n