The saga of Mad Max.

It’s shockingly been nine years since Mad Max: Fury Road released and introduced us to the character of Furiosa. But eager movie-goers were wondering, what’s the deal with that chick? Why does she have a prosthetic arm? Can she see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch? She can, it’s the cinnamon sugar swirls on every bite.

Furiosa was directed by George Miller who has been directing Mad Max movies since the very beginning, starting in 1979 with Mad Max and continuing all the way down the line, even directing, writing, and producing two of its more light-hearted spinoff movies; Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City. Yes, those movies are canonically in the Mad Max universe and no I have no plans to expand on that bit of knowledge.

The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa with Alyla Browne playing a young version of the same character. We see Furiosa’s coming of age tale as she is plucked from the relative safety of her home and grows up under the terrible care of Dementus played by Christ Hemsworth. Dementus is exactly what you’d expect out of a Mad Max villain, in that he is absolutely insane, sadistic, and egotistical. You kinda have to be to have any sort of prominence in this world.

But Dementus is very different as a character than, say, Immortan Joe. They want virtually the same things. Power, control over resources, women, but they are very different people. Immortan Joe is back in this film, but this time he’s played by Lachy Hulme as Hugh Keays-Byrne sadly passed away in 2020. Lachy Hulme also portrays Rizzdale Pell, which is just confusing.

There’s a few familiar faces here and it threw me through a bit of a loop. Josh Helman played Slit in Fury Road, and is back here but playing a completely different character. John Howard is back as The People Eater, and is fantastic. Angus Sampson once again portrays The Organic Mechanic, with Nathan Jones back as Rictus Erectus, and if you’re wondering the answer is no; Scrotus did not have an appearance in Fury Road. Hmm..Scrotus, Smeg, Toe Jam, this post-apocalyptic future sure is stupid.

I loved Fury Road and Furiosa is just as fantastic. There’s no big revelations since the story plays out pretty much like you would assume it would. Picture in your head the origin story of a young girl in the post-apocalypse where Australia is ruled by dudes in BDSM gear and you’re probably not far off the mark on the actual story. But it is good to see some of the old characters again, it’s an engaging tale in what is effectively a line of tales. Tales from the apocalypse. Strong characters, great actors, and a legacy that Mel Gibson would be proud of.

Actually I wonder how Mel Gibson feels about the Mad Max movies. He probably doesn’t care, given that whole saga was from before most of us including myself were even alive (1985 by the way). My only qualm with Furiosa is that the movie is a full meal and a half. I’m fine with a two and a half hour movie, but Furiosa feels like a two and a half hour movie. It’s a good thing I have my energy drink with me because I might have fallen asleep during the quieter moments, not that that’s an indictment on the movie.

I actually enjoy Furiosa more than Fury Road.

Rating: A-