The fifth entry in the Mad Max franchise races into cinemas this week following the award-winning success of “Mad Max: Fury Road”.
This time around Writer/Director George Miller has opted for a Prequel story focusing on Furiosa who was played by Charlize Theron in the prior film.
This time around Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a younger version of Furiosa; and we track her story over various chapters of her life which are illustrated by time jumps.
From her capture from her ideal Oasis community and the death of her mother at the hands of the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), her journey is brought with danger and death.
Furiosa is a strong and silent type and when she is battered to Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), her long-game of revenge is put in motion.
It is revealed that Dementus and Immortan Joe are in an uneasy alliance with one controlling fuel production and the other having clean water and vegetables.
In the middle are various factions as well as Bullettown who provide munitions and having interdependent alliances ruled by unstable Warlords is not a recipe for peace.
It is against this backdrop of shifting alliances and action sequences that Furiosa plays out her plans in an ever-changing world.
While the film does drag at times between action sequences, the visuals of the land as well as the strong characters and performances keep your attention.
Hemsworth was great as Dementus as he took what could have been and over-the-top cartoon villain and gave him a surprising amount of humanity. While he does bad things; he justifies them as necessary for the betterment of society and even when his plans do not work out; his charisma keeps people under his rule.
His flights of violence are tempered with bouts of reason and care that make him a character that is more defined than usual for this type of film.
Taylor-Joy does a solid job as the strong and mostly silent Furiosa and deftly moves from intense driving and stunts, to combat and character building well.
Despite limited lines; her motivations and thought process is well-conveyed and makes for a compelling character.
While it is not to the level of Fury Road; it is an engaging and well-told story that should keep fans happy and delivers what they expect.
4 stars out of 5
