Furiosa: A Deep Dive into the Warrior's Origin

Release Date：May/24/2024

Genre：Action/Adventure/Sci-fi

Director：George Miller

Cast：Anya Taylor-Joy、Chris Hemsworth、Tom Burke、Alyla Browne、George Shevtsov

Viola's Rating：8.4

It’s been nine years since the last time the 79-year-old Oscar-nominated Aussie director George Miller took Mad Max fans on a wild ride through his post-apocalyptic wasteland. His latest feature film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, hit U.S. theaters on May 24, 2024.

This time around, instead of diving deeper into the backstory of our old pal Max, this prequel shifts gears to tell the origin story of the badass renegade warrior Furiosa. Before she teams up with Mad Max, she has her own epic saga to unfold.

While Mad Max: Fury Road is a straight-up road movie packed with insane action and wild stunts, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga slows things down a bit to give us a deeper look at who Furiosa really is. In Fury Road, we see her dragging five women across a desolate desert, but we don’t get much more than that. This time, a lot of those questions get answered, and everything starts making sense.

What’s cool is that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga breaks down her journey into chapters, each highlighting different phases of her life and showing her transformation in a way that’s really easy to follow. By the time you finish watching, it’s crystal clear that her story arc is wrapped up nicely in Fury Road. We finally get why she’s leading those women through the desert and what’s up with her arm. 

Just like Fury Road, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga leans heavily into themes of feminism. It’s not just a film with a female lead; it also paints a rich tapestry of women’s experiences in this brutal, male-dominated world. From Furiosa’s childhood and an interesting interaction between two mothers to her interactions with Immortan Joe’s wives and her role as a daughter, independent woman, and potential lover, each aspect showcases the strength of women through Miller’s signature non-verbal storytelling.

Another big theme is the interplay of love and hatred. People often say that the opposite of love isn’t hatred because hatred actually springs from love. Without love, there’s no reason to hate. Throughout the flick, a lot of what Furiosa does might seem driven by hate, but it all circles back to love in the end. That’s the heart of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Although this prequel doesn’t pack as many booming, percussion-heavy scores as Mad Max: Fury Road, its costume design, hair and makeup, production design, visual effects, and editing are all top-notch. It might not surpass the original, but Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is definitely worth checking out, and it won’t let you down.

Picture Credit: IMDb