by G.E. Uke, Reporter
When I first went out to watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga….I was a bit confused. Mad Max was a great movie, but it was called “Mad Max”. Sure, other characters in the movie were important, but they were side characters. The idea that one of them would get a two-and-a-half-hour movie dedicated entirely to her origin story seemed like a stretch. Especially when it’s a prequel to Mad Max. But um….wow.
As the title suggests, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the origin story of Immortan Joe’s chief war rig driver. Her childhood is a brutal one, filled with misfortune and abuse. Over the course of the movie, we get to see the events that molded her into the character Charlize Theron portrays in the first movie. And you feel bad for this kid. Like, really bad. The hardest part of watching Furiosa is that she begins life as a sweet, well-dressed, well-fed girl. Hardship and cruelty are constant in this movie, and they will make you wince.
Furiosa is one of those movies that developed multiple actors’ careers by breaking them out of typecast roles. For Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit), her role as Adolescent Furiosa offered the chance to be an action star and a badass. Chris Hemsworth’s (Thor) role as the warlord Dementus allowed him to be an awesome villain, as he wore a fake nose and played an unapologetic madman broken by loss. For Tom Burke (True Things), his role as Praetorian Jack gave him a chance to be a quiet tough guy with more humanity than anyone else in the movie. Young Furiosa is played by Alyla Browne, and she does a great “terrified and emotionally traumatized little girl” act. So great that I hope she didn’t get mental scars from the content she was helping to create, but she was in Children of the Corn so that ship may have already sailed. Finally, there’s Charlee Fraser, an Australian model who plays Furiosa’s mother, Mary Jo Bassa. She doesn’t get much screen time, but her Rambo-Mom rampage is nothing short of amazing. These five actors deserve the greatest honorable mention; they all did a fantastic job.
Sadly for Mad Max, it turns out this movie is better than its predecessor in every imaginable way. The quality is so great that it has supplanted the IP, so it is no longer the Mad Max universe. It is now the Furiosa universe. The movie was that good. The acting is better, the plot is more robust, it’s more emotional, the sets are cooler, and the stupendously long “high-speed junk car battles” are fantastic. Viewers beware: this movie honors the classic custom of making you like certain characters and then BRUTALLY KILLING THEM OFF for emotional gravitas. Frequently. Don’t get attached to anyone but Furiosa. You know she will survive. Everyone else is out of luck.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline is pleased to give Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – 4.5 stars for its superb acting and attention to detail. It brings the setting to life in ways previously never seen, laying the groundwork for future stories set in the same world.
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