‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ further cements George Miller’s legacy as the greatest action director alive

Tell me a better, more consistent director over the past 49 years than Australia’s George Miller.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Miller has made 12 feature films and helmed the standout short in 1983’s “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” and he just keeps pumping out adrenaline-fueled, apocalyptic nightmares with no signs of slowing despite just turning 79.

His latest, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” is the fifth installment in his ‘Mad Max’ franchise that began in 1979. The world was a far different place back then, and the dystopian landscape he envisioned still felt more fantasy than reality.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
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Not so much anymore.

Coming nine years after his crowning epic “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Furiosa” is a different cinematic experience, despite all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from Miller, namely breakneck, extended set pieces, wildly inventive car chases and colorful supporting characters.

This is more a somber affair, shouldering the weight of our impending climate crisis while trying to find some small glimmer of hope that life will spring eternal, but no less thrilling overall.

Chris Hemsworth, nearly unrecognizable beneath facial prosthetics, steals every scene he’s in as the big bad Dementus. He’s equal parts Snidely Whiplash, Beetlejuice and Ming the Merciless. In short, his villain is everything that Jason Momoa was trying to create in “Fast X” but couldn’t, no matter how flamboyant he got.

Anya Taylor-Joy takes the lead role super seriously, and barely speaks throughout, continuing the tradition set forth by Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy. She’s less commanding than Charlize Theron but still effective.

If there’s a gripe to be made, it’s simply that “Furiosa” ends with less of a bang than expected. While that makes sense for a prequel, it still doesn’t mask the fact that you leave the theater wanting just a little more.

The good news?

If IMDb is to be believed, Miller is already in pre-production on “Mad Max: The Wasteland.”

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