Terrifically fun fifth entry in the Max Max Film Franchise! I've been obsessed with this film series since I was a kid, first watching a TV-edited version of THE ROAD WARRIOR that I'd recorded on a VHS tape and watched over and over. The franchise took a huge leap into the 21st century with MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, featuring stunts that rivaled the earlier films and a ferocity of unrelenting action not seen in any prior Mad Max film. FURY ROAD was probably the best action film of the past 20 years. Charlize Theron stole that movie out from under Tom Hardy's Mad Max, so it's not surprising that the follow-up film would be a prequel telling her character's backstory. Anya Taylor-Joy is every bit as good as Theron, taking over the part of Furiosa and telling her life story leading up to the events of FURY ROAD, starting with Furiosa as a young girl kidnapped from her people and sold into slavery. It's almost an hour into FURIOSA before we see Taylor-Joy as the grown-up Furiosa, working for Immortan Joe, protecting shipments of goods between the rival wasteland factions. Taylor-Joy makes quite an entrance with the standout action setpiece of the film, with an utterly jaw-dropping road battle that demands to be seen in the theater and on the big screen. But as great as Taylor-Joy is as Furiosa, it's Chris Hemsworth as rival wasteland tribal leader Dementus, who has his eyes set on taking over all the wasteland factions, that steals the movie. Hemsworth always seemed rather bland of an actor to me. He was fine as Thor or in the Extraction films, but he really gets to chew the scenery in a way in FURIOSA I have not seen before, and made me want to see him take on more interesting parts in the future. Still, as much as I liked this film, THE ROAD WARRIOR is still my favorite of the franchise. Sure, the stunts and production design in THE ROAD WARRIOR aren't as wild, but I love the grungy grindhouse-style violence that THUNDERDOME, FURY ROAD, and FURIOSA lacked. There was a level of ugliness and savagery to THE ROAD WARRIOR that none of the subsequent films ever had. The lack of polish in that film is what made it all the more frightening. Still, FURIOSA is a knockout of an action film and probably has more heart than any of the other Mad Max films, which is what sets it apart in the franchise. Probably not for all tastes, but if you're a fan of FURY ROAD or any of the other Mad Max films, this one is a must-see!
