HOLLYWOOD—“Mad Max: Fury Road” that is a classic, perhaps one of the best action-flicks I have seen in the past decade and I mean that religiously. I remember the first time I saw that movie on the big screen I was giddy as a cinema buff. What George Miller did was simply iconic, mesmerizing and a spectacle to be relived over and over again. I was disappointed he didn’t win that Best Director Oscar because in my opinion he totally earned it, but you can’t win all the time.

One of the iconic characters in that flick was Furiosa played brilliantly by Charlize Theron. Well kids you now have a prequel giving you a slice of Furiosa’s life before that 2015 outing, and it’s called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” First off, perfect casting in choosing Anya Taylor-Joy to portray the Young Furiosa before she reaches adulthood in that 2015 movie. Not only does Anya look the part she instills this wit, fierceness and intensity to a character that is quite quiet for a vast majority of the movie, but when she roars, damn can she roar.

Chris Hemsworth is notable as one of two villains in this prequel, portraying Dementus, a bike warrior who has a gang of thugs who will do his bidding without asking any questions. My annoyance with Dementus is he’s such an out there character at times he annoyed me. I do purposely think George Miller wrote the character to be that way and if you’ve seen any previous “Mad Max” flicks you understand the characters are not just outlandish, they’re nuts. Hemsworth truly leans into the part.

However, the villain that I thoroughly enjoyed was Immortan Joe (Lacyh Hulme), who is menacing with just that mask alone. He doesn’t have to say much or do much, but when he issues or makes a threat, you best believe people are worried as to what will happen next and I love that in a villain. We get slices of his origin to rule and I was intrigued to learn that Dementus and Immortan Joe were both vying to be the tier Gods in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone is vying for resources and those who have the most are in danger from those who have little to nothing.

The movie opens with the audience meeting a young Furiosa picking fruit, but unaware that members of the Bikers Worde are a short distance away ready to threaten her life and those closest to her. They capture Furiosa, but her mother chases them back to their town and rescues her daughter, but not before sacrificing herself in the process. Furiosa soon finds herself in the clutches of Dementus who takes her on as his adopted daughter.

The film has a strong message about loss and how people ‘adopt’ others to fill that void that they endured in life, but that ‘adoption’ tends to come with consequences, as Furiosa soon learns after a trade gone wrong with Immortan Joe. Many might not understand George Miller’s technique with the camera, but it is pure genius. It is frenetic, but the frenetic chaos works for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” just as it did for “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

The audience is introduced into a world where there is not much of anything left and all are trying to survive against surmountable odds. Not just a lack of resources, but others looking to enslave them or to take advantage of them. Miller finds a way to immerse the audience into the movie nearly immediately which is a difficult feat for many filmmakers to do. Within the first 2-3 minutes the movie had me hooked and maintained my focus the entire two hours and nearly 30 minutes.

The cinematography of a dystopian Australia, just a pure beauty; pristine landscapes with colors so vibrant they pierce through the eyes. You are invited to this crazy world and I loved every moment of it. The action-sequences are some of the best I’ve seen in 2024 to this point and the special effects, left my tongue wagging and wanting so much more. If you were wondering how Furiosa lost her arm, you’ll find out here and it’s a gruesome tale to say the least. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is how you do a big budget action-flick, giving the audience everything it wants and so much more, including character development, an exciting narrative and a fun result.