‘Furiosa’ First Reactions: Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth Are ‘Fantastic’ in ‘Powerhouse’ ‘Fury Road’ Prequel

Samantha Bergeson
·4 min read
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George Miller’s “Furiosa” is already riding high with first reactions.

The prequel to 2015 film “Mad Max: Fury Road” stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character warrior in an epic saga that spans 15 years for her origin story. Per the official synopsis, a young Furiosa is kidnapped from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth. As they trek across the Wasteland, the gang come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war over dominance, Furiosa faces many trials to find her way home.

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While “Furiosa” is set to premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival May 15, early screening first reactions have already gone viral. Both Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth’s respective performances are especially highlighted by critics.

IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote, “[It] brings me great joy to report that ‘Furiosa’ is really, *really* fucking good. Operates in an extremely different gear than ‘Fury Road’ (in ways that I suspect will frustrate some people), but also manages to make that movie even richer while carving its own legend in the wasteland.”

And more echo that “Furiosa” is starkly different from “Fury Road.”

Josh Horowitz tweeted, “‘FURIOSA’ is not ‘FURY ROAD’ and that’s ok. It’s not trying to be. What it is is something uniquely gnarly and yes, epic. I can’t wait to see it again and again and really dig in. All hail George Miller. As for performances, Anya and Hemsworth are fantastic. Tom Burke impresses.”

“Furiosa” was hailed as a “powerhouse” feature by Fandango’s Erik Davis, who also added, “George Miller’s #Furiosa is powerhouse action filmmaking at its absolute best! A ferocious & relentlessly paced epic that expands the story of Furiosa and the Wasteland while delivering the craziest chases, the most bombastic characters & just plain stunning cinematography. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth equally dive all the way into the Wasteland, and both deliver some incredible stuff. There’s one War Rig sequence that blew my mind – an instant classic. I love the #MadMax movies and I loved this film. Start your engines!”

Writer/director Miller recently teased that he has written another “Mad Max” prequel film set one year before the events of “Fury Road.” While another “Mad Max” installment may be in the works, check out more “Furiosa” reactions below.

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