‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ review: A brutal, exhilarating quest for revenge

movie review

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA

Runtime: 148 minutes. Rated R (sequences of strong violence and grisly images). In theaters May 24.

Nearly a decade has passed since Australian director George Miller last showed starved viewers just how artful and cinematic action films still can be with his stunning “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

How easy it is to forget. Repetitive, badly written, fake-looking superhero fare has gobbled up the market since, and escapist thrills have so often become synonymous with idiots in spandex.

Not so in the beautiful and brutal “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”

Miller’s latest Road Warrior adventure, a thunderous prequel to “Fury Road” sans Max that explains the origins of Charlize Theron’s badass Imperator, provides the same slap-in-the-face wake-up call as its predecessor.

The explosive chase sequences, hurdling through the sandy Wasteland, are as fueled as much by boundless creativity as gasoline. The constant breathtaking images? Hang ’em at the Louvre. The acting, with so little dialogue to lean on, is better than that of a lot of serious dramas.

But a big question looms: Is “Furiosa” as good as “Fury Road”?

Not quite, if only because when that seminal film hit theaters, it had been 30 years since 1985’s “Beyond Thunderdome,” and Miller’s modernized post-apocalyptic vision was a true shock to the system in 2015. “Fury Road” won six Oscars and was nominated for Best Picture and Director.

“Furiosa,” nonetheless, is an exhilarating and characteristically ambitious achievement that grandly and grittily follows in its forebears’ footsteps, or, rather, tire tracks. Summer blockbusters don’t get much better.

This time, Anya Taylor-Joy takes over for Theron in the title role, though we don’t meet the “Queen’s Gambit” star for more than an hour.

Furiosa is first introduced as a child (Alyla Browne, a fierce child of the corn), happily living in a lush “land of abundance” with her mother.

The good times don’t last. The little girl is kidnapped by thugs and given to Dr. Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — not to be confused with radio host Dr. Demento — the boisterous leader of the Biker Horde who cruelly separates her from her mom.

When Dementus and captured Furiosa arrive at the Citadel, the rocky fortress from “Fury Road” lorded over by long-haired, tooth-masked Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), her evolution into a fearsome rebel really begins.

Furiosa, bless her, is not a talker. Taylor-Joy estimates she only has some 30 lines in the entire script. Browne probably has even less. Their glares and growls speak louder than words, however, and Miller’s made a meaty movie despite its simple revenge plot.

Taylor-Joy is, as always, mesmerizing to watch. She’s the sort of person who could only be a Hollywood star. The actress, with eyes like oceans, isn’t cut out for retail. And she’s as fascinating during a deadly chase as she is playing chess.

‘Osa gets a desert’s droplet of romance in the form of Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), who joins her on fuel-finding journeys to Gastown and helps her hunt down her nemesis, Dementus. Burke and Taylor-Joy spark, certainly, but there is no male role quite as entrancing as Nicholas Hoult’s unhinged Nux from “Fury Road.”

Hemsworth, very enjoyably, plays Dementus as a dimwit — the sort of king who cowers behind braver men and then flees when there’s danger. That he also provides a bit of comic relief makes him a sharp contrast to spooky Joe.

As the credits roll on “Furiosa,” a screen supernova of energy, it comes as a shock to remember that the first “Max Max” hit theaters 45 years ago and Miller just turned 79.

The man’s almost 80, and he’s still driving doughnuts around younger filmmakers.