George Miller is nearly 80. Most people that age are gardening or yelling at the news, but Miller spent the last few years in the Australian Outback blowing up cars and pondering the nature of human cruelty. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga isn't just another sequel. Honestly, calling it a sequel is wrong anyway—it’s a prequel that covers fifteen years of a woman's life while Fury Road covered about three days.
The movie arrived in May 2024 with a ton of pressure. Fury Road is basically considered one of the greatest action films ever made, so the bar was sky-high. Some people were skeptical about Anya Taylor-Joy taking over for Charlize Theron. Others were worried about the heavy use of CGI in the trailers.
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But here’s the thing. This movie is a completely different beast. It’s dense. It’s operatic. It’s kind of a "history play" of the wasteland.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Timeline
If you try to make the Mad Max timeline make sense, you’ll end up with a headache. George Miller doesn't really care about "canon" in the way Marvel fans do. He views these movies as legends told by "History Men" around a campfire.
Still, for this specific movie, the timeline is actually pretty tight. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starts about 15 to 20 years before the events of Fury Road. We see Furiosa as a kid (played by Alyla Browne) in the Green Place of Many Mothers. She gets snatched by raiders working for a guy named Dementus.
By the time Anya Taylor-Joy takes over the role in the second half, she’s a hardened warrior hiding in plain sight at the Citadel. If you’re looking for Max Rockatansky, don’t hold your breath. He makes a "blink and you'll miss it" cameo standing next to his car on a cliff, but this is 100% Furiosa’s show.
Chris Hemsworth and the "Dementus" Factor
You've probably seen Chris Hemsworth as Thor, looking all shiny and heroic. Forget that. In this movie, he wears a prosthetic nose, carries a teddy bear on his chest, and rides a chariot pulled by three motorcycles.
He plays Dementus. He’s not just a villain; he’s a cult leader who is slowly losing his mind.
The dynamic between him and Furiosa is the heart of the film. He calls her his "daughter," which is twisted because he’s the one who killed her mother. Hemsworth plays him with this weird, desperate energy. He’s loud, he’s gross, and he’s remarkably human in his patheticness.
The Action: Is It Better Than Fury Road?
"Better" is a tricky word here. Fury Road was a non-stop chase. It was lean. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a saga. It’s broken into five chapters:
- The Pole of Inaccessibility
- Lessons from the Wasteland
- The Stowaway
- Homeward
- Beyond Vengeance
The standout sequence involves something called the "Cranky Black," a massive new War Rig. The ambush on this rig took 78 days to shoot and involved 200 stunt performers. It’s a 15-minute sequence of pure chaos that somehow stays easy to follow.
Critics did point out that the CGI feels different this time. While Fury Road felt very "practical" and dusty, Furiosa has a more painterly, almost surreal look. Some of the backgrounds look a bit "green-screeny," but Miller has argued this was an intentional choice to make the world feel more like a fable.
Why the Box Office Didn't Match the Hype
Let's talk numbers. The movie cost about $168 million to make. On its opening weekend, it only pulled in around $26 million in the US. That’s... not great.
Why did people stay home?
- Prequel Fatigue: Some audiences are tired of origin stories.
- No Mad Max: The title says "A Mad Max Saga," but the man himself isn't the lead.
- The R-Rating: It’s a brutal movie. There’s a scene involving a "human parachute" and some pretty grim torture that might have been too much for casual Friday night audiences.
Despite the "disappointing" box office, the critical reception was massive. It holds a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. People who love it really love it.
The Secret Philosophy of the Wasteland
Miller was an ER doctor before he was a director. He’s seen what happens to the human body in car accidents. That clinical, slightly detached view of violence is all over this movie.
There’s a deep focus on resources. We finally see "Gas Town" and "The Bullet Farm" in all their glory. These aren't just names anymore; they’re fully realized locations with their own politics. The movie explores how society builds itself back up after a collapse—and how it usually just builds another version of a nightmare.
Practical Steps for the Best Viewing Experience
If you haven't seen it yet, or you're planning a rewatch, keep these things in mind:
- Watch Fury Road First (Or After): The ending of Furiosa literally leads into the opening scenes of Fury Road. Watching them back-to-back makes the second film feel like a direct continuation of the first's emotional payoff.
- Listen to the Sound: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) returned for the score. It’s less "drum-heavy" than the first one and more atmospheric. If you have a good sound system, use it.
- Look for the Details: Every vehicle in the movie was built for real. Even the weird ones. The "History Man" characters have tattoos that are actually the history of the world written in text on their skin.
- Check the Bonus Features: If you get the 4K or Blu-ray, there’s a "Black and Chrome" version. Like Fury Road, this movie looks incredible in high-contrast black and white. It strips away the orange desert hues and makes the shapes of the cars pop.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga might not have conquered the box office, but it’s the kind of movie people will be analyzing ten years from now. It’s weird, it’s violent, and it’s a miracle that a major studio gave an 80-year-old visionary the money to make something this uncompromising.