Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga manages to not be one of those mistaken decisions to continue a cinematic franchise further than necessary even though it is a fifth film in a series. George Miller directs this film as he has all of the previous ones. He has co-written this script with Nico Lathouris. This film is a prequel to the famous Mad Max series of films that had previously starred Mel Gibson. Tom Hardy took on the role in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. In that film, Charlize Theron portrayed Furiosa, a girl who was once abducted from an idyllic home in the midst of a dystopic wasteland following a nuclear catastrophe.

This latest film takes the audience back to Furiosa’s early years and then up to the point where she is encountered by Mad Max and audiences in the last installment. Anya Taylor-Joy has taken over the role and is joined by Chris Hemsworth, who plays the main antagonist known as Dr. Dementus. Other members of the grimy cast include Tom Burke, Lachy Hulme, Angus Sampson, and Nathan Jones.

Furiosa is abducted by a group of marauders who answer to a warlord named Dr. Dementus. Her mother, who made a valiant and bloody attempt to rescue her, is murdered leaving Furiosa in captivity for several years. She is able to make her escape sometime after being bargained off to another warlord known as Immortan Joe. She has grown to a very dangerous and cunning woman who wants to return to her home known as the Green Place. Furiosa has some unfinished business with Dementus. There will be a lot of wrecked vehicles and gruesome deaths before that business is concluded.

First of all, the stunt work is truly first rate. Movie goers are not used to seeing Hemsworth in a villainous role; however, he really delivers an impressive performance here. Taylor-Joy does pretty well here, but I sometimes felt that the make-up crew really had a hard time making her look as grimy as the others. She just does not look hardened enough even after she matures throughout the movie for me to buy into some of the fight scenes. Taylor-Joy is a pretty good actress, and she by no means sinks the ship here, but I am not sure she really was the best option for this particular role. The overall world created and realized by Miller does help considerably in not making that casting decision too much of a distraction. Taylor-Joy is of course a beautiful actress, but there is something a little more distinctive about her looks that sets her apart from many of her colleagues. I have seen enough of her in other films to acknowledge that she is talented and interesting enough to hold my attention. Her casting for this role is a bit of a head scratcher for me, but it’s not a major irritation.

The film does sometimes feel a little too long, but some of that was due to not being all that clear as to the timeline. I had some trouble keeping up with the passage of time in the story. It was a little jarring when Furiosa revealed the amount of time that had passed toward the end of the film, but I will not give too much away there.

As mentioned before, Hemsworth really went for the jugular with his part. Dementus more than lives up to his moniker, but there were interesting moments of something resembling humanity as some of his history is exposed.

George Miller has created a crazy cinematic world and manages to still write a pretty compelling script. I think his exploration of the collapse of society and just utter moral decay is pretty fascinating. The cinematography was great as well. The characters were weird and far-fetched, but they could be rather chilling as well.

The film does have a few questionable elements, but most of it still works. I think most real fans of George Miller and this particular franchise are going to have some legitimate reasons to enjoy it.