Eight years. It’s been eight awful years since George Miller last took us to the wasteland to ride the Fury Road. In that time, the world has collapsed in ways that bring us closer to the apocalyptic future depicted in the director’s masterpiece, Mad Max: Fury Road. That film has only grown in esteem since its release, winning six Oscars and giving action movies a new baseline of quality. Why this very website calls it “the movie of the 2010s.” Finally, now that Miller’s finished his 3,000 Years Of Longing, it’s time to fill the War Rig with guzzolene because the trailer for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is here.
Never mind the clunky, franchise-ready subtitle that doesn’t make much sense. (“A Mad Max Saga? How many Mad Max Sagas are there?”) This trailer has the goods: Bright, oversaturated color, over-cranked camera speeds that give the picture that manic Australian flavor, hallucinatory effects that pop off the screen, and, of course, a little taste of whatever incredibly dangerous car stunts Miller has cooked up for this go-round. This is all in service of a prequel to Fury Road, focusing on Furiosa. Slipping into the robot arm once controlled by Charlize Theron, Anya Taylor-Joy takes the wheel with an unrecognizable Chris Hemsworth riding shotgun.
Here’s the synopsis for the movie:
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.
Okay, let’s slow down and see what we have here. The amount of hype around this little action movie about car crashes in Australia is ballooning as we type. It’s just that, in case anyone forgot, Furiosa is the prequel to one of, if not the best action films of the 21st century. However, this will be the first Mad Max film without Mad Max in it. Is there a Mad Max without him? Does Furiosa have it in her to make it epic?
We’ll find out on May 24 when the film opens. Witness her!