FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA

Anya Taylor-Joy stars as young Furiosa, a character made famously brilliant back in 2015 by Charlize Theron. Suffice to say, she had some mighty big shoes to fill and does just that! Having been captured by the film's baddie Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) she then becomes the property of Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). We see the origins of this relationship and how she becomes the hard nose, badass rig driver for Immortan Joe when we are first introduced to her in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Anya and Chris both deliver remarkable and memorable performances. I've always been a fan of Anya's since first putting eyes on her work with THE WITCH and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching her grow as an actress over the years. This film only adds to her already accomplished resume which is saying something as again, she has to take over for an icon in Theron and handled it beautifully. Props to her for being able to continue the awesome work this character so rightly deserves. However, for my money, Chris' performance steals the show. Going against the grain and playing the villain, Chris is given more freedom (as any typecast actor who historically plays the hero and then turns to the other side) and his enjoyment easily comes across to the audience. He's having a great time with the role and we're having a great time watching him do his thing. I've heard fans complain about the length and pacing of the film and while some parts do slowdown and there can be an extended period between actions sequences, I didn't feel the film dragged or was overly long surprisingly. A couple of demerits to hand out go to Lachy for him stepping in to the shoes of the amazing Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe. He certainly looks the part and while through no fault of his own, I prefer the spine chilling voice of Joe from Hugh's mouth rather than Lachy's. In addition, the action scenes are not quite up to par as they were in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, which again, that film set the bar so high, it's difficult to repeat that without feeling repetitive. I'll surely be along for the ride if they decide to finally make that sequel to MAD MAX in the future. 7.5/10