One of the standouts finds Furiosa in, on, and under the first incarnation of the War Rig, Charlize Theron’s makeshift vehicle from Fury Road. Piloted by her mentor, the Max-like Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), the rig finds itself under siege by the type of wasteland warriors driving machines of mayhem that only George Miller can make consistently fresh. This time, the threats not only come from all sides, but from the air. The marauders fly through the skies, parasailing down like giant black birds of chaos propelled by huge fans. While using some unavoidable CGI, the scene (and every action sequence in the film) is a fearlessly crafted orgy of roaring engines, bloody violence, and insane stunt work where cars and bodies are smashed into oblivion. While the assistance of computer generated effects makes one miss the director’s use of the practical in the first three Max pictures, Miller uses the technique properly. He colors his backgrounds while taking advantage of the CGI tools in some scenes that would have killed even the most seasoned stunt person.

With the Mad Max pictures, spectacle is the name of the game, but never at the expense of story. Each entry finds Miller a cinematic journeyman who strives to create action film art. This film proves he hasn’t lost that creative spark, as there is something poetic amongst the madness. As was Max before her, Furiosa is an innocent thrust into a world that has lost its soul. Bearing witness to her mother’s murder (by Dementus), Furiosa’s path is set as childhood gives way to vengeance and rage. Miller masterfully finds the emotional resonance in her story.

As tanker trucks, motorcycles, souped-up cars, and parasails color the desolate highways fighting battles of bullets and fire, Simon Duggan’s cinematography captures everything with a glorious berserker beauty. Tom Holkenborg’s pounding score retools some of his compositions from Fury Road while expanding the soundscape to even stronger epic levels. Both men (and the phenomenal work of editors Margaret Sixel and Elliot Knapman) deserve recognition come Oscar time.

George Miller has a distinctive visual language that has rightfully kept him as one of our most inventive filmmakers. Be it action, drama, horror, comedy, or animation, the director always swings for the fences and assures every picture he helms is a rewardingly unique experience.

With Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller wants to dazzle the audience with action scenes that will blow you away while presenting an involving dramatic tale peppered with pointed observations about our world. The director, his crew and cast, and especially his world-class stunt teams succeed on every single level. This is a propulsive and muscular action epic for the ages and a striking work of action film art.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Written by Nick Lathouris & George Miller

Directed by George Miller

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, Lachy Hulme, George Shevtsov, Natahn Jones, Angus Simpson

PG-13, 148 Minutes, Warner Brothers, Kennedy-Miller-Mitchell