a Mad Max saga” is so successful, it’s also thanks to Chris Hemsworth

CINEMA – He has a cape, long hair, and yet has absolutely nothing to do with Thor, the hero he plays in the Marvel franchise. Chris Hemsworth plays Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. George Miller’s post-apocalyptic film is released in theaters this Wednesday, May 22. It was previewed at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this Wednesday, May 15. We loved everything about this film, and especially the villain character played by the Australian actor.

The other villain, Immortan Jo (Lachy Hulme), is frightening, almost chilling, and economical with his words. Anya Taylor Joy is also almost silent in the film, only uttering around twenty lines. This is far from being the case for Chris Hemsworth. George Miller gave him a role as a frankly talkative antagonist, and it’s tasty. Dementus is verbose, not hesitating to grab his microphone at all costs to try to galvanize or calm the crowds. He spares no one – and especially not his adversaries – a proverb, a piece of advice, a last-minute joke.

And then Dementus is also a surprisingly endearing villain, often bordering on ridiculousness and madness. A teddy bear securely chained around his chest or waist, he travels the desert behind the wheel of an antique chariot pulled by three motorcycles, his cape flowing behind him.

Chris Hemsworth shows with this role that he is much more than the god of thunder (in the Avengers), or the mercenary Tyler Rake (on Netflix, in 2020). Perhaps all it took was a prosthetic nose and the fabulous sets imagined by George Miller to let him prove it to us.

Furiosa, a story of revenge

Nine years after Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller plunges spectators back into post-apocalyptic metallic chaos. This time, the director looks at Furiosa, the Praetorian warrior who we discovered in the guise of Charlize Theron in 2015. Furiosa: a Mad Max saga is a film “origin story” which tells exactly where the warrior with the shaved head comes from. We therefore discover that before arriving at the Citadel managed by Immortan Jo and his sons, Furiosa went through hell.

She was kidnapped by Dementus, leader of a gang of cannibal raiders, who killed her mother in front of her eyes. The latter takes a liking to the little girl whom he wishes to model in his image. Then, he offers it to Immortan Jo in exchange for gasoline and cans of water. Furiosa grows up in the Citadel, and manages to rise to the coveted rank of Praetorian thanks to the support of Pretorian Jack. But without ever forgetting the one who took everything from him.

And when the opportunity for revenge presents itself, she seizes it. Unlike the previous films in the Australian director’s saga, this opus is not only centered on escape and survival, it is also a “coming of age movie” of revenge, and it is far from uninteresting.

Finally, Mad Max means chases of fabulous vehicles bristling with deadly weapons, wild explosions, sandstorms and bloodshed. 45 years after the first part with Mel Gibson, it’s still just as enjoyable. The only downside is this Furiosa: a Mad Max saga, despite everything, is sorely lacking in electric guitar riffs. But we quibble.

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