Looks like George Miller really took all the “the plot is kind of thin” talk about “Mad Max: Fury Road” to heart and decided to triple down.

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is the prequel to “Fury Road” and follows the origins of Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), who is kidnapped from her homeland by a warlord (Chris Hemsworth) and sets out on a quest for revenge. Tom Burke and Alyla Browne also star while George Miller returns to direct.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Fury Road” when I saw it back in 2015, but did like it more when I rewatched it a few weeks ago in preparation for “Furiosa” (I still think we need to calm down with the “one of the best films of the 2010s” talk, but if you watch it simply as a summer blockbuster it’s a good time). I was interested in “Furiosa” because I am a fan of Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth, and both turn in effective (if not totally polar) performances in a film that is a tad overstuffed but still a fun time.

Much like the first film, the stunt work here is very commendable. From motorcycles doing flips to men getting crushed under 18-wheelers, there are plenty of things that made my lizard brain smile. It isn’t quite “John Wick” level of dedication, but Miller and his team deserve props for having things look as practical as they do (especially compared to many other modern blockbusters). That being said, some of the green screen here is pretty rough, sometimes behind the aforementioned fun stunts. Characters aren’t lit properly or have that thin outline that shooting on non-location causes, and while it isn’t as ugly as the likes of “Ant-Man: Quantumania” or bad enough to take you out of the film, it is often-enough to be worth mentioning.

Taking over the reigns of the titular heroine from Charlize Theron, Anya Taylor-Joy does a solid job. She doesn’t have much emoting to do (or even show up until an hour into the film), but does have a good screen presence and holds her own in the action scenes. Chris Hemsworth, on the other hand, is starring in an entirely different movie than everyone else, both to its benefit and detriment. Hemsworth, sporting a fake “Maestro” nose and goofy accent, is having the time of his life chewing scenery as the bad guy, and it is a welcome change of pace from his normal dumb Thor or attempts at heavier material like “Spiderhead” (not to knock his efforts, because I do think Hemsworth has talent, but he and his agent are bad at choosing vehicles for him).

One of the biggest (and for some, only) complaints about “Fury Road” is the plot is pretty thin and the characters are fairly one-dimensional, and George Miller seems to have taken that personally and done a total 180. Going from essentially a 120-minute chase scene to a 150-minute odyssey set over the course of 15 years, “Furiosa” is certainly a bit repetitive and over-stuffed. Broken up into chapters (with title cards and everything), the first hour of the film feels like a prologue or cold open, which will be seen as a plus for some and flaw for others. We get a few chases and gunfights that cover the same bases several times over, and it is easy to see where Miller could have trimmed this down to 125 minutes like its predecessor and given us the extended lore he was clearly itching to add while not getting things bogged down.

Also, and this could very well just be a me thing, but I’ve never liked the grosteque, heavy metal designs of this (or similarly-themed) worlds. We are supposedly only one generation removed from the fall of modern society, yet characters have boils and deformities, and strange ticks and costume designs (one returning character, also off-putting in “Fury Road,” wears a suit with holes cut for his nipples). It just comes off silly and not in the way I assume Miller intended, but again, it could just be personal preference (this is my review, after all).

I enjoyed “Furiosa” more on my first watch than I did “Fury Road,” though I do think the latter is the better film, if for no other reason than its brisk pace. Fans of the franchise will almost certainly love this, and people just itching for a well-made blockbuster and not the AI-scripted, cheap-looking stuff off the Disney or Netflix conveyer belt should get their fix, too. It may not be a mad ride to Valhalla, but it’s an effective trip nevertheless.

Critics Rating: 7/10