In 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road was the talk of Cannes as attendees who got a chance to see the film's premiere could only rave about George Miller's return to the post-apocalyptic wasteland he introduced to the world in 1979. It appears Furiosa is driving on a similar road as audiences have come out of its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival raving about the Anya Taylor-Joy-led prequel.

The world premiere of Furiosa was the main event of Cannes on Wednesday as George Miller, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Chris Hemsworth, among others, were in attendance for the latest entry in the Mad Max universe. Any doubts about the film's quality were seemingly silenced when the credits rolled and the lights came back up in the theater as Furiosa was met with a seven to eight minute standing ovation from everyone in attendance.

On the heels of the ovation, first reactions began rolling out on social media that were equally as glowing for Furiosa.

Indiewire's David Ehrlich called the film “an absolute triumph” that also manages to enhance Fury Road.

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair was very complimentary of Hemsworth's performance as the crazed Dementus in his brief post.

The Playlist's Gregory Elwood had one of the more tame reactions, saying Furiosa was still “very good” but not “the cinematic achievement” on the level of Fury Road. He had high praise for the cast's performance, highlighting Anya Taylor-Joy and Tom Burke as two of the cast's standouts.

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Many of the other reactions echo these points as most praised Furiosa's variety of crazy car stunts and the cast's performances, with Taylor-Joy, Hemsworth, and Burke all considered standouts. Several critics did feel it couldn't measure up to Fury Road, though, and that Furiosa could feel “overstuffed” at times due to how much of Furiosa's story it has to fit into the runtime.

The Darkest of Angels

Furiosa follows the titular character, originally portrayed by Charlize Theron, 15 to 20 years before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road. The film chronicles her life after her abduction from the Green Place and into the grasp of Dementus, a warlord leading his Biker Horde to establish his dominance over the wastelands. This eventually brings him into war with Immortan Joe over control of The Citadel and its abundance of clean water, all the while Furiosa navigates the conflict and survives multiple trials as she searches for a way home.

Anya Taylor-Joy takes over for Theron in Furiosa, chronicling the character's growth from childhood into the daring Imperator who would bring down Immortan Joe once and for all. Chris Hemsworth stars opposite as the mad warlord Dementus that looms over Furiosa in the time following her abduction from the Green Place.

Max Rockatansky will reportedly make a cameo appearance in the film, as well, with stuntman Jacob Tomuri standing in for Tom Hardy.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is scheduled to release in theaters on May 24, 2024.