The Best Movie Of Each Year From 1925-2025

Honourable Mentions: Anora, Challengers, Rebel Ridge

Mad Max: Fury Road was one of the biggest surprises of the 2010s, with director George Miller revisiting his cult-favourite franchise and bringing its zany, no-holds-Aussie approach to action to the 21st century. Fury Road was relentless in its pacing and orchestration, and the results spoke for themselves. However, it was also the subject of a tempestuous shoot and attempts to get a follow-up made faced repeated delays, until finally a prequel, Furiosa, made its way to theatres in 2024.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the eponymous character and weaving a tale that focused on her origins before she became the Imperator seen in Fury Road, Furiosa was sadly not the universally-adored follow-up to Fury Road that audiences were expecting. Miller instead made something a little more operatic, with bizarre visual flourishes that blended more computer-generated effects with the practical stuntwork that made Fury Road such a visual feast.

But rather than create a sense of tonal dissonance, Miller's visual recalibration had the effect of making the world of Mad Max grander, more mythological, and epic. Taylor-Joy proves a more-than-worthy successor to Charlize Theron, while Chris Hemsworth turns in the performance of his career thus far as a dark mirror of Max, the warlord Dementus. The action is just as kinetic and punchy as Fury Road, but Furiosa reaches new heights by plunging into greater emotional and thematic depths with its characters and narrative.

The end result is something luscious and defiant - a meditation on evil and cruelty in an unjust world that reiterates the bonds of love and compassion. It may lack the pure visceral edge of its predecessor, but Miller's prequel finds greater strength by seeking different avenues.