A Mad Max movie that serves as a prequel to 2015’s Fury Road, Furiosa is out in the US today, Friday 24 May - and underlines director George Miller’s status as a master of the action genre.

CINEMA

Miller has proven his ability to create visually stunning films, weaving together sequences that remain forever etched in viewers’ memories.

Furiosa is, above all, a film about revenge; an origin story about how a young girl became a relentless warrior serving under warlord Immortan Joe.

The picture offers a comprehensive examination of Imperator Furiosa, from her childhood to the point where the storyline catches up with Fury Road.

The film begins with an unhurried first hour, dominated by a young Furiosa (Ayla Browne) and the evil antagonist Dementus (Chris Hemsworth).

And it is when Anya Taylor-Joy enters the fray as an older Furiosa that the film clicks into gear, throwing up over 90 minutes of pure action.

Miller has crafted one of the most spectacular sequences in movie history: a 20-minute attack on a truck that  will leave viewers open-mouthed.

With their performances as Furiosa and Dementus, Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth are the spine of the movie, together with Tom Burke’s Praetorian Jack.

Taylor-Joy has spoken about how tough she found her role: given only 30 lines of dialogue, the actor had to deliver a largely physical performance.

For Hemsworth, Dementus is arguably the role of his career. The Australian plays a villain who is a combination of madness, violence and fun.

Burke, an actor best known for the detective series C.B. Strike, is in a  Max Rockatansky-like role - but  isn’t equal to the past performances  of Tom Hardy and Mel Gibson.

With fresh backdrops and new characters, Furiosa adds depth to the apocalyptic world of the Mad Max saga - and leaves us hungry for more.