Heartbreaking relationships, resource sharing, lawlessness, tyrants, betrayal, loyalty, environmental disasters, and the shadow of Max Rockatanski hanging over the series make for an exciting Furiosa, A Mad Max Saga. Anya Marie Taylor broke through with The Queen’s Gambit 2020 – a TV drama series about an obsessive female chess player. Her intense portrayal of Furiosa will cast any shadow away.
I sat at IMAX, taking in the sounds of Aussie accents and local actors, including ex-footy star Ian Roberts, who seemingly pops up in several Hollywood blockbusters and NSW locations. Broken Hill, Silverton, Hay, Kurnell, Terrey Hills, Melrose Park and Sydney’s Disney lot helped recreate a wasteland we grew up with in the Mel Gibson-led Mad Max series.
Director and creator George Miller has been faithful to Australia, relying on local actors, production and locations. The original Mad Max (1977) was shot in Victoria in 1977, giving birth to a new cultural-pop icon. And some of the highest-grossing films in history.
Miller has Greek heritage, and his surname is Milliotis. His Greek world fuses with a post-apocalyptic world in the Mad Max series.

There are many Greek themes such as, oratory by the tyrannical demagogue Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and the rise against tyranny, led by Furiosa. There is also love between Furiosa and Praetorian Jack. The film has lashings of satire and humour –two not-so-bright characters are Scrotus and Erectus. There’s a Greek tragedy-comedy at the base of Furiosa.
George, also known as Dr Miller, first graduated as a Doctor of Medicine before starting a film career. Miller is from Chinchilla, Queensland, and his parents are of Kytherian and Asia Minor backgrounds.
The two latest Mad Max films are co-written by Nico Lathouris, who also played a cameo in the first Mad Max. Lathouris is known for its movie appearances, including George Poulos’s in Heartbreak High.
The young Dylan Adonis, cast as Furiosa’s childhood friend, and Elsa Pataky, a Spaniard of Greek-Hungarian background, make much of their short time on the screen, with impressive results.
Furiosa was slow off the mark at the US box office social media. Some fans might be missing Max – the foundational character –but the film doesn’t.
Furiosa is intense, moody, and is buoyed by irony and humour – filmmaking at its finest.
The big-budget dystopic spectacle, $200 million importantly, has a female lead, Furiosa, who is a hero of mythic proportions. She is also an Odyssean who uses cunning and diplomacy to guide her warrior strength. Like Odysseus, she navigates through the hellish Wasteland and the warring factions.
Furiosa is . Long may Furiosa ride the Wasteland, with or without Mad Max.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga trailer:
Billy Cotsis is the film director of Magna Graecia: Greko of Calabria and author of Aegean Seven Take Back The Stolen Marbles.