The Cinematic Schematic is back to podcast gloriously on the road to Valhalla with a review of the highly anticipated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Mad Max: Fury Road is widely regarded as one of the greatest action movies in history. Is it possible to recapture what seemed like lightning in a bottle in 2015? There's only one way to find out. Live. Podcast. Live again through our review. --- This Week's War Boys To render a verdict on the post-apocalyptic epic starring Anya Taylor Joy as Furiosa and Chris Hemsworth as the big bad, Dementus, we needed the right war boy to provide brutal honesty with an analytical mindset. GoodTrash Media's Dalton Stuart is more than ready to ride the waveforms with hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman to the gates of Valhalla. --- Ice-Breaker Question: What makes a great prequel? Time Stamp: 7:07 Despite the onslaught of prequels Hollywood has been making over the decades, only a handful have made a name for themselves outside its source material. In this week's ice-breaker section, we discuss the following questions: - What makes a great prequel? - What are three of our three favorite prequels? Spoiler-Free Review: Has director George Miller recaptured Lightning in a Bottle with Furiosa? Time Stamp: 29:24 Though the franchise has existed since 1979, 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road blew audiences away with its stylish visuals, practical stunts, and efficient visual storytelling. Following such In this spoiler-free review, we cover: - Each host's relationship with the franchise - Our overall thoughts on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - How well the film connects to its 2015 predecessor, Fury Road - Our ranking of the Mad Max films - Our letter-grade ratings - Alternate media recommendations --- Spoiler Discussion: Using Revenge as a Seed for Hope in Furiosa Time Stamp: 1:19:20 One of the strengths of Miller's imaginatively bleak future is his ability to present classic archetypes as larger-than-life heroes, not unlike those found in Greek myth. It's never been more evident than in Furiosa. In our spoiler-filled analysis discussion, we talk about: - How the story examines the complex and insightful relationship between revenge and hope - Why the Mad Max universe feels like modern folklore - The trade-offs of Furiosa's five-act structure vs Mad Max: Fury Road's pedal-to-the-metal chase movie. --- At the beginning of 2024, we went on the record naming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga one of our most anticipated movies of this year. Does the film live up to the hype and imagination? Listen to the conversation for our verdicts!