CANNES, France, May 15 (Reuters) - Marvel royalty Chris Hemsworth walked the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet alongside star-of-the-show Anya Taylor-Joy for the first time on Wednesday night to mark the world premiere of director George Miller's much-awaited "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga."
Hemsworth, aka Thor, went sans bowtie down the carpet alongside his wife, Elsa Pataky, while Taylor-Joy wore an elegant strapless gown. American actor Faye Dunaway and Australian director Baz Luhrmann also attended the event.
The fifth "Mad Max" iteration comes 45 years after Miller first introduced audiences to his dystopian film universe and is a far cry from the original 1979 film starring Mel Gibson.
The focus in the latest film is on the origins of Furiosa, the one-armed big rig driver played to great acclaim by Charlize Theron in the preceding film, 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road."
This time around, Furiosa is portrayed by Taylor-Joy, best known for "The Queen's Gambit" and "The Witch," as she faces off against Hemsworth as the bearded biker warlord, Dementus.
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter said that while the film had some impressive action scenes, and Taylor-Joy gave a fierce performance, it is a step down from the success of "Fury Road."
Summarized in Variety's review headline "The origin story of Furiosa has dazzling sequences, but George Miller's overstuffed epic is no 'Fury Road.'"
Audiences will have their chance to see the Warner Bros. film when it is released in theatres later this month. It is set to hit international theatres on May 22 and in the U.S. on May 24.
(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Sandra Maler)
