Afterburn (2025)

Picture yourself scouring a sun‑bleached landscape for the Mona Lisa, while the sky burns orange beyond the eastern horizon. Afterburn weaves a scavenger noir into a post‑apocalyptic thriller, making the hunt for relics feel like an extreme game of Russian roulette with mutated bandits and rival crews. Joaquin Phoenix carries every moment with a quiet desperation that turns even silent gunfights into theatrical monologues. You’ll find the film’s kinetic chase scenes, shot in relentless hand‑held style, keeping your heart rate in sync with the relentless sun. Still, the pacing drags in the third act, as the plot lurches into a long, exposition‑heavy sequence that feels like a lost satellite feed.