By: Nick Rodriguez
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
R/Action/148 Mins
Directed by: George Miller
Written by: George Miller & Nico Lathouris
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy (“Last Night in Soho”), Chris Hemsworth (“Bad Times at the El Royale”), Tom Burke (“The Musketeers”), Alyla Browne (“Sting”) and Charlee Fraser (“Anyone But You”)
Synopsis: Set in a dangerous wasteland, Furiosa goes on a 15 year journey to get back the life she deserves that was taken from her from an evil warlord named Dementus.
Review: Like the film that started this franchise, “Max Max,” “Furiosa” is about revenge. It’s about someone taken from their homeland, their family taken from them, their friends lost and what she’ll do to get it back. This young woman is Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), and she goes to hell and back across a dangerous wasteland finding the man responsible for her lost childhood and innocence. Her target is the horrific, sadistic, warlord named Dementus. While the previous entry, “Mad Max: Fury Road,” was a two hour adrenaline rush following a dangerous supply run trudging along the titular, Fury Road, this film takes a different approach. It is a cinematic odyssey spanning 15 years following Furiosa from a child to a young woman and Dementus’ rise from a cult leader to a warlord all while chronicling their paths meeting again and again in a war for the wasteland.
While I think “Fury Road” is the better film, “Furiosa” follows close behind. What I appreciated about it was how it took its time telling this story. I would argue that while the action and spectacle looked better in “Fury,” the story in this film is much more immersive with the sprawling epicness of the narrative. It is much longer than the previous film and is split into chapters like a novel you can’t put down.
What the film did really well was to tell a story that stood on its own while also expanding the world that the viewer was thrown into in the previous film. Since this is a prequel, some characters who appeared in “Fury Road” return, some characters who had smaller roles were expanded, and ones that died are now alive. This film and the previous one work hand in hand as a perfect double feature. Each supports and enriches each other’s narrative making this world fully fleshed out with a very interesting mythology.
Anya-Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth are both spectacular as the leads, Furiosa & Dr. Dementus, both showing their vast acting range with Anya acting mostly in silence and facial expressions and Hemsworth going over the top with an unpredictable performance as the crazed villain. However, some acclaim should also go towards Alyla Browne who plays the younger version of Furiosa, Charlee Fraser as Mary Jabassa (Furiosa’s mother) and Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack. Browne is our lead for the first 30 or so minutes and commands the screen as an actress who has a bright future ahead of her. Fraser’s screen time is brief but she makes such an impact by being such a badass that almost begs for a prequel spin off of her own, and Burke who intimidates, being the (mostly) silent ally of Furiosa expressing himself through action that is very reminiscent of Tom Hardy’s performance as Max Rockatansky in “Fury Road.”
The visuals in this film are jaw dropping, face melting incredible. You’re asking yourself, how the hell did George Miller do that? The way the action plays out is so meticulous with the way it’s shot, so much is happening yet easy to follow. However, one gripe I had with this film was the use of CGI and green screen that seemed to be used less in the previous film. The best way I can compare it is to what the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is to “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Hobbit Trilogy” is to “Furiosa.” What I mean by this is how “Fury Road” had so many practical stunts and effects (like LOTR), it looked highly dangerous and it felt like anyone in this film could die because it all looks so real. While “Furiosa” had a lot more CGI that looked obvious and some scenes looked like they had a green screen behind them. Yet, it does capture MOST of the magic of the action of the previous film. While it’s not entirely fair to compare the two, you can’t help but see a small difference in how the visuals were taken down a small notch for this film.
All in all, this film does have a stronger narrative and it enriches what came before even if the visuals suffer a little bit. I truly hope George Miller is able to complete his vision and make his final “Mad Max” film. Films like this deserve the attention as well as the box office success and I think a film like this will stand the test of time.
Score: 9/10
