“What a lovely day!” With those words audiences in 2015 were reintroduced to the world of George Miller’s Mad Max in Mad Max: Fury Road. In that masterpiece, they came to meet a new beloved franchise hero: Imperator Furiosa. It’s almost nine years to the date that Mad Max: Fury Road drove into theaters, and we find ourselves back in The Wasteland, albeit 20-30 years prior to the events of the previous epic, to learn about the origins of Furiosa, and how she became to be the fiercest warrior in the Post-Apocalypse. But was this a story we needed? After witnessing Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, I can safely say, yes it was, and I’m sure glad this was made!
The challenge in topping a Best Picture nominee and surprise box office smash like Mad Max: Fury Road is unfathomable. Since its release, the film’s legacy and persistent popularity over the past few years have led to increased demand for more stories in this world. Thankfully, with Miller behind the director’s chair, the stories can be told properly. While many might consider Furiosa is an inferior follow up to Fury Road, I’d argue that while as a whole that may be understandable, there’s so much more here that builds upon the previous Mad Max film to up the ante either on a visual and action level, or from a character development standpoint. In short, it does a lot of things superlatively, allowing for this to be an immensely satisfying entry in the Mad Max franchise.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga follows the origins of a young Furiosa. As many might recall from Fury Road, the warrior was kidnapped as a child from a land called The Green Place. This film shows us how she was kidnapped by the biker gang of a devious warlord named Dementus (a magnetic Chris Hemsworth), who then murders her mother. Taken against her will to serve as his surrogate daughter, before finding herself at The Citadel serving under Fury Road antagonist Imorten Joe, Furiosa bides her time to slowly but surely plot her revenge against the maniac who took away her mother and her childhood.
It’s easy enough to look at a movie like this and criticize the simplicity of the story. But to be frank, the Mad Max films have never been heavy on story. Furthermore, most revenge-stories never really require all that much complexity. What they do require is emotion, character development, and winning performances. That way we’re invested in the protagonist’s simple goal of getting their vengeance in a satisfying way. And Furiosa is the epitome of satisfaction, hitting the jackpot on all three of the aforementioned elements from the very first frame to the final one. This is by far Miller’s most character-driven entry in the franchise, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
However, the reason you must see this movie is the action! And if you’ll pardon the expression, this is an absolute “holy s**t!” movie, in that what Miller and his team of stunt people and stunt drivers are able to accomplish from an action standpoint in this film can only be described as astonishing and jaw-dropping. I used the swear term above because I literally found myself saying the aforementioned expletive to myself about a dozen times through the course of the film. In fact, one of the biggest highlights that I’ve seen in cinema all year was “The Stowaway” sequence from the film’s third chapter! Miller is the only director working today who can get away with filming desert paragliders attacking a mega-rig, while people on hang gliders fire machine guns. How the hell anyone could have put that on film is simply a mystery. It’s sequences like this that enhance Furiosa as superior in some regards to Fury Road. Because as astonishing as that film’s action was (and it’s incredible), I can’t deny that I was even more blown away with the ones here. Miller’s use of convincing visual effects and practical stuntwork is absolutely remarkable, and so incredibly thrilling. I don’t think anything this year has come close to leaving me as awestruck from an action standpoint, and I can’t imagine anything coming out this year that could potentially top the insane sequences in this film. And keep in mind this is coming out right after the stellar work in The Fall Guy.
But of course, action means nothing if we aren’t invested in the characters. And Furiosa gives us two insanely good performances for two remarkable characters. The first is of course Anya Taylor-Joy stepping into the role made famous by Oscar winner Charlize Theron. Taylor-Joy is the perfect Furiosa, managing to copy the intense spirit of Theron in every frame she’s in, fully possessing the character in a way that convinces me she’s the younger iteration of Theron’s interpretation of the character in Fury Road. It doesn’t hurt that she really does look like her too. Miller has famously stated Furiosa has minimal dialogue in the film. And that’s true. But that makes Taylor-Joy’s performance all the more remarkable because she conveys incredible emotion, intensity, and intellect with a single expression. She also makes an incredibly convincing badass and action star.
The character of Furiosa also feels so much more tragic and fleshed out as a result of this movie. Watching her devastating origins and following her on the trajectory that leads her to the beginning of Fury Road is exciting and emotional. Getting to see “The Green Place” in its full glory and understanding her connection to it and its inhabitants gives weight to her motivations in Fury Road. It also strengthens the admiration we have for her as a survivor, a strategist, and the all-out warrior and leader she was meant to be.
The other standout performance, of course, goes to “Thor” himself, Hemsworth as Dementus. In contrast to Taylor-Joy’s subdued “iceberg” performance, Hemsworth goes “full-Joker” hamming it up as much as he can with his fake nose. That being said, he approaches the role of Dementus with so much charisma and energy, it evokes shades of Johnny Depp’s role as Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He’s funny! He’s scary! He’s got swagger up the wazoo! And he uses the most amazing nasally Australian voice. It’s such a memorable and fun turn for the veteran actor, showing his true range. Even if the nose looks a bit hokey, the character of Dementus is such a creditable villain that I can buy into because of Hemsworth’s dynamic performance!
The other thing that’s just so incredible about this movie is how gorgeous it looks. Every cinematic frame of this movie is a massive work of art thanks to the wonderful cinematography of director of photography, Simon Duggan (Hacksaw Ridge). The use of colored smoke against the dark orange hues of The Wasteland’s desert, and sandstorms that look so gorgeous from the furthest distance enhance every scene, really immersing us in this post-apocalyptic world in ways we never dreamed of.
The music and the production design are also of the highest caliber and fully deserving of all the praise they’ll both receive. Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenborg) returns from Fury Road to score this one. And just like the previous film, the kinetic and tense melodies and electric guitar riffs punctuate every scene with a wonderful sense of dread, despair, intensity, and hope. The art direction on the project, courtesy of longtime Miller collaborator, Colin Gibson, is also stellar. From the vehicles, like Furiosa’s car in the finale, to the intricate details of both The Green World and the Citadel, everything is just meticulously thought out and crafted beautifully. utterly and unquestionably immersing us in the world of The Wasteland.
There are a few things I need to critique the movie on, including the pacing and a slight air of pretentiousness. This is the first Mad Max film to be divided into chapters. Granted Miller is doing this to distinguish this film from the others, referring to it as an “odyssey” in the marketing materials. But the chapter breakdown is distracting and unnecessary. The other thing that seems to be a valid and common criticism is the pacing of the movie. Many have stated that the first two chapters of the film feel a bit slow. Admittedly this is not at all a viewpoint that I necessarily share. I think a good revenge story relies on strong initial exposition to get us to invest in the quest of our heroine to get retribution. And I think Furiosa accomplishes this magnificently in its slower first chapters. But given how much there is to see and to comprehend about the world Miller has created and what its status is at this point and time in the franchise, I think it’s entirely justified even if others have found it to be slow in those initial acts.
The other thing that I thought was a bit interesting was that the movie felt the need to insert its own pseudo-Max in the form of Tom Burke’s Praetorian Jack. Burke gives a really good, subdued performance in the movie, and the film does a really good job establishing a strong relationship between Jack and Furiosa. It’s where a fair amount of the heart of the film comes from, even if it feels a bit unnecessary. She certainly does need an ally. But she didn’t need further motivation to go after Dementus. And his threat to her relationship with Jack serves as a superfluous secondary incentive for her to enact vengeance on a man she’s already after.
I’d also like to advise viewers to really rewatch Mad Max: Fury Road before seeing this one. There’s a lot about this movie that relies a bit on mythology established in the previous movie, and Miller expands on the politics of his territories pretty deeply in Furiosa. The system between established territories like The Bullet Farm, Gas Town, and The Citadel comes up without any real warning, similar to a mafia movie in the Post-Apocalypse. And I found myself having to recall the events of Fury Road to really follow the complex inner-workings of the interactions between each territory in this one. So make sure you brush up on that prior to seeing this film.
All that aside, the praise and glory of this movie, everything that makes it great, needs to be attributed to the brilliant direction of the master himself, Miller. His world building, his ability to immerse us back into this world and its customs by showing and not telling, how he’s able to get the best performances of his cast, while exhibiting his penchant for high-octane impossible action sequences are the exact reason this film deserves its place among the rest of the Mad Max franchise. Miller creates worlds and characters unlike any other filmmaker working today. And it’s all expansive and interesting. This is why this movie works. And this is what sets him apart as a filmmaker from his peers. Miller is going to do Miller. And it gives the film and this franchise a uniqueness among the pantheon of cinematic franchises.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is cinema at its most masterful! George Miller’s direction and vision remains unparalleled, as he pulls out all the stops to top the masterpiece that is Mad Max: Fury Road — and actually succeeds in a lot of ways! This is a revenge story of the highest quality filled with emotion and raw incredible female empowerment. Hemsworth is so great in this insanely charismatic villain role. And Taylor-Joy is positively the only actress capable of filling in Theron’s shoes! She proves that she is every bit this character as much as Theron was with her intensity and fierceness. Hands down, one of the most stunning movies of the year! And the perfect summer blockbuster! And positively the most fun you’ll have at the movies all summer!
Overall Score: A-