Review: Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga
Review: Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga
Fury Is Born
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: As the world falls, young Furiosa is snatched from “The Green Place of Many Mothers” into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the wasteland, they encounter the citadel presided over by Immortan Joe. The two tyrants wage war for dominance, and Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.
QUICK REVIEW
Its been nine years since Mad Max: Fury Road knocked people back in their seats like it did and managed to become the blockbuster critical darling of the 2015 awards season. A movie that showcased that George Miller could still deliver as a director of epic scale, even with such an overall hit-and-miss track record. A technical marvel with insane action set pieces, great production design, marvelous sound design, and ingenious world building. And now the man has dared to try and follow-up such an achievement with the direct prequel to the film in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - showcasing the origins for the Furiosa character.
Its tough to follow-up what Charlize Theron brought to the character, but in the role as a younger Furiosa Anja Taylor Joy made the iconic feminist badass her own. Not only is she able to carry herself as the character, but she shows a side of her as an actress that we haven’t gotten to see in the way she proves herself in the action scenes, showing some real grit. She doesn’t say much, and she doesn’t have to, because she can physically say just as much with her body language as she does when she speaks.
As her main antagonist we get Chris Hemsworth as Dementus who steals the show whenever he’s onscreen. This may just be his best performance yet, and you can damn sure bet I’ll be championing him for acting recognition come awards season 2024. He is so clearly having a blast playing a fun, dastardly villain while still keeping the character intimidating and dangerous. From the makeup on him, to his accent, to the little quips from him, I found myself missing him whenever he wasn’t onscreen.
What about the spectacle? Well if you love the spectacle of Mad Max: Fury Road, you should enjoy this film’s. The action set pieces are just as good, if not perhaps even better. The production design and epic scale deliver. The score is incredible. The sound made me feel at times like I was the one roaring down the fury road. The visual effects were more noticeable this time around, but to the movie’s credit it makes up for it with some beautiful cinematography. You will not be disappointed if you came for a feast of the senses.
The movie’s story is bigger and more ambitious than its predecessor. But that could admittedly be a nitpick for some as the movie did start to feel a bit overlong for me in the final third. But anytime it almost went into a lull, an incredible action piece or Hemsworth chewing scenery kept me engaged.
I feel like I need another re-watch or two to know where I rank this against Mad Max: Fury Road. On one hand I appreciate the expansion of story, I loved the villain much more in this one, the attempt to be even grander in scale worked on my senses. But on the other hand the visual effects are a little more hit-and-miss and the story can feel bloated to the point I started feeling the runtime towards the end. But overall I would definitely say this was a joy to watch and a strong contender to end up in my top 10 of the year when all is said and done. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga gets an initial A- from me. Now lets get Chris Hemsworth’s Oscar campaign started…
INTIAL GRADING
