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Screaming mad George Miller is back to regal us with tales from the wasteland, featuring the most iconic character of his quadrilogy: the duke of the nuked, the baron of the leather-wearin’… heeere’s Furiosa!
Yeah, I hate saying that, too. Bring back Mel!
Yet, we get what we get, and it’s… good but slightly polarizing in the end. Only the most basic of spoilers will follow.
Flight Of The Furiosa
Every movie geek worth their salt knows the players of this franchise well enough to rack up points at any bar featuring Road Warrior trivia night.
George Miller emerged from the dusty Outback to shove the crazy world of Mad Max into the faces of mere mortals. Miller gave us a glimpse into a ravaged future where everyone adopted an insane S&M motif and took to the roads in souped-up jalopies to murder-death-kill anyone they encountered for another tank of guzzoline.
Mad Max led to The Road Warrior (for my money, still the best film of the franchise), which was so influential that it inspires imitation to this day.
Now Miller plays around in the sandbox of his apocalyptic world once again, and Furiosa is maybe his deepest dive into the universe. Fury Road only gave us glimpses into the society created by Immortan Joe and his compatriots. Fury Road was a bit hobbled in this regard by being a chase movie, so it couldn’t fully explore the world it existed in.
Furiosa takes place dead center within all of the world-building introduced in Fury Road, and it is an intriguing place to visit. George Miller’s Id must be a wild locale.
Writing In A Fury
Helping Miller flesh out the tale is screenwriter Nico Lathouris. Lathouris also worked on Fury Road but goes all the way back to the beginning of the franchise. He played Grease Rat in the original Mad Max. I have no idea who that is (so much for my fantasy of winning Road Warrior trivia night).
The story of Furiosa is a prequel to Fury Road. We discover how Furiosa went from the Green Place to an Imperator in Immortan Joe’s army.
Do we care? Honestly, not really. I never heard anyone exit Fury Road and say, “Wow, that Furiosa, I sure do want to see more of her!” Unless it was in an overly-loud voice to virtue signal White Knighthood.
Yet, Furiosa’s story is not off-the-cuff. Miller and Lathouris spent fifteen years writing Fury Road, which led to detailed backstories for all of the characters, especially Furiosa. In fact, Miller originally wanted to shoot Fury Road and Furiosa back-to-back.
So, here we are, getting more Furiosa whether we want her or not. At the end of the day, her story serves its purpose. It exists as a framework for vehicular mayhem and preening performers. Yet, it is sufficiently involving, as well. The viewer is interested in her journey.
I Will Strike You Down With Furiosa Vengeance
Anya Taylor-Joy takes over for Charlize Theron, and she does what is required of her. Is it enough to distract us from the fact that she can stand directly behind a telephone pole and still see around it? Not really, but her otherworldly looks mesh well with the gonzo wasteland.
Taylor-Joy is quietly putting together a fun career with things like The Witch, Split, Last Night in Soho, The Northman, The Menu, The Queen’s Gambit, and more. Furiosa is mostly worth being added to the list.
Taylor-Joy said she never felt more alone than when making Furiosa. If so, that feeling carried over into her performance. She is very Max-like, using few words and doing what she has to do to survive with an angry and/or haunted look on her face.
What is the Girl Power Quotient of all of this? It is manageable. At no point did it feel like Miller was trying to make any blatant point about gender. Furiosa is a female, and she mostly survives as a female – not by being strong, but by being smart in a world out to get her. And good for her because she is not going to make it physically. Judging by some of the physiques in Furiosa, everything of the world seems to have been destroyed but GNC stores and Anytime Fitness locations.
Dr. Dementus
Meanwhile, Chris Hemsworth is fantastic as Dementus. He is a survivor from the wasteland who lived through terrible times to put together an army of bikers. His goal is to force Immortan Joe and his partners to turn their empire over to him.
Hemsworth is great fun in the role. He struts through the film with a good blend of ruthlessness, nastiness, intelligence, and lunacy. In fact, he does such a good job that one becomes more interested in him than they are in the title character.
As for the other characters, as said above, Immortan Joe, The Bullet Farmer, and The People Eater are back. We see their characters expanded upon and how they live their daily lives. Seeing places like the Bullet Farm and Gas Town is also a treat.
This time Immortan Joe is played by Lachy Hulme, as Hugh Keays-Byrne is no longer with us. Rictus Erectus is back, too, once again portrayed by Nathan Jones. The Organic Mechanic even returns. If you are a fan of the 2015 video game, Scabrous Scrotus appears, as well.
That name seems a little bit on the nose. I wonder what my Mad Max name would be if I existed in such a world. Weepus Girl Repellant?
But I’m sure what everyone wants to know is, do we get the Doof Warrior and his flamethrowing guitar again? Momentarily, yes…
Action Jackson
Mad Max films mostly boil down to the action. How does Furiosa compare? It mimics the hyper-stylized look of Fury Road and does a lot of the same things. It is a far cry from the grittiness of The Road Warrior. Yet, the mayhem of Furiosa entertains and is up to par with the rest of the series.
Fury Road came off a bit front-loaded in action. The opening, chase into the storm, fight over the Glock, and the battle in the canyons worked like water falling on a stone, so much so that the climax seemed a bit subdued. This is because they tried to follow too many storylines during the finale. For example, why does Fury Road need to stop for the Seed Lady? It doesn’t. We don’t care about her.
Furiosa is more focused on its action and does a nice job maintaining momentum for most of the film. Plus, it features new contraptions bashing into each other. The action is familiar but well thought-out. I especially enjoyed Furiosa’s buttocks armor. It is never used, but that kind of attire makes total sense, considering her position. The thought put into details like that is admirable.
How is the CGI? It is not overwhelming. The trailers give the impression it might be overused, but it is the same as it is in Fury Road. It is there to enhance things, not replace them.
Fast And The Furiosa
All of that is good stuff. Furiosa was well on its way to being a great summer action flick. And then it becomes…slightly polarizing. Furiosa reaches a point where Miller stops making a movie and starts to flirt with making a film.
How much one enjoys Furiosa will depend on how they feel about that switch. For some, it might be just what the doctor ordered. For me, it was not what I was looking for, so I am going to ding Furiosa’s rating a bit.
At the end of the day, Furiosa has action, charismatic performers, a solid story, and an exciting world to explore. It is also long, clocking in at 148 minutes. Furiosa moves with a pretty good pace, though. Even the slow parts usually have something interesting about them to watch. My prostate mostly withstood the challenge.
Furiosa – it ain’t Mell, but it’s mostly swell…until it’s not. Yet, your mileage may vary. It all depends on if you are more of the War Boy-type or more of the History Man-type. Regardless, it was a decent ride.
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