Directed by George Miller. Written by Nick Lathouris and George Miller
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a movie cursed by having to follow Max Mad: Fury Road. The 2015 reboot of the series was a triumph, one of those rare movies that completely bowls you over, like lightning from a clear blue sky and then two hours of never-ending thunder. It was non-stop action, breathless spectacle – it was essentially mainlining adrenaline, repeatedly.
How do you follow that up? It’s an unthankful task, but George Miller tries his hand by delving into what Fury Road skipped. He deepens the lore of the wasteland, his characters do loads more talking, more emotion pour out of every face, there’s more exposition and detail offered to the reader. The result is something more straightforward, with clearer goals, character arcs, and story beats. Something closer to what we’re used to.
We hitch our war rig to Furiosa this time around, certified badass heroine of Fury Road, and watch how she came to be. The short version is a traumatic abduction followed by a gruesome existence amongst the worst people, and the long version is a traumatic abduction followed by a gruesome existence amongst the worst people, all stretched thin at times with some questionable storytelling.
That’s the biggest finger to put on Furiosa. Its storyline is not the taut muscle that was Fury Road, which simply put was about a return trip. Furiosa spans years, and is at its core the story of a vengeful slow knife, but it also has to serve its purpose of giving us Furiosa’s origin story. Those interests don’t always serve each other and Furiosa wobbles on the seesaw. There’s not the same weight behind every development and immediate cause-and-effect.
It is, however, still set in the mad world of the post-apocalyptic wasteland and its ready-made chaos. The chrome shine hasn’t worn off a single bit, and the ride of any return is worth the price of admission. The state of things foul, the antics crazed, the behavior depraved – Miller doesn’t let up on what really drew us in nine years ago, and if there’s one cinematic universe that justifies expansion, it’s that of Mad Max.
Alyla Browne stars (and shines!) as a very young Furiosa. Resourceful and undaunted, she lights things up like a flame, and the rooted anger shining out of her draws a clear connection to Charlize Theron’s previous portrayal. Anya Taylor-Joy is slightly older Furiosa for most of the movie, and the connection is less pronounced. Where Theron felt ruthless and capable of any threat she makes, Taylor-Joy’s threat is that of a cornered housecat. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of it, but you’re also not steering clear on principle.
Taylor-Joy does have genuine chemistry with Tom Burke, who plays Praetorian Jack, a high-ranking member of the evil clan Furiosa ends up with, and although his character is woefully underwritten, their scenes carry the day because of their obvious connection. Another newcomer is Chris Hemsworth who has the time of his life as baddie Dementus, another wasteland warlord who talks up a radioactive storm about human nature in a post-civilization world.
The world-building alone takes Furiosa far, and Miller’s direction hasn’t slackened one bit. It lets the movie glide over a wavering plot that has a few bumpy patches, and thankfully the performances on-screen have enough pop to distract you from it all. There’s still plenty of reasons to go for another ride on Fury Road.
Mikkel Frederiksen 