George Miller‘s Mad Max universe lives at the intersection of where Dune collides with a perverse version of Jules Verne-esque steampunk and is slapped with retro-futurist bondage and aggressive Dr. Seuss-like names. The latest installment, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga continues to add fuel to the delightfully demented fire that is the world of Mad Max — and it centers on the heroine of 2015’s critically acclaimed epic Fury Road. Although both movies exist in the same universe, Furiosa doesn’t match the energy nor have the drooling, chaotic spirit of Fury Road. There’s chaos pulsating in Furiosa’s veins, but it feels more manicured and expected, rather than unbridled and uncomfortable.
As the title suggests, this is the origin story of the character played by Anya Taylor-Joy. Sure, there is a commentary on charismatic leaders and abuse of power, but it’s Furiosa’s show. That said, based on what we know of the character originally played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road, I was bracing myself for female trauma and abuse of women. However, Furiosa did not go there — it’s insinuated — but it’s not blatantly shown which is one uncomfortable visual plot point that could afford to be dropped.
Co-written by Miler and Nick Lathouris, the film introduces Furiosa as a young child in the post-apocalyptic Wasteland as she is kidnapped from the Green Place of Many Mothers by a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, serving Nicole Kidman The Hours energy). They cross paths with the Citadel ruled by the freakishly pale, long-haired Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) and are immediately butting heads over who has the bigger ego to rule over the luxurious Wasteland. All the while, Furiosa is just trying to survive and find her way back home.
There is no doubt in my mind that Miller can craft a gorgeous, visually sumptuous, fully lived-in, and realized universe like he has created with the Mad Max saga which launched in 1979. Fast-forward to 2024 and this universe still thrives and Miller continues to paint a never-ending panoramic epic with Furiosa. The way he constructs scenes and crafts a curiosity and an intriguing story for every character that graces the screen is incredible.
2015’s Fury Road throws us into the deep end of a world that hadn’t been visited since 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. To see Theron as Furiosa and these new characters was exciting. There was a danger and grime to what Miller served that made us devour this reintroduction and thirsty for more. Furiosa satisfies that thirst, but because this world isn’t new to us, the audacity to which it was re-introduced in 2015 is lacking. There’s nothing to sink your teeth into and discover for the first time (we get to see flame-throwing guitar guy again!).
Furiosa is an epic movie-going experience with nuances of Western lore and phenomenally choreographed “road warrior” action sequences that will make your palms sweat, giving you a wild ride through Miller’s artfully twisted mind. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the director.
Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth make for a good pair and do exactly the amount of work needed to build a bridge to the source material. It’s not exactly an ideal bridge, but it works. At times, you forget the film is about Furiosa — even though it’s in the title. Sometimes, it feels like a two-hander with Hemsworth’s Dementus. Maybe it should have followed the Deadpool & Wolverine movie and changed its title to Furiosa & Dementus.
Furiosa gives us a wonderful backstory of the titular character, including how she became a big rig driver thanks to her not-quite-Billy Ray Cyrus mentor Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). We also get more of her mother and the enriching backstory of her utopian homeland that was stripped of her. There are so many interesting things about Furiosa, but it did not feel like a satisfying narrative. It seemed… empty and like words on a page. It didn’t feel fully formed. Even the ending felt thrown together haphazardly while the “punishment” for Dementus doesn’t give a sense of fulfillment. Perhaps that’s done on purpose because we know her story continues in Fury Road.
The execution of the story did not match the visual excitement in Furiosa. But there were moments of victory throughout the film — whether they were intentional or not.
At one point, Furiosa loses her arm (it’s a very thoughtful plot point) and she makes a fully-functioning robotic arm, Luke Skywalker-style. I leaned over to my friend during this and said, “C’MON WOMEN IN STEM!”
But there was one thing that I could not get past while watching Furiosa. Amidst the incredible shots, art direction, and remarkable gas-infused, post-apocalyptic punk rock Mad Max universe engulfed in sand and flames realness — I couldn’t help but expect to see Furiosa and her gang of merry road warriors run into:
Dr. Dre, Tupac and friends celebrating their love for California…
… or Janet Jackson seducing Dementus with a sickening dance routine…
… or Mya and her army ready to attack with their sticks…
… or have a run in with the Spice Girls…
… or coming across Destiny’s Child just being Destiny’s Child in the desert.
Furiosa gave us a lot, but the best thing it gave me was a reminder of the collection of music videos from the late ’90s and early ’00s that were set in the desert
