Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, George Shevtsov, Lachy Hulme, John Howard, Angus Sampson, Nathan Jones, Josh Helman
Directed by: George Miller
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The origin story of Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), as she wages war against Dementus (Chris Hemsworth).

Review:
Tim: I was blown away by George Miller's Mad Mad: Fury Road in 2015 and I was awaiting more films in this franchise as eagerly as anyone. Finally, nine years after the last film, we get another entry- this time, a prequel origin story for Furiosa, last played so memorably by Charlize Theron. I was pretty pumped going into this film. However, there was an odd early warning sign- the film was a total bust at the box office. Domestically, this film only made $67 million. How? How could Miller's triumphant return to the Wasteland be greeted by such a collective sigh from audiences? I know 2024 is a different world than 2015, but I couldn't understand it.

I admit, I skipped out on this film in theaters. So, I can offer my own thoughts- I was very interested in seeing more of Furiosa, but the idea of a prequel wasn't as compelling. I want to move forward with stories, not backwards. The film looked great, but it felt like less of an event movie. It felt okay to wait. Still, when I did watch the movie on streaming, I was so excited. And, I have to admit, eventually, I was slightly disappointed. Oh, make no mistake, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a good movie. It absolutely is. However, it feels like a far cry from Fury Road. It's a skippable movie. It's good, entertaining, but never excellent. There were quite a few decisions here that I didn't understand. It's so odd, to be writing about Furiosa with these feelings. I expected so much more.

Here's one of the central issues- Miller's story feels like it hits a lot of the wrong beats. The movie faced a huge initial challenge- Charlize Theron is Furiosa. That's why the character is so outstanding. So, why would we care when Theron is replaced in this film? Brilliantly, they cast the great Anya Taylor-Joy in the role. I can't stress how excellent this decision was. It was sad not to see Theron, but Taylor-Joy is one of the brightest, best young talents in Hollywood today. I was ecstatic to see her and I felt confident she could step into this role. And guess what? She does. Taylor-Joy is tremendous as the young Furiosa, putting her own stamp on this character and adding to the legacy. All good, right? Not quite. For some unfathomable reason, Taylor-Joy doesn't show up for nearly an hour into the film. An hour. In a prequel story where the main character was replaced with a younger actress, we actually spend almost half the film with an even younger actress playing an even younger version of the character. I get the whole "show Furiosa's life", but my goodness. How did this help the overall film? I get that we learn about Furiosa's whole life and that's cool. But, to sideline one of your greatest assets for that length of time is a bizarre decision. I spent much of the first hour not focusing on the story, but wondering why it took so long for Taylor-Joy to show up. She's excellent when she does, but this movie needed to spend a lot more of its time with her. Without this, it does make the film feel bloated. It's 2.5 hours long, but we only get her for about 90 minutes. Just odd.

Chris Hemsworth does a good job as Dementus, but he gets too much screen time. Miller seems to revel in this character. He's certainly good, but slightly less screen time would have been better. Do we really need this to be a whole Dementus story as well? Now, Hemsworth is great fun in the role and he's loving the ability to ham it up in this villainous turn. I always think it's fun to see actors who consistently play heroes change it up and get to play the villain. That's a great novelty and I had a lot of fun with Hemsworth here. I also loved seeing Tom Burke, too. I'm a big fan of how he plays Cormoran Strike on C.B. Strike and I appreciated he got a role here. He's really effective in the part and acts well opposite Taylor-Joy. It felt like Burke was underutilized, though. I would have loved to see the initial hour shrunk considerably so we would have had more time with the two of them. The rest of the cast work well, a collection of oddities and gruesome disfigurement characters.

As you might expect, the cinematography here is outstanding. Miller has such an eye and ability for these huge action set pieces set against a desolate landscape. There's certainly nothing else like these sequences and they're great fun to see. I'm not any of them reached the level of Fury Road, though. I remember feeling pure awe at what Miller did there. These are cool, they're engaging and fun, but feel like more of the same, vs. anything especially new or original. I loved the action sequences and they're definitely a highlight here, but they're not so amazing that they push the movie to the stratosphere. Still, Miller deserves praise for these. The technical craft aspect of this film is undoubtedly one of its biggest strengths.

So, we're left with an odd feeling. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a good film and worthy origin story for a supporting character in the franchise. However, some terrific decisions (Taylor-Joy highest among them) are offset by bizarre ones (many of the narrative decisions). I liked the movie and I want to celebrate and enjoy that aspect of it. However, this film is a clear drop in all areas of quality from Fury Road. Even worse, the lackluster box office potentially dooms future films in this franchise. You have to at least ask- was it worth it? Did we really need this detour? Furiosa is a great character, but her solo film hurts the overall franchise. As much as I did like this movie, I wouldn't trade it for the future of the whole franchise. This is a movie that works, but at the same time, doesn't.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dune, The Northman