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After thirty years since the release of “Beyond Thunderdome,” George Miller (“Three Thousand Years of Longing,” “Babe”), the original creator of the “Mad Max” franchise returned with the acclaimed and lauded “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which not only introduced a new Max and new style to the series, but also a new lead in Imperator Furiosa, a badass war-rig driver with a buzz cut and a metal arm played by Charlize Theron. Miller now returns to the character to tell the story of her life up to the events of “Fury Road” with a film simply titled “Furiosa.”
Played now by Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Menu,” “The Queen’s Gambit”) in her teen years and beyond and by Alyla Browne (“Three Thousand Years of Longing”) as a young child, the film is a sprawling, borderline Shakespearean tale of Furiosa’s life after she was taken from her paradisal home known as The Green Place by Dr. Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth (“Thor,” “The Cabin in the Woods”), and his biker gang. She seeks revenge on him for stealing her away and killing her mother, while rising through the ranks of the War Boys and warriors of Immortan Joe, played by Lachy Hulme (“The Matrix Reloaded,” “Offspring”), working alongside his own Praetorian Jack, played by Tom Burke (“Mank,” “Strike”).
More than ever before, thanks to the length of the film’s scope and its runtime, Miller dives headfirst into the wasteland with more detail and lore than ever before. With his co-writer Nico Lathouris (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), the pair further expand the wasteland to show locations only heard about before and also new aspects of their culture. The film’s unreliable narrator is someone referred to as a History Man, played by George Shevtsov (“Three Thousand Years of Longing,” “Stormworld”), a man literally tattooed with numerous words, turns of phrase, and definitions, literally called upon at some points to define complicated words or give synonyms for what Dementus is saying.
As Miller continues to mine the depths of his world, so does he connect himself with actors ready to throw themselves to the floor for these characters. Taylor-Joy is a genuine revelation, giving what is borderline the best performance of her career. So much of the film is based on her body language, movements, and intense gaze. Even when going long stretches without speaking, she commands the attention of the camera and world itself to tell this story.
Hemsworth, meanwhile, goes for broke to an almost comedic degree. His Dementus is a fascinating villain, maintaining a level of charisma and apathy that makes it a wonder to watch his downfall. As he continues to spiral downwards, it becomes a marvelous display of hubris as Dementus falls from grace despite his continued best efforts. The supporting cast is also packed full of great performances straddling the line between insanity and seriousness. Angus Sampson (“Heartbreak High (2022),” “Insidious”) as Dementus’s Organic Mechanic, John Howard (“The Girl from Tomorrow,” “All Saints”) as Joe’s advisor known as The People Eater, and Charlee Fraser (“Anyone But You”) in an impactfully small chunk of time as Furiosa’s mother, Mary.
The fact that Miller takes these smaller roles so seriously despite their insane names, physicalities, and demeanors is a testament to his approach with this film and what makes it so different from “Fury Road” before it. Whereas “Fury Road” was a shot of adrenaline that never lets up, with harsh searing colors and camerawork, “Furiosa” spends a shocking amount of time going slower, with a focus on building up the titular heroine’s characterizations. The previous Shakespearean comparison is no accident; it's an extremely apt comparison rather. As the
History Man narrates, we realize we’re being told a story, and given that no one ever really thinks they’re insane in their own story, we get a tale of a wasteland that’s still crazy, but in a more reserved way. Imagine having someone explain one of the most bizarre experiences they’ve ever had to you in the calmest manner possible, and you’ve got a good idea of the level “Furiosa” is operating on.
Even if it isn’t flying by at two-hundred-mph or shot with the bright yellow haze that sears your eyeballs, what’s here is still a massive technical and visual achievement. From numerous sequences involving complicated stunt works or massive vehicular destruction to the way various locations are dressed and designed, Miller’s wasteland continues to be a feast for the senses, shot with glee by cinematographer Simon Duggan (“Warcraft,” “The Great Gatsby (2013)”), and even if there are fewer of them, the action sequences that do exist are still thrilling to behold, thumping along to a chunky electric score from Tom Holkenborg (“Deadpool,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”).
Slightly disappointing though, for all the fantastic stunt work and practical production designs, there are a few glaring moments of visual weirdness that seem out of place given the budget and level of care given to the rest of the film. For example, while there’s some really impressive work with meshing Taylor-Joy and Browne’s faces for young Furiosa and creating the Bullet Farm leader’s face entirely out of CGI, there are also moments of glaring obviousness. Shots of the War Boys standing atop a Rig with clearly green screened backgrounds behind them, as well as various CGI vehicles and crashes that look less than convincing. It wouldn’t be such a discredit if not for the impressive practical work on every front, leading to a jarring clash when these less than stellar elements do appear.
The end result of the film’s various disparate elements is something quite bizarre and unique. It’s a serious film filled with insanity, that never fails to take everything to heart. It’s a work located mostly in deserts and dilapidated locals, but that often looks beautiful in its technical and production design aspects, and it’s lead by two career best performances from two actors who’ve already given plenty of fantastic performances in the past. It lacks that immediate, genre defining momentum that “Fury Road” delivered, not surprising given that film’s lighting in a bottle nature. It’s a fascinatingly different take on a world Miller has had the reins on for his entire career, and it’s worth a watch for that aspect alone. 4.5/5
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