Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
In 2022, Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise reignited the general public’s faith in the big-budget blockbuster and challenged the capabilities of the film camera in Top Gun: Maverick. Later that year, James Cameron transported audiences back to the world of Pandora with Avatar: The Way of Water and reaffirmed the irreplaceable need for movie theaters. 2023 brought droves to the cinema for the instantly iconic Barbenheimer and Denis Villeneuve’s epic conclusion to Dune earlier this year redefined the sci-fi genre. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga continues this momentum of auteur blockbuster filmmaking and brings us to even higher levels of “we are so back,”.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga details the odyssey of the once-mysterious if still ferocious, Imperator Furiosa of Fury Road. After being kidnapped from her homeland, The Green Place, a hidden place of abundance within the desolate Wasteland, Furiosa (Alyla Browne/Anya Taylor-Joy) finds herself captive by a manic tyrant hell-bent on power, Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). As he strides around the Wasteland in the company of his gang of bike riders, deviously laying claim to what little is left in this world, the warlord meets his match in The Citadel’s Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). Amid Dementus’ efforts to overcome his last obstacle in the form of his fellow tyrant (or so he thinks), Furiosa picks up on the ways of the Wasteland and plots a path to vengeance, eventually becoming the warrior we met in Fury Road.
The incendiary Furiosa (Anya-Taylor Joy) applying her road skills and swerving her way out of a predicament at Bullet Town.
While Fury Road navigates its chaos with reckless abandon, Furiosa treks along in a whole different gear. Miller affords himself the luxury of being more patient and methodical this time around – after all, the film’s intentions are vastly different from its predecessor’s. He isn’t seeking to create yet another action film of massive proportions that never takes its foot off the gas. Here, Miller and co-writer Nick Lathouris gladly veer off onto the roads less traveled to expand upon the lore and characters introduced in Fury Road. Rather than focusing on the action itself, the film acts almost as a character study of Furiosa that recontextualizes the 2015 masterpiece as the final chapter in her story instead of the sprawling epic it once was.
When Miller does shift gears into full-throttle, it truly becomes a marvel to witness. Once again, the director concocts intricate and densely layered set pieces that force jaws to the ground. As if the envelope couldn’t have been pushed further with Fury Road – what essentially is a two-hour-long action sequence – Furiosa sees the action going aerial with setpieces requiring a confounding number of moving parts. In front of Miller’s camera, these logistical nightmares transform into cinematic spectacle. The explosions caused by Dementus’ motley crew burn much brighter, the chrome lining the hodge-podge vehicles and mouths of the War Boys beam from the screen, and the sun-scorched sands and enormous canyons scream in varying orange hues, meanwhile, the camera performs a complex choreography of whirls to pans to capture it all. As filmgoers, we are left with no choice but to thank George Miller for committing to a “more is more” mindset and providing a feeling of giddiness through his uncompromised, epic vision.
Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) crossing the treacherous Wasteland in his motorcycle chariot and gang of misfits in tow.
George Miller’s return to the Wasteland is the closest the film medium can get to capturing video game carnage. Furiosa is yet another foray into the director’s wild imagination and audacious ambition. Through the titular character’s venture across the demented Wasteland, Miller touches upon the perseverance of man’s insatiable greed and unstoppable consumption of resources and the fleeting endurance of humanity in the face of a vast, empty world of destruction. The director’s affinity toward depicting the maniacal and insane is taken to the nth degree through oversaturated colors, inspired editing choices, and giving the camera a life of its own. Though its praises are merited, the long-awaited prequel might come as a bit of a shock to diehard fans of Fury Road (myself included). It moves more slowly and calculatedly. Its deliberate pacing in service of translating Furiosa’s hero’s journey as one of legend. However, that’s not to say that the magic of Fury Road is lost, for once Furiosa kicks into high gear and its intentions are revealed, what transpires on the silver screen is enough to make one declare that the dark days of superhero slop and uninspired blockbusters plaguing the box office are officially in the rearview mirror.
Verdict: Boisterous and flamboyant in doses, the calculated Furiosa: A Mad Max takes a patient route in fleshing out the Wasteland and detailing the mighty warrior’s backstory yet still reaches epic heights, earning it a Nick Pick. (4/5)