Furiosa (2024)
Title: Furiosa
Year: 2024
Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Nick Lathouris
Cast:
Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa
Chris Hemsworth as Dr. Dementus
Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack
Alyla Browne as Young Furiosa
George Shevstov as The History Man
Lachy Hulme as Immortan Joe
Synopsis
“Snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers, young Furiosa falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by the Immortan Joe. As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.” - Furiosa Movie
Intro + Pre-show expectations.
This week I’ll be reviewing a more recent release in Furiosa, the most recent release in George Miller’s Mad Max series. I have seen Mad Max: Fury Road quite a few times and hold it in very high regard. In my opinion, it is one of the best action films ever made so my expectations going into this movie are pretty high. I will try to be as unbiased as I can, but I would be lying if I said this movie is not something I have had circled on my calendar for a few months now. Fingers crossed I do not leave the theatre in a deep depression.
SPOILERS BELOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Spoiler review and discussion.
Has George Miller made lightning strike twice?
Maybe not exactly but Furiosa is a worthy prequel to the famed Mad Max Fury Road film. Just as loud and gritty, Furiosa presents an eccentric revenge story that doubles as a tourist’s guide to The Wasteland. While Fury Road was a high-energy, high-budget action masterpiece, Furiosa is more of George Miller’s exercise in world-building.
Miller uses this opportunity to take us on a wild ride across the entire ‘Wasteland’ which encompasses the world of the Mad Max saga (which apparently is just the Australian outback?). From The Green Place to Gastown to Bullet Farm, we finally have a chance to see the three major holds that make up the universe of Mad Max. Miller takes the time to explain each location in its entirety giving insight into the dynamics at play in this desolate desert shortly before chaos ensues. In this story, the audience can see how the Wasteland is not only empty in terms of its physical makeup but also how any sense of humanity has been driven out. Instead of humanity, Miller cultivates this relationship with machines akin to that of religious worship as only three things that matter in the Wasteland are food, gasoline, and bullets.
Performances
If anybody had any doubts about Chris Hemsworth’s ability to act you may now finally put them to rest, his performance in this film was undeniably compelling. Despite the fact he may only have played an angry Aussie from the Outback (which is probably as close to home as he is ever gonna get) his charisma in the role breathes so much life into the character that he often does not feel like the narcissistic, self-righteous torturer that he is. He can be both goofy and menacing at the same time which seems to make the character feel more realistic. Honestly, he may have finally shown that he has a lot more to show than simply being a tall Aussie with a big hammer and even bigger shoulders. Anya Taylor-Joy performs fantastic in her role as young Furiosa. Even though the performance is mostly muted, and I mean this literally, she only has 30 lines in the entire movie (as explained by Variety). Her ability to portray sentiments of loathing and hatred through so few words and rather with facial expressions is reminiscent of Keanu Reaves in the John Wick series. Lastly, the even younger Furiosa, played by Alyla Browne was almost equally impressive. As we spend considerable time with child Furiosa she almost matches Taylor-Joy in her presentation of a lost and hopeless child while also staying almost completely silent.
Final take
Overall, the x-factor in this film is clearly George Miller's creative and chaotic cinematic style. Miller has perfected the ability to make chaotic action sequences fit into the context of his created universe while also having them take on their own distinctive visual aesthetic. Everything from the frantic, accelerated movement of the characters, to the almost nauseating movement of the shots. The best way to describe it would be to say the characters never stop moving and neither does the camera. Miller uses Furiosa as an opportunity to build on the world introduced in Fury Road in a way that is interesting but also remains believable (to some extent). Moreover, details such as the painting at Gastown are reminiscent of late 19th-century and early 20th-century artwork symbolic of a return to nature is a unique touch and very interesting regarding the themes of the Mad Max series. However, despite all the praise the film does struggle with some issues with the pacing and some drawn-out sequences. I have no issue with the childhood section of the film being nearly as long as it was but I feel like had it been shorter they would had more time for the audience to understand how Furiosa went from cosplaying as a War-Boy to riding with Pretorian Jack in a blink of an eye. By off-screening her transition from escaped child to Imperator the audience is left a bit confused and it creates a decent plothole, especially when we consider she is one of the only women at the citadel (so how did nobody put two and two together?) Also, the final showdown at the end with Furiosa and Dementus did not need to be long. Just. Kill. Him. Already. The silence of Furiosa combined with Dementus yapping dragged on for so long that I found myself getting impatient with the scene completely. The movie is nearly two and a half hours, so please for the love of god, roll the credits. But I will say the tree-planting bit almost made it worth it.
Recommendation
I absolutely recommend Furiosa to any fan of action movies or anyone in the mood for something visually unique and stylistic. A perfect movie to watch with friends or in a group as the energy of the film is infectious. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful films to release in 2024 and would not be surprised to see it compete with Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part 2 for certain Academy Awards next winter.
Score
Writing: 8/10
Style: 10/10
Performance: 8.5/10
Direction: 9/10
Cinematography: 9/10
