My first encounter with the Mad Max franchise was, if we’re being honest like many, the epic Best Picture nominee Mad Max Fury Road. It is an exquisite work of art, acting as one giant chase that relentlessly pursues its goal of blowing your mind. It’s not just the stunts, or the stunt performers, but the amount of practical effects that made the film look fantastic. Even now as a blind viewer, I find so much enjoyment in the characters, the dialogue, and the rockinn’ score. There’s a vehicle in fury Road whose sole purpose seems to be to rock your face off. Performances are excellent, notably from Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult, and the audio description really delivered on the promise of bringing a lot of the experience I remembered. So, with Furiosa being the breakout of the film, what would a solo film for her look like?
The fun fact about this is that in order to even shoot Fury Road, George miller already essentially had furiosa written. This was something Charlize Theron discussed when she was approaching playing the character the first time around. She noted that Miller had such a distinct and extensive tale, that it would make for a movie in and of itself. Now, it is, but without Theron. instead of casting Theron, who is just 49, they went with 28 year old Anya Taylor joy as the face of about 2/3rds of the film. The first third is actually played by a much younger child actress, who is equally silent. whether by choice, or out of spite, Furiosa is a lady of few words, which means the story has to tell itself.
As a young girl, and almost within the first 2-3 minutes of the film, Furiosa is kidnapped by a group of baddies who have now seen the land of plenty, and could lead an army back to rape the village of its resources, and its women. So, Furiosa’s mother sets out on a rescue mission, realizing that no matter what, no one may find the location of their slice of heaven. Of course, even as a little girl, Furiosa is still a badass, and between her and her mother, they do a good job of dispatching the goons, but Furiosa still ends up in the clutches of Dr Dementus. This leads her to become essentially his property, and be a piece on the field in this battle for resources in a desolate dystopian future. Still, Furiosa always seems to be searching for an exit, and biding her time, but most of all, looking to settle the score.
This film has a totally different vibe than Fury Road, which really was basically point A to point B, with a little bit of backstory thrown in. But, Furiosa even breaks it down into chapters, so that you notice the full stops, and then restarts in the film. This can cause for a bit of a pacing issue, as it is bound to be compared to its predecessor, but when you strip it down, it is a fascinating story that just has a different way of attacking.
the audio description is fantastic, mainly because there’s just so much action going on. Not only is it featuring some truly brutal sequences, but the whole production design is this lost world of eternal desert, where everyone is sand blown and dirty, and the contrasts between the oasis furiosa came from, and where she ends up is stark. She’s also largely non verbal, throughout a lot of the movie, so her performance is facial expressions and physicality. That goes for both who play Furiosa, because even though Joy talks more, she’s still someone who leans into a cold stare.
Chris Hemsworth, though, steals this movie. he takes the fact that he’s rarely ever asked to play this type of role, and relishes it. He is using a lot of that comedic risk taking he showed off in scene stealing roles in Vacation and ghostbusters, and matching it with his standard charm, but mixing in that new sinister villain vibe he’s only really briefly explored in movies like Spiderhead. His performance is commanding, and he eats up every scene he’s in.
I do like fury road more. it is just more fun. I respect that Miller was going for a different vibe here, and a different method of storytelling, but it is so hard to take your franchise to a crescendo like Fury Road, and then ask people to have the same patience through the uneven methodology of Furiosa. It isn’t a bad film, but it heavily suffers from being unable to even equal the predecessor, let alone surpass it.
Final Grade: B
