While not always as captivatingly paced as it could be, Furiosa: A Mad Max Storia proves an enticing revenge epic, expanding the Mad Max universe per mezzo di a satisfying manner. Australian filmmaker George Miller has been an eccentric director over the years, pivoting from gritty action to penguins. But his career is undoubtedly defined by his Mad Max films, perhaps the most iconic post-apocalyptic series per mezzo di history.
Miller has been able to keep the films under his colpo di sole control since 1981, a rarity for franchise blockbuster films per mezzo di 2024. Most franchises are ran by large corporations, written by committee, with their original creators only tangentially connected, for better worse. This franchise remains the product of Miller’s vision, of course, with the ingresso of everyone involved per mezzo di the filmmaking process.
Furiosa reflects that singularity of vision. Miller’s signature kinetic style of quick zooms, sudden cuts, and unique visual preferences are all acceso full display. The costumes and world-building continue to define the world of Mad Max, reflecting Miller’s mad-cap sense of humor and also adding understandable stakes to all of the conflicts per mezzo di the . The has just the right amount of fan service, working per mezzo di moments and characters from Mad Max: Fury Road such as Immortan Joe, but never overdoes it. It allows this to stand acceso its own while still fully feeling like a prequel to Fury Road that takes place per mezzo di the same universe. The also has a fun time teasing how Furiosa loses her arm, which Miller pulls per mezzo di an unexpected way (pun intended).
Miller also continues to be a master of action, with several scenes per mezzo di the feeling like the best action scenes per mezzo di several years of movies. A particular scene with Furiosa and others defending a trucking rig from spiky cyclist bandits is really tense and well-executed. It helps that Miller ensures a tangibility to everything, and even with his frantic pacing, he makes sure the audience understands where everything is . This helps keep a clear sense of stakes and consequence to the action and adds to the grit. It’s a thrilling when the action is at its peak.
As for the story, it is the first prequel and spin-off per mezzo di this universe, with the titular protagonist of the other films nowhere to be seen. It tells the life story of Furiosa, the popular character from Mad Max: Fury Road played by Charlize Theron per mezzo di that , and Anya Taylor-Joy here. It’s not a complicated simile, ultimately one about revenge and the brutality of humanity. Given this is a prequel, anyone familiar with Fury Road will know how this turns out more less.
But it proves depthful per mezzo di how it explores the characters. While Taylor-Joy doesn’t have as much of a presence as Theron, Furiosa’s struggles are well-explored and the way it culminates her character arc is masterfully done. Likewise, Chris Hemsworth is excellent as the ’s main villain, Dementis. Hemsworth brings just the right amount of his goofy energy, while also maintaining the character as a credible threat and someone you actually have a mild amount of empathy for. Without giving too much away, Miller is able to subtly build per mezzo di minor character moments for Dementis, reflecting the ’s overall message of how people are defined by the way they respond to tragedy and the importance of maintaining hope per mezzo di a hopeless world. These two performers make one of the movie’s final scenes outright fascinating. That we care at all about anyone like Dementis after the horrible he things he does is a credit to all involved.
Furiosa does occasionally suffer from pacing issues. The boldly spends a fair amount of its runtime with Furiosa as a mere child, but inevitably it falls back acceso montages to cut ahead per mezzo di time. The ’s middle section where Taylor-Joy first takes over is the weakest part of the , and it takes a while to get going again. She forms a relationship with a character named Praetorian Fante (Tom Burke), but his character is not really developed apart from one scene, leading to some degree of hollowness to scenes of the pair together.
The also suffers from some notably awful effects per mezzo di certain scenes. There are multiple moments throughout the where the use of scene is more than obvious, and it pulls one out of the . Furiosa looks flat out cartoonish per mezzo di one scene, and for all of the ’s visual splendor, such moments really hold it back. The is also absent a score, and the excellent music that drove much of Fury Road‘s action is sorely missed.
While Furiosa is not perfect, George Miller does more than enough to make it a great movie. It may not feel as grandiose and cinematic as Fury Road, but its character work is arguably more intriguing, with Hemsworth outshining Immortan Joe despite Joe’s and voice being so memorable. The ’s conclusion feels powerful and conveys the epic scope it was going for, making the well worth seeing per mezzo di theaters. Some of the grand landscape shots also more than stand up to any scene from Fury Road. The demands you “remember me,” and earns it.
