Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Review

It has been nine years since George Miller reintroduced audiences to the world of Mad Max with Mad Max: Fury Road. Now he has made a prequel focusing on Furiosa and has Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role.

In the future Australia becomes an eradicated wasteland with the only area that has fresh water and plant life being The Green Place of Many Mothers. As a child Furiosa gets abducted by a group of marauders, led by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Over the course of a decade and a half Furiosa acquires the skills to find her way home and attempt to get revenge against Dementus.

Mad Max: Fury Road was a film that spent years in development hell and was a notoriously troubled shot in Namibia because of the weather and the feud between its two leads. The blood, sweat, and tears were rewarded with critical praise, earning six Academy Awards and being nominated for four more. It’s seen as one of the best action films of the 2010s. Fury Road was a simple yet entertaining film because of its near-constant action. Furiosa was a different beast from its predecessor.

Furiosa marks the first time the Mad Max series has moved beyond the titular character, even though it can be argued that Mad Max: Fury Road was really a Furiosa film that needed the Mad Max name for it to be marketable. The previous Mad Max were short and sharp affairs, the first film was a dystopian action-drama where Max was a cop and a family man who was targeted by a biker gang, Road Warrior showed Max getting involved in a conflict between a peaceful group and a roaming war party, and in Beyond Thunderdome Max crossed the leader of a new town and ended up having to help a group of lost children. Fury Road was a chase film where Furiosa was trying to take Immortan Joe’s wives to the Green Place. Furiosa was an epic, in both its story and run time.

Furiosa was more focused on the politics of the wasteland and the various power struggles. The three settlements, The Citadel, Oil Town, and Bullett Farm had to live in a co-dependent relationship which Dementus disrupts. He muscles in like a thug and forces his way to the top table. Dementus acted like a combination of Lord Humungus and The Joker since he was the leader of a violent biker gang who made public announcements and hinted at having a tragic backstory, whilst like The Joker he always had a contingency plan. The other leaders of The Wasteland underestimated Dementus, thinking he’s nothing more than an idiot. All the politicking and brewing conflict made Furiosa into the post-apocalyptic version of Game of Thrones.

Furiosa bore some similarities to Miller’s previous film, Three Thousand Years of Longing because it was an epic that was split into chapters. Taylor-Joy only appeared in the film in the third chapter. It bridges the large gaps of time from Furiosa’s abduction to becoming the badass warrior audiences knew in Fury Road. It was also Miller’s attempt to give Furiosa an art-house quality.

As the Mad Max movies progressed the world has become more outlandish. The first film was about Max fighting a biker gang and after the apocalypse, everyone hoarded hair products and bondage gear. Beyond Thunderdome had a flamboyant performance by Tina Turner as the leader of a new settlement, and the villains in Fury Road were a Viking-obsessed cult that drove around with bunged-up musicians with flame thrower guitars. Dementus rode around on a motorcycle chariot and was surrounded by various masked goons. Furiosa and Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) were the closest thing the film made out to be normal characters.

As a character, Furiosa was shown to be a smart and resourceful character, even as a young child. Furiosa’s first action in the film was to protect her friend, sabotage a bike, and try to warn her community about the raiders. She made a few escape attempts during her time in captivity. Furiosa only got better as she got older since she had some important mentors. One told her the importance of being invaluable, whilst Praetorian Jack was a Mad Max-like character who taught Furiosa the skills on how to survive on the War Rig and became his main lieutenant. Taylor-Joy has proven herself many times as an actress and she got to show what she could do in an action role. She honoured Charlize Theron’s performance in Fury Road by keeping the character’s determination and resistance. Taylor-Joy might be small but she was mighty in the role.

The selling point for all the Mad Max films was the action and Furiosa doesn’t disappoint. The highlight was the third chapter which showed Furiosa’s first time serving on the War Rig. It was a sequence that would have fitted in Fury Road since it was focused on the War Rig as the crew fought off bandits in a desperate battle. Other highlights were the early chase by Furiosa’s mother (Charlee Fraser), and the Battle of Bullett Farm. Miller shows he’s still a master of action and grandeur, although Furiosa wasn’t near continuous action.

Furiosa was a worthy entry in the Mad Max Saga. It was noteworthy for taking the series down a new story direction and is a highly entertaining R-rated blockbuster.