Furiosa presents this compelling food for thought while engaging in the franchise’s signature beats of adrenaline-charged action and audacious spectacle. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road is one of, if not the greatest, action films of recent memory. A spectacular eruption of practical mastery, while also containing a surprisingly rich story and layered characters, it was an anti-capitalist, eco-feminist masterpiece. Arguably, the most popular aspect was Charlize Theron’s character, Furiosa, with her quiet morality and indomitable tenacity putting her on an equal footing with the franchise’s protagonist. This new prequel film is not only another showcase of impeccable craftsmanship, but it also enriches the character through fascinating themes and storytelling.
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, years before Fury Road, a young Furiosa is abducted by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), stolen from her lush and fertile home, the Green Place, where her matriarchal tribe resides. Made a prisoner and forced to watch her mother die, Furiosa vows vengeance against Dementus, who lives up to his name via his frenzied antics and duplicitous ethics. The road to her vicious desires spans several years, bringing her into contact with the various self-proclaimed rulers of the wasteland, including Fury Road’s antagonist, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). As an adult, Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) clings to her hatred, believing she can only return home once she has had her vengeance.
While many will come to this film for the sheer spectacle, of which there is plenty, Furiosa’s biggest strengths come from the thought-provoking depth of its story and characterisation. It’s a thrilling display of vehicular carnage and anarchy, but the film is most potent as an exploration of how psychologies are bent and broken in dysfunctional societies. This applies whether in a lawless world, as seen with Dementus’s gang, or a fanatical one like Immortan Joe’s, where the masses are exploited to benefit those on top who own the things everyone needs, a system that, one could claim, is aligned with contemporary capitalism. These factions fight for power and resources in a desperate, barren environment, showcasing how greed and tyranny survive even in completely ravaged landscapes where the desert is all one can see.
As all of this goes on, Furiosa acts as an active wanderer. She doesn’t say much, but she is far from a passive character. Through observation and eventual interaction, she is constantly learning from those around her in the pursuit of her tunnel-visioned goals. The more hardened she becomes, the more the film examines the toll of this transformation. What is she trading in to survive, and what do her choices say about the pursuit of justice in an inherently unjust world? Anya Taylor-Joy carries the torch from Theron superbly. She generates stoic toughness through her physical performance and measured expressions. But her eyes consistently hint at the vulnerability and conflict of ethics bubbling underneath her hunger for revenge. After all, when the world is ending, what does getting even really achieve?
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Thematically, this film is a damnation of apathy, an emotion that flourishes in settings of constant grief, death, injustice and hopelessness. The narrative’s exploration of gang warfare, environmental decay, and systemic societal corruption reveals humanity at its worst – traits exacerbated by the desperation of the apocalypse – yet this film advocates for the empathy, resilience, and honour that humanity at its best embodies.
Furiosa’s journey from kidnapped child to the warrior she becomes, in time for Fury Road, is a story about a woman who seeks retribution but instead finds righteousness. This arc is made all the more powerful in how it parallels the other survivors of this wasteland, many of whom instead embrace apathy and chaos, particularly that of the antagonist, whose own grief has turned him into a monster. In between the gloriously unhinged madness, Hemsworth captures this with diabolical astuteness, delivering his best performance since Rush.
Furiosa presents this compelling food for thought while engaging in the franchise’s signature beats of adrenaline-charged action and audacious spectacle. The dynamic cinematography is composed of enchanting wide shots and kinetic close-ups alike, intertwining them rapidly while never muddying the logistics of the setpieces. Twinned with a pulse-pounding score, the filmmaking accumulates spectacularly into the practical demonstrations of vehicular pandemonium and ritualistic insanity. Whether it’s motorbikes pursuing each other or an extended chase sequence involving paragliders, awe radiates from the film as the action brings the story to explosively colourful life, bathing us in vibrant oranges and desolate blues. Miller’s visionary direction is on top form, as always.
Some audiences may find the film a touch bloated, and it’s not a baseless claim. Structured as a five-part story spanning 15 years, the runtime comes in just shy of 150 minutes. While, for this reviewer, the film remained nail-bitingly animated throughout, it still dedicates a chunky amount of time to set up, which may stall the pacing for some. The more noticeable instances of CGI, even compared to watching Fury Road today, may also prove distracting. Yet the gripping character arcs, stellar worldbuilding and immaculate taste for action all keep this engine running beautifully. It hasn’t quite got the horsepower of Fury Road, but it’s still a mighty impressive beast.
Prequels can be a dangerous gamble, as we often preemptively know the outcome from the prior film. But the best prequels, be it Better Call Saul or Robert De Niro’s segments in The Godfather Part 2, explore how characters came to be in the time before we knew them. Furiosa succeeds at this, dazzling us with its explosive and ambitious filmmaking, but hooking us for another lap through its evocative themes, compelling characterisation, and close analysis of humanity on the brink. This makes it not just a brilliant companion piece to Fury Road, but a rip-roaringly provocative spectacle in its own right. Through great performances, Miller’s bold direction, and meaty commentary underneath all its practicality, Furiosa entertains and exhilarates alike.
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