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.
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Director: George Miller
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, Lachy Hulme, Nathan Jones
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated R for sequences of strong violence, and grisly images.
Runtime: 2h 28m
Review:
George Miller's Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga doesn't bring the same level of action overload that Fury Road brought but it does deliver a level of visual storytelling rarely seen in summer blockbusters. Miller brings a mythic approach to the central character's story which permeates every frame of this film as we traverse the apocalyptic wasteland. It’s a more methodical approach overall as Miller splashes a succession of striking visuals with a handful resembling a series of crazed renaissance paintings. There's still plenty of teeth rattling action although much more contained to three large set pieces replete with an insanely large amount of stunt performers flying around on a variety of vehicles. It’s hard not to marvel at the logistical choreography on display during these extended action scenes which beg to be seen on the big screen although those expecting a full two and half hours of these breakneck sequences will be slightly disappointed. While Furiosa's overall backstory is fairly simple and straight forward it’s clear that Miller has a deep affection for the character as he takes his time with her journey with Anya Taylor-Joy not showing up until the one hour mark. Alyla Browne carries that first hour doing solid work showing the fledgling ferocity that blossoms in the film's second half. Once Anya Taylor-Joy does take over she proves to be more than capable of embodying the character with impressive intensity, nearly matching Charlize Theron's singular turn in Fury Road. She makes wonderful use of her large expressive eyes, readily suited to reflect the character's dogged determination and steely gaze for the role which is fairly light on dialogue. Chris Hemsworth gets much more dialogue to work with and he's clearly enjoying himself playing the film's villain. He steals every scene he's in and the film sorely misses his energy when he's offscreen. His bombastic turn is over the top and twisted but there's still a sliver of humanity that comes through exemplified in a late stage sequence between him and Taylor-Joy. The rest of the supporting cast kind of pale in comparison to the central pair with Tom Burke, who get a decent amount of screen time, failing to leave a real mark as Furiosa's mentor/love interest. Minor issues like that keep this film from reaching the heights that Fury Road achieved but that doesn't keep it from working perfectly as an excellent companion piece to that film.
B+
