“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is the long awaited prequel to George Miller’s universally loved “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Miller’s new film in the Mad Max universe instead focuses on the character of Furiosa who has continued to capture the hearts of audiences since her debut back in 2015. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” dives into the origins of Furiosa as it starts back when Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) was still a child. Furiosa is kidnapped as a child from her home and is brought into the wasteland, where she eventually falls into the hands of Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Furiosa’s mother is killed by Dementus and his followers in an attempt to save her daughter leading to the main focus of the movie where Furiosa vows to serve revenge against Dementus. She tries to navigate through the power struggles between Dementus and Immortan Joe fighting for survival, vengeance, and a way home. The film explores her transformation from a once innocent child to the fierce warrior seen in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” through explosive action sequences and a riveting plot
Although “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is the canonical prequel to “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the movie brings its own creative decisions and personality to this wasteland world standing up as its own piece of art. Unlike the previous film where it was more full of action, this film succeeds in mesmerizing the audience by vividly illustrating the film’s wasteland world and bringing along a strong character narrative. Additionally, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” feels like it was planned out and carefully crafted since Fury Road as the film satisfyingly fills in the missing context of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” An example would be the explanation on how Furiosa’s lost arm. In Fury Road Furiosa is shown to have a missing arm and the film doesn’t provide an explanation to it, but in “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” it is shown how Furiosa lost her arm. This outcome can only be possible if George Miller planned out this story beforehand showing how much effort and caution has gone into this project.
We can’t talk about “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" without talking about the amazing action sequences within it. The action in this movie shows why it is in a different class of its own, as the actions and the procedures to create that action are flawlessly delivered to the audience. The complex setting, movement, and even tools of the action are used creatively to provide the maximum thrill to audiences. There are no misunderstandings for the audience when watching the action sequences helping the audience know exactly what is happening in each sequence. George Miller’s usage of long shots and low angles when filming some of the action sequences left me particularly impressed. It not only raised the intensity of the scene but showed Miller’s perfect control over the action sequence no matter how large it was. Miller also has a very original and creative way of planning out his action sequences. Most action movies typically tend to be fast paced and use its speed to create intensity. Miller however, slows it down and tends to have long action sequences where it is focused on specific details. Miller is able to still maintain the thrill of the action and clearly portray it even with these aspects making his action sequences a one of a kind and much more interesting than most sequences.
The structure of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is interesting as well since the movie is split into five chapters where each chapter contains an epic action sequence and a change in Furiosa’s position. One of the sequences is when Furiosa is kidnapped from her home and is taken in by Dementus. Another is when Furiosa is given up to Immortan Joe from Dementus. This structure makes it feel like the movie is made up of five excellent short action films giving the overall film a unique look. This choice of structure helps show the change of Furiosa’s predicament for each chapter and the transformation Furiosa undergoes as a character through multiple action sequences. Overall, the structure helps develop Furiosa’s character in a deep and creative way.
The main topic that is discussed in the movie is the question about if hope exists. Each character in the film has their own opinion on hope and even Mad Max From “Mad Max: Fury Road” has his own opinion from his movie. Immortan Joe’s attitude towards hope is misleading as he creates a false hope for his followers while the other villain, Dementus, outright denies hope at all as he’s never seen The Green Place where resources are abundant. Both Mad Max and Jack (Tom Burke) also don’t believe in hope and it is only Furiosa who believes in hope as she came from The Green Place and witnessed a world full of resources. Furiosa’s attempt to go back home shows how one attempts to rediscover hope that they once believed in and experienced during their childhood. This aspect adds depth and complexity to Furiosa’s character but also the themes of both movies, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” as the characters in both of the movies are in search of hope.
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is also a coming of age story. In the beginning the movie shows Furiosa picking a peach like fruit and in the end the movie shows Furiosa doing the same action just with a different peach like fruit. When looking at this from the perspective of a coming of age story, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is about how Furiosa has changed between the first time she picked the fruit and the second time she picks the fruit. Additionally, Furiosa’s character starts off as a unique person that eventually becomes anonymous in order to survive. This anonymous character ultimately manifests herself and becomes a new unique being that is stronger than ever. This plot is a strong foundation for a compelling coming of age film, giving the movie multiple perspectives to view it from.
Overall, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” matches and maybe even exceeds “Mad Max: Fury Road” with its strong and unique action sequences, compelling character arc, and complex plot structure. Almost anyone will enjoy the film but I will specifically recommend it to people who are looking for a different action experience that other movies can’t provide.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Action/Adventure/Sci-fi
148 Minutes
2024
Director
George Miller
Cast
Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa
Chris Hemsworth as Warlord Dementus
Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack
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