- R
- 2h 29m
- Directed by
-
- George Miller
- Writer
- Nico Lathouris
- Premiered
- May 22, 2024
- Language
-
- English
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $168,000,000.00
- Revenue
- $174,287,546.00
- Awards
-
- 28 wins & 127 nominations total
- Country
-
- Australia
- United States of America
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Production
-
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Kennedy Miller Mitchell
- Domain Entertainment
Spoiler
A month has passed since the thunderous arrival of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in cinemas worldwide, yet its box office performance suggests the engine hasn't quite roared to life. For fans like myself, who eagerly anticipated George Miller's return to the desolate beauty of the Wasteland after the visceral, high-octane spectacle of Fury Road, the curiosity surrounding the origin of the formidable Imperator Furiosa was palpable. This prequel, a project gestating since Fury Road's 2015 release and likely conceived in Miller's mind even earlier, finally brings Anya Taylor-Joy, stepping into the formidable boots previously worn by Charlize Theron, to the forefront. While new to pure action, Taylor-Joy's background in thrilling horror cinema primes her for the challenges ahead. The narrative unfolds across two interwoven threads: Furiosa's desperate quest to return to her idyllic home, The Green Place, and the ambitious machinations of the antagonist, Dementus, a compellingly portrayed Chris Hemsworth, and his formidable biker horde, who seek to dominate the Wasteland's vital fortresses – Gastown, The Bullet Farm, and The Citadel. The film itself is structured into four distinct acts, a framework mirrored in this exploration of its narrative.
Act I: Capture and the Shattering of Innocence
Our journey commences in the serene embrace of The Green Place, where a young Furiosa, alongside her companion Valkyrie, finds solace amidst the rustling leaves of peach trees. Their idyllic scene is brutally interrupted by the arrival of a biker gang, their presence marked by the slaughter of a horse for sustenance and the appropriation of precious water. Furiosa, with a quick-witted instruction for Valkyrie to conceal herself, attempts to sabotage the intruders' vehicles. This act of defiance, however, leads to her own capture. A desperate plea for help, amplified by a whistle adorning her neck, reaches her mother. A relentless pursuit ensues across the arid expanse, with Furiosa's mother and another of the Many Mothers engaging the gang. In the vast desert, the two women skillfully pick off the pursuers with their rifles, leaving only the one with Furiosa. Her mother, driven by an unyielding resolve, presses on alone, leading the gang and her captive daughter towards a sprawling encampment.
It is within this chaotic hub that we are introduced to Dementus. Furiosa is presented to him by a gang member seeking favor, not the one who abducted her. Dementus, a figure haunted by his own lost children, decides to keep Furiosa, envisioning her as a surrogate daughter. The Green Place, meanwhile, remains secure, a testament to Furiosa's earlier, decisive action – she had silenced her immediate captor, rendering her unable to reveal her home's location to Dementus, who consequently feeds the man to his hounds. A subsequent sandstorm provides an opportune moment for Furiosa's mother. Disguised as one of the fallen bikers, she infiltrates the camp, retrieves Furiosa, and begins their escape. Dementus, however, is not easily outmaneuvered. He orders his motorcycle, laden with fuel, to be shot. The resulting explosion, while devastating, miraculously spares the two women, though both sustain significant, albeit seemingly recoverable, burns. The narrative posits that at this precise moment of detonation, the film should have concluded with the protagonist's demise. Yet, the demands of a female-led prequel preclude such an ending, marking the film's first instance of the "Mary Sue" trope. While not pervasive, these moments occasionally strain credulity, momentarily disrupting the viewer's immersion. Dementus, employing his bloodhounds, tracks and apprehends the fleeing pair. He subjects Furiosa's mother to brutal torture, demanding the location of The Green Place. Unyielding, she urges Furiosa to escape. Furiosa attempts to flee on a motorcycle but returns, only to witness her mother's agonizing immolation for a secret she never divulged. Furiosa is then taken, her voice silenced by trauma.
Act II: An Uneasy Exchange
The narrative shifts to Furiosa's captivity under Dementus, a period marked by the gang's escalating size and brutality. In one particularly savage display, a rival gang leader is chained to five motorcycles and violently dismembered, a grim spectacle that allows Dementus to absorb the defeated faction into his own. Amidst this, a War Boy, bearing an arrow in his head and visibly affected by a recent battle, reappears. He divulges information about The Citadel and guides Dementus' forces towards it. Fueled by newfound arrogance and vigor, Dementus launches an assault to seize this coveted stronghold of abundance.
The film reintroduces familiar faces from Fury Road: Immortan Joe, his sons Rictus Erectus and Scrotus, and the enigmatic People Eater. Dementus presents Immortan Joe with an ultimatum, which is met with dismissive mockery. In a chilling demonstration of his power, Joe commands a War Boy to self-immolate, taking several of Dementus' bikers with him. A chaotic melee erupts, forcing Dementus to retreat with heavy losses, recognizing Joe as a formidable and unyielding adversary. He then begins to consolidate his power, cultivating an empire by exploiting the Citadel's trade of food and water for gasoline from Gastown, and ammunition from The Bullet Farm. Gastown becomes his initial target. As a diversion to lure Immortan Joe out, Dementus orchestrates the overpowering of a convoy en route to Gastown. Some of his men, disguised as War Boys, pilot the convoy into Gastown, while the remaining forces stage a feigned hijacking. The leaders of Gastown, deceived by the ruse, open their gates, unwittingly admitting a Trojan Horse. Dementus' operatives, led by Octoboss, storm Gastown in a bloody confrontation, ultimately emerging victorious. With Gastown under his control, Dementus rigs the settlement with explosives, presenting a more substantial ultimatum to Immortan Joe.
Dementus returns to The Citadel, now imbued with a genuine sense of confidence and leverage. His demand is simple: Immortan Joe must acknowledge Dementus as the sovereign of Gastown. Failure to comply will result in the detonation of the explosives, the code for which only Dementus possesses. However, Immortan Joe's attention is captivated by the presence of the young Furiosa. When questioned, Dementus falsely claims her as his child, subtly hinting at her inherited perfections, playing on Joe's known genetic deficiencies and his predilection for young, unblemished women. A tense moment arises when Joe directly addresses Furiosa, seeking confirmation. Before she can utter a word, Dementus interjects, asserting her muteness. For the first time since witnessing her mother's demise, Furiosa speaks, revealing Dementus is not her father and that he was responsible for her mother's death. Armed with this revelation, Joe agrees to Dementus' terms, but with a crucial stipulation: Furiosa must be handed over to become one of his Wives, along with his "Organic Mechanic." Dementus accepts, but his childish pique is evident as he snatches back the teddy bear he had gifted Furiosa.
Act III: Reinvention and the Road Ahead
The film's central action sequence introduces "Max" to this Mad Max Saga in the form of Praetorian Jack, portrayed by Tom Burke. Jack is a stoic yet pragmatically empathetic figure, chosen to pilot the War Rig due to his impeccable track record on the Fury Road. Furiosa is reinstated as his co-pilot. Time has advanced significantly; after being returned to Joe, Furiosa escaped the vault housing the Wives. She remained within The Citadel, maintaining her guise as a mute boy to conceal her identity. She found a new occupation within the "House of Holy Motors," becoming a mechanic and steadily ascending through Immortan Joe's ranks, eventually reaching adulthood and co-piloting the coveted War Rig – a vehicle she herself had helped construct.
Jack and Furiosa share a functional, professional dynamic, though the film attempts to frame it as a nascent romance. However, the chemistry between them feels forced, a palpable disconnect evident from the outset. The War Rig is en route to Gastown for a food delivery. We cut back to Gastown, where Dementus has established a firm grip, having violently ousted the previous administrators. The War Rig, however, comes under attack by a former member of Dementus' crew. The rogue Octoboss, seeking to reassert his authority and demonstrate his prowess, attempts to hijack the War Rig. While this battle doesn't reach the same intensity as Fury Road's iconic set pieces, it's crucial to contextualize it as a hijacking of a supply run, not the retrieval of Immortan Joe's prized Wives, which necessitated the full deployment of his forces. This is a skirmish orchestrated by an opportunistic leader aiming to elevate his status by targeting valuable provisions. Unfortunately for the Octoboss and his followers, the flagship War Rig is piloted by Joe's most capable personnel, making it a challenging target even with combined air and land assaults. Thus, while not as awe-inspiring as the War Rig sequence in Fury Road, this encounter remains impressive within the narrative's framework.
During the ensuing chaos, Furiosa's true identity is revealed to Jack, sparking a struggle for control of the rig. The fight is brief, with Jack easily repelling Furiosa's attack. He then abandons her in the Wasteland, leaving her for dead. Given the film's runtime and the fact that we are approximately two-thirds of the way through, this is not the end of Furiosa's journey. Jack experiences a change of heart and returns for her, acknowledging her difficult day and the necessity of starting anew with the War Rig convoy and crew decimated. He pledges to impart his knowledge of survival in the Wasteland, enabling her to reach her ultimate destination: The Green Place. The pair embarks on various expeditions together, their bond strengthening, and the romantic undertones are revisited. However, for this viewer, the connection remains strictly pragmatic and platonic, rooted in mutual honor and respect rather than romantic love.
One such expedition takes them to Gastown for fuel, where the settlement is in disarray, Dementus' control having weakened, and he appears to almost revel in the ensuing chaos. The pair narrowly escapes a skirmish and returns to Immortan Joe to report on Gastown's deteriorating state. Joe then instructs them to proceed to Bullet Town to procure ammunition for an impending takeover of Gastown. Unbeknownst to them, this is part of Dementus' cunning strategy to mislead Immortan Joe, making him believe Gastown is vulnerable and ripe for hostile annexation. In reality, it's a ruse; Dementus leads his forces to The Bullet Farm for an ambush of Joe's convoy. This leads to an engaging action sequence where Jack utilizes the War Rig as a weapon, while Furiosa assumes a sniper position to target Dementus. A point of contention arises: Furiosa's proficiency with a sniper rifle is demonstrated, despite no prior indication of her acquiring such a skill while working as a mechanic. This unexplained expertise is left to be assumed as part of her inherent capability. Similarly, Furiosa's apparent immunity to fire is questioned. During the sequence, the War Rig is sacrificed in an attempt to escape The Bullet Farm, exploding near the gate. Furiosa is positioned on the other side, her back against the gate, enveloped by flames. The narrative suggests that, at the very least, the back of her jacket should have been fused to her flesh, as metal offers no protection against intense heat. Nevertheless, the pair escapes in the car Furiosa had arrived in. Dementus and his men pursue them across the Wasteland, as Furiosa and Jack vow to locate The Green Place. This culminates in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase, with Dementus bearing down on them in a formidable monster truck. In a desperate attempt to eliminate Dementus, Furiosa employs the "boom stick" (a familiar shotgun from Fury Road, its origin story deemed unnecessary by the reviewer) but fails. Positioned between the truck and their car, Furiosa's left arm is crushed by Dementus before he fully rams their vehicle, disabling it and leading to their capture.
With Furiosa bound and suspended, ironically mirroring her mother's fate, Jack meets a brutal end, dragged and tortured by motorcycles. Furiosa, seemingly unfazed by Jack's demise, seizes the opportunity to sever her own left arm and escape. The reviewer notes the implausibility of this act, imagining the excruciating pain involved, yet posits that within the "girlboss/Mary Sue" narrative, Furiosa can effortlessly sever her limb and proceed to scale a steep, rocky incline on a motorcycle without apparent discomfort or injury.
Act IV: The Darkest of Angels
Furiosa returns to The Citadel and finds refuge in a cave, where her wound is treated by maggots. She is subsequently named "Praetorian Furiosa" and begins constructing a mechanical arm for herself. The film, however, does not depict her mechanical aptitude, leaving the audience to accept her prowess without explanation. A montage, accompanied by voiceover narration, details Immortan Joe's initiation of the "40 Days War," an effort to flush Dementus out of The Bullet Farm and eradicate his remaining followers. Furiosa presents Immortan Joe with a single, chilling demand: "If you find him, he's mine." She then commandeers a vehicle and embarks on her hunt for Dementus. She intercepts the remnants of the biker gang attempting to flee. Despite a clever deception, Dementus is apprehended with relative ease, deprived of water, ammunition, and a wheel from his motorcycle.
An interrogation scene unfolds in the desert. Bound and kneeling, Dementus is questioned by Furiosa about his recollection of her and her mother. He claims no memory. Furiosa attempts to jog his memory, to evoke the girl she was fifteen years prior. A profound exchange ensues, revealing Dementus as a man of substance who has merely projected a persona. However, during a seemingly sincere monologue from Dementus, Furiosa interrupts with a physical assault. The reviewer questions the believability of this confrontation, given Furiosa's significantly smaller stature compared to Dementus, even in his restrained state. This is likened to the fight between Max and Furiosa in Fury Road, where the audience was expected to accept their equal footing. The reviewer argues that Furiosa lacks the imposing presence and strategic acumen to be considered "The Darkest of Angels," her approach limited to shouting and striking. A more compelling scenario, it is suggested, would involve Furiosa utilizing her resources, such as her car and sniper rifle, to incapacitate Dementus from a distance, forcing him to cooperate. The reviewer laments the perceived Hollywood inclination towards depicting female characters engaging in violence against restrained male characters.
Further exchanges lead to Furiosa repeatedly beating Dementus until he loses consciousness. Upon regaining awareness, Furiosa holds the teddy bear Dementus gifted her as a child. "Little D," Dementus queries softly, finally recognizing her. He then delivers a monologue, proposing that Furiosa is his successor, that she, like him, is already dead. Furiosa refutes this, and Dementus explains their shared struggle to feel alive and their inability to escape the sorrow of lost loved ones. He reiterates that they are already dead and challenges her to make her existence epic. The film concludes with narration recounting rumors of Furiosa's methods of killing Dementus, followed by a montage of various execution scenarios. However, the true method is revealed to be far more poetic: in the hydroponic gardens of The Citadel, Furiosa plants the peach seed her mother entrusted to her inside Dementus, allowing his decaying body to nourish the tree her mother tasked her with saving. This symbolic act neatly concludes the film. A brief epilogue shows Furiosa accompanying the Wives to the War Rig, leading directly into the opening of Fury Road.
Conclusion
The reviewer posits that if Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga had been released within three years of Fury Road and starred Charlize Theron, its box office performance would likely have been significantly stronger. The nine-year gap, the reviewer argues, has seen drastic shifts in Hollywood, particularly concerning female-led action and superhero films, many of which have faltered due to weak writing and forced political messaging. Furiosa, however, largely avoids these pitfalls, with its jarring political undertones being minimal and not detracting from the overall enjoyment. The film's primary impediment, according to the reviewer, is its timing. The cinematic landscape has changed, and marketing a film as part of the "Mad Max Saga" with minimal presence of Max himself is a disservice. Had it been filmed concurrently with Fury Road and released as a prelude, perhaps six months prior, 2015 would have boasted two exceptional films, and Furiosa would have been perceived differently. However, George Miller's own statements indicate no pre-existing story for this film until after Fury Road's success and the character's resonance with female audiences. This suggests a lack of initial planning for a spin-off, making the prolonged development of a less engaging predecessor questionable. The box office figures, the reviewer contends, indicate a lack of audience appetite, though not a general disinterest in alternatives to superhero films, as evidenced by the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer. The core issue, it seems, is that Furiosa missed its opportune moment by several years. The reviewer suggests that the inclusion of Tom Hardy or even Mel Gibson to set up a Fury Road sequel would have drawn larger audiences. Anya Taylor-Joy is commended for her convincing portrayal of a hardened road warrior, a surprising feat given her prior horror roles.
On its own merits, Furiosa is deemed perfectly enjoyable. While Immortan Joe and the Citadel's leadership aren't operating at peak efficiency, their capacity for calculated violence remains evident, especially considering the film's less urgent circumstances. The standout performance, for the reviewer, belongs to Chris Hemsworth as Dementus. His transition from the Shakespearean comic relief of Thor to a "demented and damaged comic relief" is a welcome change. Initially appearing as a comedic figure, Dementus reveals significant depth and showcases Hemsworth's range, keeping the audience guessing about his true state of mind – whether he is genuinely mad or fully in control, or perhaps a blend of both. The film is deemed "worth seeing," but "worth the wait" is a qualified "no." For those who have waited, the reviewer suggests disappointment, while those who haven't can simply immerse themselves once more in the absurdity of the Mad Max universe. The reviewer concludes with a hopeful anticipation for the next installment, ideally featuring Max, and a direct address to George Miller.
Top Billed Cast
Core Crew
Posters
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