4 stars out of 5
“Mad Max” was a nickname, which described his behavior, which was — you know — mad. But saddling a kid with the name Furiosa — are you sealing their fate right then and there? And don’t even get me started on her arch rival, Dementus.
As with recent sequels involving ghosts and apes and sandworms, I initially resisted Furiosa. I liked Fury Road a whole lot; it was my 7th favorite film of 2015. But this just looked like more of the same: vehicles and dust. Still, positive early word got me to shake off my own dust, and though not quite as great as Fury Road, I’m glad I caught this one in the theater.
This is a prequel, with Anya Taylor-Joy taking the reverse baton from Charlize Theron as heroine of the wasteland, Furiosa. This is her origin story.
As such, we spend a lot of time with Lil’ Furiosa (very nice work by young Alyla Browne). She’s raised in a utopian (though still post-apocalyptic) female-centric society, kinda like like Wonder Woman. Alas, as curious children do, she wanders from the herd and is snatched by goofy bad guy Dementus. Chris Hemworth has a blast playing this role; sometimes with a cape and steampunk club, he even looks like a student-film version of Thor.
But the really evil bad guy, just like in Fury Road, is Immortan Joe. (Dementus is bad, but at least has a sense of humor.) Joe’s two dumb sons are played by the same actors from the last movie (Don Jr. and Eric). And it’s Joe and his thugs vs. Dementus and his thugs for control of the gasoline and the bullets. Oh boys and their toys, war what is it good for, absolutely nuthin’, meanwhile Furiosa grows into Taylor-Joy who is just trying to get back to the ga-ar-den.
Taylor-Joy is terrific here, delivering a truly feral performance. And though she was a wild child, by sitting back and learning she now subtly shows problem-solving acumen in addition to the kick-ass-itude we knew was within. Taylor-Joy plays Furiosa’s emotions very close to the vest, yet allows a touch of humanity to drip out as fellow road warrior Praetorian Jack slowly earns her trust.
Plus you get all the giant trucks and old cars and guns and spears and explosions and hang gliders you could ever want. Opening-credits sound bites give us a few hints of how the modern world collapsed — wouldn’t ya know it, war and pandemics were involved!
At age 79, director/co-writer George Miller shows no signs of slowing or mellowing, and I’ll happily follow him into the dust once more if such is his bidding. An epic spanning Taylor-Joy to Charlize? Just putting a bug in your ear and silver spray paint around your mouth.
Movie Review: Furiosa—A Mad Max Saga
One response to “Movie Review: Furiosa—A Mad Max Saga”
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well said. …..”Oh boys and their toys, war what is it good for, absolutely nuthin’,”