THE FAILURE AND POSSIBLE REBIRTH OF FURIOSA
Movie Review – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Review by Ray Schillaci
In 2015, the master blaster of action, director George Miller, continued his Mad Max franchise with Mad Max:Fury Road sans its star, Mel Gibson, who starred in the three previous movies (the last being Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which was released in 1985). It was thirty years later that the last Mad Max movie was released and it went onto break box-office records and ended up being nominated for an astounding TEN Academy Awards.
The franchise always made money up until now. The latest installment, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, had the highest budget yet with $168 million, only garnering to this date $172.8 million. What happened?
It could not have been the absence of Mel Gibson since the last movie raked in more money than any of its predecessors. Was it the removal of Mad Max from the film? Was the character of Furiosa not enough of a draw?
What it could not be was the fault of streaming since less than a month later Disney’s Inside Out 2 became a runaway hit. Some had a similar question about the DOA of Universal’s The Fall Guy at the box-office. It had two stars with proven track records, both coming out off of two mega-hits, Barbie and Oppenheimer. But, in the latter case, in my opinion, there was plenty of reason for the film to fail. The chemistry was off between the two stars, the romantic comedy antics felt too forced and the film had a horrible feeling of everything being packaged; the story, stunts, dialogue. The movie just thundered on ahead fully expecting people to lower their expectations and attempt to enjoy the manufactured dull ride.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, on the other hand, had a strong cast and remarkable production values. Miller had not lost his touch for striking visuals. Here was a story with a beginning, middle and end unlike the previous film. Production and stunts may not have been as striking as Fury Road, but the sheer power of Miller’s story with the backdrop of a society gone bonkers and the power struggles of survivors was exciting in itself.
For those that were just getting initiated into the world of Mad Max, Fury Road made very little attempt to deliver the back story. Yet the film was a huge hit. On the other hand, Furiosa delivered two remarkable performances by Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, you would think the film would capture audiences hungry for a great slice of action cinema. But, something went drastically wrong.
Critics were overjoyed with the film as much as the audiences that went to see it. Somehow Warner Brothers dropped the ball sending the message out to capture the Fury Road audience. How could an underwhelming Indiana Jones sequel make over $300 million and a far better action movie, Furiosa, only muster up $178 million? In retrospect, the Indy movies have always been far more family friendly than the Mad Max franchise. Let’s also check out the release pattern. The last Indy film opened at 4,600 screens while Furiosa had less than half the screens, 2,100 of them.
More than likely it was the studio’s insistence to tag Furiosa with A Mad Max Saga moniker. Miller had originally wanted Fury Road as Furiosa’s introduction. It was not intended for Max to be in it. But, the studio insisted for fear of losing money on The Road Warrior franchise. With Warners insisting on the long title it caused confusion and disappointment amongst many fans. Had they somehow craftily marketed the film as being set in the world of The Road Warrior they might have seen much stronger box-office numbers.
Now that the film is available for streaming and on 4K, people should check out what they missed out on. The God of Thunder tossing his good guy persona and reveling in the chaos of a near Shakespearean villain, Chris Hemsworth is electrifying as Dementus, the leader of a large pack of violent miscreants. He is not only looking to increase his power over the land, he also seeks the rumor of the Green Place of Many Mothers where there is plenty of provisions and a land that is the total opposite of the barren wastelands of Australia.
George Miller and Nick Lathouris (who also helped pen Fury Road) open this post apocalyptic tale with a bit of back history as to how nearly everything became a radioactive wasteland similar to the opening of The Road Warrior. After the introduction, we come upon the rich beauty of an agricultural dreamland where the water is fresh, the home of a very young Furiosa. Upon taking an apple from a tree, she hears something strange and warns her younger friend to warn the others in the community not far away.
Furiosa comes upon a small band of gruesome bikers and is kidnapped. The bikers rush off to the camp with Furiosa’s mother chasing after them and picking several of them off. Before leaving, she insists that no one come after her and to continue to keep their part of paradise a secret.
Furiosa has several opportunities to escape, but they are dashed at the last minute. She’s smart, agile and extremely tough for her age. She has also taken an oath to never reveal where she came from, which makes Dementus and his crew very frustrated. Dementus takes a liking to Furiosa and decides to take her on as a surrogate daughter while subjecting her to his brutality to all that oppose him.
He travels the wasteland conquering other gangs until he forms a near army and eventually marches upon the Citadel, a colony of agriculture and fresh water run by Immortan Joe. For those familiar with Fury Road, this is the settlement that Max was taken to, and Immortan Joe and his War Boys are not ones to be trifled with. When Dementus cunningly strikes a deal with Immortan Joe, Furiosa ends up being part of the bargain. Immortan Joe takes her under his wing, but not for long. She eventually escapes and hides amongst Immortan Joe’s crew as a man.
The first half of the film revolves around young Furiosa. The second half of the film introduces the hardened young woman that has now become a beast among men. She is cunning, dangerous and will stop at nothing to eventually avenge her mother by killing Dementus, the man that stole the life she had.
Anya Taylor-Joy is downright feral in the role of Furiosa and at times sounds just like Charlize Theron who played the character in Fury Road. Her odyssey amongst the post apocalyptic setting, becoming an integral part of Immortan Joe’s clan, making herself useful as both a machinist and War Boy is incredibly exciting, and the fireworks between her and Dementus are the stuff of legends.
George Miller has crafted another unique tale full of action and suspense. If you’re a fan of action films writer/director Miller delivers in spades. The visuals are spectacular, the sound even more so.
This film is shot with a native 4K master. The 4K presentation is remarkable. The whole picture pops with insanely sharp colors with a fine attention to detail. Whether it be the cool-looking blue nights or the stark depictions of the wasteland, this disc is one of the great representations of the format.
The Dolby Atmos track is a beast for the ears. This is one of the best audio mixes of this year. From the very beginning when you hear the engines roar it feels as if the house is going to shake. This film takes full advantage of your surround sound system. For those of us that like our movies loud, this one will have your neighbors and wife asking you to turn it down. Talk about immersive!
The extras are broken up into five parts and although that may seem like a small amount, each extra goes into quite a bit of depth. Also, like Fury Road, Furiosa comes in a separate black & chrome edition. Many people absolutely love both films in this alternative version sans the color. It’s a whole different look that makes the films all the more exciting to watch.
George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is an incredibly exciting prequel and addition to the Road Warrior journey. Miller has crafted not only a new hero, but delivered an extraordinary villain we will love to hate and at the same time will have a hard time thinking of him once as the God of Thunder. Hemsworth’s Dementus is funny, evil and demented. The film itself is violent, hence the R rating. but, that falls into the post apocalyptic theme that runs throughout Miller’s warrior franchise. This movie might have not done well at the box-office, but I cannot help but feel it will deliver a wild ride for 4K lovers.
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Directed by: George Miller
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Run Time: 148 Minutes
Rated: R
Country: United States/Australia/
Distributor: Warner Brothers
