Movies
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” Delivers The Blood-Pumping Goods
this prequel takes the central idea of vengeance and uses it as fuel for gasoline and a bullet-filled explosion fest.
“The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team up with Mad Max.”
Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Nick Lathouris
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne
Release Date: May 24, 2024
IMDB
This one has taken me a while to write. Apologies for that.
I saw Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) on Memorial Day weekend Sunday afternoon. It was that Sunday night my body began to fuck with me again, which fishtailed into my chemo treatment and the days following. It’s been a bloody week.
But here we are.
Furiosa is a straightforward story, much like its predecessor Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). It’s not exactly a there-and-back-again story, but this prequel takes the central idea of vengeance and uses it as fuel for gasoline and a bullet-filled explosion fest.
A young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is taken from her home, the Green Place, by crewmen of a young and power-hungry Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Furiosa’s mother Charlee Fraser (Mary Jabassa) gives chase, but the overwhelming numbers of the motorcycle gang prove too much even for an ultimate badass.
Dementus enjoys having Furiosa ingratiated in his gang, but his ambitions for growth and power eventually result in Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) taking possession of the near-mute child. Even in a healthier state, Joe was still obsessed with the idea of having sons and lineage. Furiosa does what she does best and escapes from the seemingly glorious shackles of Immortan Joe’s safe of paradise.
Fast forward a few years and Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) has found a way to hide amongst the male-infested workforce of the Citadel. Courtesy of her skill around vehicles and machinery, Furiosa finds herself on Immortan Joe’s first massive war rig. Such an opportunity opens the door for our quiet-mannered heroine to accomplish the one task she promised her mother. To return home.
Massive compliments must be paid to Alyla Browne, the young actress who plays Furiosa as a child. The movie spends more time than you’d expect with young Furiosa, largely due to Browne that the film never skips a beat. Her tenacity, both in her actions and eyes, evokes that hard-nosed intimidating personality that Charlize Theron brought to the role. Seeing how Browne isn’t used merely in flashbacks, her performance is crucial and she nails it.
Then there is Anya Taylor-Joy. The British-American actress has a unique and staunch physical look that makes her portrayal of Furiosa powerful and profound. Taylor-Joy fully embraces Romero’s madness and brings with her all the necessary fury and desperation to make the character of Furiosa a perfect vessel for the movie’s graphic novel-esq ethos. Anya Taylor-Joy has yet to win any major movie awards, but they are coming. Eventually.
Everything about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is over the top: the cars, the violence, and the characters. While the performances from Browne and Taylor-Joy are loud in their way, no one is having as much fun as Chris Hemsworth. The Australian hunk doesn’t get to play the villain very often, and in the wasteland world created by Romero, Hemsworth properly deems it fit to turn the notch of zany up to eleven.
I had a co-worker reach out to me about Dementus and how she couldn’t take him seriously. She didn’t know whether you were meant to like the madman. The way I look at Hemsworth’s performance is like that of a goofy Disney villain who has more charisma than he should. Think Scar from The Lion King (1994). The actions are deplorable, yet when the first note from “Be Prepared” drops, it becomes impossible not to bop your head. Dementus has moments where you are rooting for him, despite his moral compass being very much skewed.
The best sequence of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga comes in chapter three of the story.The Stowaway.
The first attack on the war rig by marauders is action film-making at its absolute finest. The editing is beyond fast and crisp. The extensive storyboarding process of Romero pays off with absolutely thrilling visuals and fantastic non-verbal dialogue. This is the first portion of the story where we get Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa, and despite her mute persona, we learn all we need to know about how she approaches her work. Furiosa can survive with ingenuity on the war rig that catches the eye of Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). He helps our hero plot her course of vengeance which we see throughout two outstanding cinematic adventures.
If we want to nit-pick Furiosa, perhaps one could say that pace is sometimes a tad bumpy. When the action is humming, there are absolutely zero issues for the viewer. The switching of gears between blood-pumping moments sometimes gets chalked up with the desert sand.
But let’s not dwell on the insignificant. It’s not worth it for a movie of this quality and personality.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is in theaters, and you should watch it. In terms of box office, it was the lowest Memorial Day weekend in over 25 years. In a movie the quality of Furiosa, money made should not be subject to that headline.
STANKO RATING: B+
Stanko Excel Lists | Movies, Books, Podcasts. TV Shows
Stanko Letterdbox Account
Ranking James Bond Films: #20 – “The World Is Not Enough” (1999)
I’m terribly sorry, but Denise Richards drains the swamp with her role in The World Is Not Enough.
Ranking James Bond Films: #21 – “Quantum Of Solace” (2008)
Quantum Of Solace is beyond a stepdown from Craig’s debut film, Casino Royale.
STANKO UPDATE: THE WEDDING FAST APPROACHES…(INSERT DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Perhaps that’s too much information? Ah, who cares. This is what it is.
Stanko's Stance 