Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

“AS the world falls around us, how must we brave its cruelties?” Is there a more timely, or more relevant quote to start a movie?

Mad Max creator George Miller may be framing it within an apocalyptic context, but from the get-go Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has you hooked. It signals an intent to go deeper than just car chases and mayhem, for those willing to pay close attention.

For while the spectacle now synonymous with this franchise remains gob-smackingly intact, there’s even greater depth too. Two of the main protagonists - Anya Taylor-Joy’s titular heroine and Chris Hensworth’s radical Dementus - are products of trauma; victims of the violence they themselves perpetrate; survivors of a world driven by desperation and extremes.

Within that, is there chance for humanity to survive? Does violence merely beget more violence? Do assets (food, water, fuel) trump kindness? At a time when future conflict is predicted to be over land and natural resource, what lessons does a film like this hold about where humanity is headed and how it may handle the challenges ahead.

That’s not to say that Furiosa is purely a message film. Far from it. It is a Mad Max film, first and foremost. Fans of the genre should lap it up.

The stunts are as breathtaking as they are audacious, even if - by Miller’s own admission - there was a greater reliance on CG this time.

But the whole film looks spectacular, whether it’s in the landscapes and vistas or the carnage, much of it vehicular.

The story also engages. It’s an exploration of the origins of Fury Road’s breakout character (played then by Charlize Theron), which begins in a place of abundance (a green oasis) that’s discovered by road warriors loyal to Dementus, who subsequently kidnap a young Furiosa and take her back to their leader - in spite of the desperate attempts by her mother to retrieve and save her.

After her mother pays the ultimate sacrifice, Furiosa is committed to revenge. But she must navigate the war between Dementus and Fury Road’s central villain, Immortan Joe, while also becoming a vital cog in the latter’s transportation demands. It’s while helping to navigate the Fury Road that she meets Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), who offers to coach her in survival and shows her true kindness.

But while this affords her fleeting happiness and the possibility of rediscovering her lost home, the threats posed by her enemies are never far behind.

For a film so reliant on set pieces, it’s further tribute to Miller’s grasp of the world he has created over decades that he now knows how to strike such a strong balance between the action and his characters.

Furiosa remains a formidable character - and Taylor-Joy invests her with violent rage and enduring hope. She is as capable of showing compassion as she is wreaking violent retribution and she is a terrifically engaging central presence.

But Hemsworth’s baddie is equally as memorable - a maniac prone to hysterical outbursts (during which Hemsworth draws on some of the more grander elements of his Thor performances), yet someone clearly scarred by his own losses and a delusional leader with a saviour complex: seeing himself both as mankind’s best hope and a father figure to Furiosa - claims which his enemies would fiercely refute.

Furiosa may have disappointed at the box office (undeservedly so) but it remains an outstanding film in a franchise that has found new life and added relevancy.

To address another of the film’s notable quotes: “The question is: do you have it in you to make it epic?” The answer, as far as everyone involved in its creativity is concerned, is a resounding yes!