It has been nearly a decade since my all-time favorite Mad Max movie “Fury Road” was released. It has been celebrated as one of the greatest action movies ever made, for a reason. Even in rewatches, this film never ceased to amaze me in every way. So when Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was announced, I was excited for this prequel featuring the Imperator’s life story. Now that it’s finally out in theatres, here is my review of Furiosa, the latest installment in the Mad Max franchise.
Fantastic Storyline with Immaculate World-Building
In case you missed it, Furiosa, the newest film in the Mad Max Saga, tells Furiosa’s origin tale prior to the events of Fury Road. This decision turned out to be a great choice as it bridges the gap of the unexplored past of Furiosa — how a young innocent girl became the savage Imperator of Immortan Joe.
Fury Road (2015) did not need to delve into the political landscape of the vast wasteland because it was simply an all-out action movie. Now, Furiosa took advantage of this missed opportunity in this new drama-focused film, which explores the deep aspects of this unlawful and war-torn barren land. Therefore, the world-building was rightfully done and wonderfully showcased to us from the eyes of Furiosa.
Furiosa’s backstory drives this film in full throttle as it’s riveting to watch her survive the ordeals thrown at her while entangled in turmoil between the two warlords Dementus and Immortan Joe. All aspects of Furiosa’s origin were handled well except her romantic interest as it was never fleshed out properly. Even though we already know what the future holds in store for Furiosa, it was quite intriguing to watch the events unfold that led to it.
Though this movie features an incredible story, the screenplay was a mixed bag with several pacing issues as the story was divided into multiple chapters. The editing seemed perfect until there were some instances where some scenes abruptly switched to the next, leaving the fates of the characters up in the air.
Given that the other films in the series perfectly kept their runtime within 120 minutes, a slight bit of trimming of the overall runtime might have been extremely helpful in keeping the pacing intact.
‘Furious’ Performances by the Lead Cast
One of the biggest highlights of the Furiosa movie is the performance by the lead actors, especially Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Alyla Browne. Without talking much about the on-screen drama, the two performers who portrayed the younger versions of Furiosa did a fantastic job in their parts, sublimely capturing the emotions with their eyes.
Charlize Theron as adult Furiosa was one of the best performers and now, it was well-backed up by these astonishing performances. The rest of the cast, including Charlee Fraser, Lachy Hulme, Tom Burke, and others, did fill the shoes of their respective roles quite well.
Furthermore, it was good to see Hemsworth shining as Dementus outside of his thunderous Marvel role and together it was a joy to watch with this cast.
Blazing Action Sequences Diluted by Ordinary Soundtracks
As I said earlier, this movie propels forward focusing on drama, unlike Fury Road. However, there are still plenty of action scenes to feast upon. The action scenes in Mad Max: Fury Road still stand tall as one of the greatest sequences in modern cinema.
Now, after nine years, the production team once again did wonders with tension-packed action sequences that feature modified cars, bikes, weapons, and more with high production value. But CGI did look odd in certain instances but nothing extraordinary that might make you worry.
The cinematography team shines in this new movie capturing the intensity of the vehicle battles in the sandy region. The electrifying soundtrack by Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL was the main fuel to elevate the intensity of the action sequences in Fury Road. However, the artist couldn’t come up with another energizing soundtrack to fuel our adrenaline.
Though some of the background scores from its predecessor were retained; still I couldn’t feel the same magic of the OG Junkie XL here.
Final Verdict: A Refreshing Prequel to the Mad Max Franchise
Defying the odds of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga proves George Miller’s creative well is far from dry. It is evident that Miller’s mind didn’t run out of the creative guzzoline as he delivered a solid prequel to his most-celebrated action movie. He blends an intriguing plot with captivating performances to nurture Furiosa’s character to her full potential.
Even if it may not quite reach the heights of its predecessor, the film still has excellent aspects of its own, such as the intense action set pieces, captivating cinematography, etc. In my opinion, Furiosa should have arrived before Fury Road because it strengthens the significance of Furiosa’s character and emotional connection in the following film.
After watching Furiosa, I believe a rerun of Fury Road will hit differently. Now that Furiosa’s story has more context, I hope to see George Miller flesh out more stories in this wasteland with several new Mad Max movies in the future.
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