Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Fury Road was a masterpiece of the action genre and it was so high-powered that it wouldn’t even be impossible to offer more of the same. Though Furiosa is a return to the familiar parched desert world in which water, gasoline and ammunition are worth more than human lives, it also goes its own way and is thus a rather different film in terms of narrative. However, it is still almost as intensely effective as its predecessor and it also offers perfect, breathtaking action, but that isn’t the focal point of everything this time, as attention is concentrated on the characters for a change. The actors are great and the film abounds with creative screenwriting and directing ideas. George Miller has again served up an epic, energetic, uncompromising and entertaining action spectacle in a way that one might expect from directors less than half his age. (22/05/2024)

This is my kind of revenge movie! We were probably all on tenterhooks as to how it would turn out, but George Miller once again delivers what he promised, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. While making prequels, where we also know exactly where they're going, may seem pointless and unappealing to audiences, Furiosa will historically be one of those rare examples of getting it absolutely right. Its story works perfectly on its own, it's quite different from its predecessor, the action is exceptionally imaginative and choreographed, and the worldbuilding is again broad and unique. We get a glimpse into the workings of the post-apocalyptic world, the divisions of the factions, the logistics of how they work together. In short, the whole film works under the impression that it has a whole other unseen backstory of everything and everyone, something that many current "shallow" blockbusters are completely lacking. I'm crossing my fingers that it does what it can at the box office, because I'd very much hate to see this franchise head to Valhalla. Miller's still got it! (26/05/2024)

An excellent flashback to Fury Road. It lacks Max Rockatansky, it lacks the frenetic pace, but the story is more substantial. Furiosa explains the laws of the imagined world. George Miller seems to realize that he skipped over a lot of things and presented them as fact without showing them. He describes a fragile symbiosis that is disrupted by Chris Hemsworth's Dementus, one of the best creations of his career. If it's true that the previous Mad Max was mostly about Furiosa then Furiosa is mostly about the foxy Dementus. He's the one who shows the world turning into an oil-soaked desert. Anya Taylor-Joy is good, but the little girl who plays her when she was young is even better. Weaker music and slightly worse visual effects. Still, very good. (24/05/2024)

After nine years, the spin-off prequel to the fourth installment of the established franchise from a nearly 80-year-old geezer... If it weren't for the Mad Max franchise and the old-timer George Miller, one would have expected a mess. But that series is Mad Max and that old man is the visionary Miller, or once again, a peculiar, lavish, audio-visually polished spectacle, brimming with ideas in literally every scene. My only criticism is that the running time is too (especially in one particular chapter). It teeters on the edge of "more of the same" vs. "more room for characters and world building but not more of the same". Which isn't necessarily a criticism, but a more pronounced lean to one side might not be out of place. Either way, they are just minor details. (23/05/2024)

I thoroughly enjoyed Fury Road in the cinema nine years ago and, to be honest, I don't know if I've ever seen a more action-packed film. Furiosa raised great expectations in me precisely because of that cinematic experience and also because of the female lead. After watching it, I have to say that I was probably expecting a slightly different film, but I don't mean that in a negative way. Furiosa is again full of brisk action with imaginative choreography – this is especially dominated by the tanker chase scenes and the confrontation in the mine – and tries through a kind of "biblical plane" not to be just a pure action film. I was surprised to see Anya Taylor-Joy arrive on the scene relatively late, and I would fault the film for having too tidy an ending for my taste. Still, this is a high-quality audiovisual spectacle that would be a sin not to see on the big screen, where it certainly belongs. (05/06/2024)