FURIOSA: A Mad Max Saga, is the origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before she teamed up with Mad Max in Fury Road.
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus.
Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by The Immortan Joe.
While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home. Gippsland Times film reviewers Tom Parry and Stefan Bradley went to check it out.
Tom Parry: I’ve been a fan of the Mad Max films since before Fury Road was released in 2015. That latter title was “just good” on initial viewing, but it wasn’t until subsequent re-watches when I realised it was one of my favourite action movies.
Stefan Bradley: I love the entire franchise, but Fury Road is, quite literally, my favourite film of all time. On paper it’s hard to explain why that movie’s action sequences in particular are just so thrilling, but you understand when you watch it.
Needless to say I was looking forward to this. Furiosa is not perfect and you can feel that long-running time at certain points, but overall they pulled it off brilliantly.
That intense extended vehicle chase scene in the middle in particular gave me the same reaction when I saw Fury Road for the first time – I was in awe that someone actually put this action scene on screen, seemingly so effortlessly. The cinematography is top tier!
TP: I found myself a little restless watching Furiosa, especially in the first hour or so – I’m not sure the screenplay needs all that exposition and build-up. But once it hits that middle chase sequence that you speak of, the film just enthralls the viewer from there.
SB: I enjoyed the opening half of the movie with the very young Furiosa (played by Alyla Browne), so for me it was a pleasant surprise that we got to see something different like that in a Mad Max film.
Furiosa’s origin story didn’t feel like an exposition dump to me because Furiosa rarely talks and there’s plenty of showing instead of telling. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Furiosa as an adult and she may not have a ton of dialogue, her expressions and movements are on point.
Chris Hemsworth did a great job as Dementus, as a chaotic villain who is probably not actually competent enough to be leader and underneath it seems to be a coward. With the lore, they did a great job in exploring it without spoiling the mystery. There’s also heaps of great one liners, and the Aussie accents and slang (‘fang it!’) makes it even better.
TP: As you mentioned, Furiosa relies heavily on visuals to tell its story, which I very much enjoyed; but that story is more or less a MacGuffin for the action sequences, some of which are absolutely indelible – much like the sandstorm sequence, or the explosive, climactic chase in Fury Road.
The performances are all excellent, but Chris Hemsworth is undoubtedly the standout.
I was apprehensive about his casting, believing the producers just gave him the role because they needed a famous name to draw a crowd; but once you see him on-screen, that concern just disappears – he’s entertaining and menacing in equal measure.
SB: I really loved this – I was glued to the screen – and I can’t wait to see it again! It’s definitely not as accessible as Fury Road, especially with its length. Give Fury Road a watch first if you haven’t.
TP: It’s interesting that you encourage people to watch Fury Road first, because Furiosa feels very much like a teaser for that other film – to the point where during the end-credits, they show sequences of it. So essentially, this is a two-and-a-half hour trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now showing at Sale Cinema.
