Alex Wheeler Movie Ops

Oh, poor Furiosa. Introduced in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, she popped as the heart and soul of that frenetic classic. A righteous goal drove her every clawing, desperate action, pushing the titular Max towards hope.

She was so central to the film many argued she was the main character, usurping the titular character. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga leaves no room for questions. Max is nowhere to be seen. This is Furiosa’s movie, an origin story for the striking character explaining how she lost her home and why she stayed away for so long.

It’s a shift for the series, but not one that lessens the heavy load of following up Fury Road. “Masterpiece” is an apt descriptor for that film, and woe be it to anyone trying to follow up a masterpiece.

Furiosa tries very hard. It revs its engines and unloads a frenzy of off-kilter action, but it’s all in service of a story we’ve seen before. We know Furiosa. We know Immortan Joe, his Citadel, and the politics of this corner of the wasteland. And we certainly know about apocalypses, survival in the ruins, and the fracturing despair that lies over everything. 

Furiosa hits all these points and nothing new, wallowing, instead, in what we already know. Furiosa is taken from the Green Place, a secret oasis in the desert, as a child. It’s of dire import that the Green Place remains hidden away from the marauders that populate the rest of the world, so Furiosa becomes stuck in the outside world. First, she’s with Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Consider him pathetic man number 1. Their wandering eventually takes them to the Citadel, which is already under the dominion of pathetic man number 2, Immortan Joe. And when two pathetic, posturing men meet, they must fight to the death. The rest of Furiosa tracks the heroine as she navigates the periphery of their struggle, scraping together an opportunity for the few things she wants. Namely, to return to the Green Place, but also to get revenge on these tormentors.

The real point, though, is the way everyone careens through the wasteland. These are action movies first, and even the greatest characters must take a backseat to co-writer and director George Miller’s signature flair for violent absurdity. The series’ inventive, hypnotic vehicles are omnipresent and a joy to take in. Every detail is there if you look, including the ramshackle steering of Dementus’ chariot of bikes.

Less impressive this time around is the action itself, which feels less mapped out and slightly more rote. Fury Road delighted because of its immaculately staged chases, much of which was done in-person or with CGI carefully hidden within. No one will miss the CGI in Furiosa, which is certainly more evident if not more frequent. It’s disappointing, given the level we know Miller can operate at, to see so many shots with doughy characters and machines bouncing as if they have no weight. It’s graphic fundamentals that fail here, and it takes away from much of the thrill.

Even the action itself feels familiar thanks to scenes taking place in so many familiar places. A long sequence on a War Rig seems more focused on rehashing than reinventing, and it drags as waves of combatants chase them along the unchanging Fury Road. There’s some fun, of course, but nothing that truly stuns like so much of Fury Road did.

The most lively aspect of the film is Hemsworth’s electric performance as Dementus. He seems to be the only person channeling Miller’s best impulses, mincing through the chaos with performed casualness. He is the central villain, capable of great destruction and pain, but that doesn’t make him a worthy adversary. Hemsworth leans into the character’s weakness, letting awkwardness ooze off his constantly bare chest. 

It makes for a nice match for young Furiosa, who is growing into the formidable presence from Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Joy takes over the bulk of the role, and much like the title character from that film, she speaks little. Taylor-Joy never quite finds the soul of the character, though, giving a technically proficient performance but getting a bit lost in the mechanics. She’s an expressive actress in other roles, but she falls into too much placidity here.

The pair make for an undercutting antagonist/protagonist relationship. This is a feminist film, following a tough, beleaguered girl/woman through a sea of lesser men. Furiosa never fails to ram this point home. But her capable steadfastness is uninteresting in comparison. It’s obvious what her journey will be, and she never wavers from it in the slightest. Hemsworth’s Dementus, though, enlivens his pre-determined path. These movies are supposed to be fun. Dementus is a blast. Furiosa is not.

Release: Available now in theaters
Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Nico Lathouris
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne