There’s only one way to properly see Furiosa: A Max Max Saga and that’s to arrive at your IMAX screening, “Shiny… and chrome!” There’s no doubt Mad Max fans will love what they “witness” in this new Furiosa origin story that doubles as a Mad Max: Fury Road spinoff.
[Caution: possible spoilers ahead]
Directed by George Miller, the film begins long before the happenings on Fury Road as a blank screen and scrambled audio detail how mankind fell apart. It’s a good recap if you jumped into the series after the massive popularity of Mad Max: Fury Road. Once the audio explains how the wasteland came to be, all eyes are on a young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) as she struggles to grab fruit from a tree. What we realize at that very moment is that she’s standing in the Green Place of Many Mothers (a memory she lived and thrived on in Fury Road). Not long after our brief introduction to The Green Place, Furiosa is taken by a group of rogue bikers who are in disbelief. Remember, the world is supposed to be a massive wasteland, yet, they’ve kidnapped a girl in a forest boasting food and water. She’s brought back to a Biker Horde led by Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) who questions her about the location of this mysterious place. After being kidnapped, held captive, and witnessing so much death and mutilation, she goes mute.
Furiosa: A Max Max Saga has all the boisterous, farcical, insanity as 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. The ruler of The Citadel, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), is just as angry and vile as ever. The aloof and awkward presence of his son Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones) stayed the course and brought many laughs with it. We also see the return of The People Eater (John Howard) and The Bullet Farmer (Lee Perry).
This go-round, we have a cache of new characters that make Furiosa as special as Fury Road. Outside of the presumably hilarious Warlord Dementus, we have Toe Jam (David Field), The Octoboss (Goran D. Kleut), Fang (Matuse), Rictus’s brother Scrotus (Josh Helman), and the quiet, confident Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke).
An interesting tidbit from the last film was how Immortan Joe acquired the Organic Mechanic (Angus Sampson). In Fury Road, he always appeared at random and was involved in something outside the ordinary. The scene that stands out the most is when he tells Rictus, “You had a baby brother. Perfect in every way.” The intensity of the music increases and reaches a crescendo as Rictus repeats this information, seemingly lamenting the death of his would-be sibling.
During her captivity, Furiosa stuck to her mother’s message and kept track of her capture via the stars. Discreetly marking territories on her arm in the dead of night, she was determined to find an escape and get back to The Green Place, that is, after exacting her revenge.
If you’re a fan of the Mad Max films then you’ll love this movie. It makes sense of a lot that took place in Fury Road. You’ll get a full dose of flame throwers, war boys, and enough battles across the desert to fill that dystopian emptiness in your heart that Dune and Rebel Moon couldn’t fill. There are mixed feelings about casting Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa, and I too had my heart set on Charlize Theron returning, but she didn’t bomb it. Even though she’s not Charlize, she looked like Charlize did, and that’s all I could ask for. Also, the points in time and the paths are different. Fury Road took place over three days and two nights while this film spans 15 years. So again, it makes sense not to go with Charlize because we’d only get to enjoy her for a short time (and of course, we’d complain about that too).
If you’re a newcomer to the Mad Max universe, first of all, welcome. Secondly, if you haven’t seen any previous films, it won’t matter. This is an origin story and is a perfect fit for both the longtime fan and the newbie. To quote director George Miller, “For those who haven’t seen “Fury Road,” it doesn’t make any difference. And for those who have seen “Fury Road,” it doesn’t make too much difference, except that you will understand all the antecedent forces and vectors that went into creating the events of “Fury Road.”
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga gets a 9 out of 10. It’s the best revenge story you’ll see this year and has all the action Mad Max fans could want. If you’re not super hype about this movie then you might find a few things to your chagrin. The film is quite long, standing at 2 hours and 28 minutes. Furiosa the child was equally if not more impressive than Furiosa the adult. Also, for a film that’s supposed to be about Furiosa, we get a lot more Dr. Dementus than we do her. Not to mention, we don’t see Anya Taylor-Joy until well past the first hour. Aside from those minor things, the film is amazing. The soundtrack is awesome and the costumes and sets are amazing. Unless your little ones have already been exposed to the “Road to Valhalla” I definitely wouldn’t advise this for children. The film is hilariously absurd and worth experiencing in IMAX.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits theaters this Friday, May 24.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures