Film review: ‘FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

Any long-time ‘Built For Speed’ listeners will know I’m not a big fan of director George Miller’s Mad Max films.  Of the entire franchise, I prefer Mad Max 2 as it had genuine otherworldliness and atmosphere.  Many raved about 2015’s Fury Road but I was only mildly impressed by that return to Max’s post-apocalyptic world.  The cinematography was undeniably terrific and the stunts excitingly staged but any sense of sci fi credibility and intrigue was undermined by what seemed to be the imposed house style of outrageously over the top ‘Aussie’ acting which consisted of shouting, guffawing and snarling, as well as the general lack of subtlety that has plagued the Mad Max films. The latest instalment in the franchise, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, has many of the sins of its predecessors but also a couple of elements that make it more watchable for non-fans like me.

The film acts as a prequel to Fury Road and an origin story for that film’s breakout character, Furiosa, played originally by Charlize Theron but in this film, for the most part, by Anya Taylor-Joy.  Initially, though, we see her as a child (Alyla Browne) who seems to live in a kind of Wonder Woman amazon warrior oasis amid the harsh desert of George Miller’s climate-ravaged world.  When she’s abducted by a marauding band of bikies and her mother (Charlee Fraser) killed by their creepy, pompous leader Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) she embarks on a quest for revenge.

There are a few other plot diversions as Furiosa becomes part of Fury Road villain Immortan Joe’s (Lachy Hulme) baldly clan but as with every other Mad Max film, plot is a nasty inconvenience and the film is really about propulsive action scenes and auto carnage and this film features some of the best action we’ve witnessed.  An extended sequence in which Dementus’ crew besiege a petrol tanker like pirates squeezes as much invention and visceral excitement as we could have dreamed from that scenario. Much of it involves practical effects rather than CGI which makes it much more effective. By the time we see about seven similar scenes throughout this long film, however, the effect becomes a little waring but there’s no denying Miller has redefined the language of action cinema.

As well as a mastery of action dynamics, Miller once again displays his remarkable visual sense with this film’s ‘desertscape meets steam punk’ aesthetic, elaborate production design and world building that features intricate costumes, structures and ramshackle machines, which add texture and detail to this world and its characters.  Miller also makes excellent use of locations with the film shot around Hay and Silverton in NSW.

Miller also throws in references to classic westerns, the Bible, Shakespeare, Homer’s Iliad and ancient Rome but these all feel a little tacked-on rather than meaningful cultural observations.

Anya Taylor-Joy does a decent job stepping into Charlize Theron’s shoes.  Presumably, to try and make her more mysterious and thoughtful, her Furiosa doesn’t have alot of dialogue with Taylor-Joy’s portrayal more dependent on her physicality, cunning and resourcefulness.  She does, however, say a lot with those wonderfully expressive eyes.  Unfortunately, though, with screen time split between so many characters and so much emphasis on Dementus, what should have been a compelling through line of her revenge mission is blurred and its impact severely dulled. Her big confrontation with Dementus is a bit of a fizzer.

Throughout much of this film we’re once again subjected to the patented Mad Max acting style as characters bark at each other in exaggerated Aussie accents and chomp on the scenery.  This is no reflection on the fine cast of players but it’s a strange feature of these films.  Chris Hemsworth as Dementus embraces this odd approach as much as anyone but he adds at least a sliver of menace and humour.  Thankfully, though, this film features something only occasionally witnessed in a Mad Max film, a character who speaks normally and has some genuine charisma.  Late in the film we’re introduced to tanker driver and the head of Immortan Joe’s military, Praetorian Jack (British actor Tom Burke who played Orson Welles in Mank). He’s reminiscent of Mel Gibson’s original Max in look and manner with a steely toughness and laid-back cool that’s that is by far the most likeable aspect of this film.  That character should have featured much more in this movie.

Despite its tangle of story threads and characters, there’s barely enough functioning plot in Furiosa for a standard 90-minute feature. Mostly by being repetitive, though, it still weighs in at a bloated 148 minutes making it a bit of a slog.  The best moments of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, though, are as good as, if not better than, anything we’ve seen in the previous Mad Max capers.

Nick’s rating: ***1/2

Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure.

Classification: MA15+.

Director(s): George Miller.

Release date: 27th May 2024.

Running time: 148 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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