He’s back with another one.
Admittedly, not much has changed since the last time we were given a glimpse at Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. It remains one of the most talked about upcoming releases in online discussion, and much of the dialogue has been positive. Frankly, and sadly, a big reason that there isn’t much news to talk about is because there’s very little backlash to this movie, which just highlights how much of online chatter is fueled by negativity. Nonetheless, from still images to short clips, the marketing team has done a great job of highlighting what a visual marvel that director George Miller has created. Like its predecessor, Mad Max: Fury Road, the focus of the marketing has been on the visuals and not the story. Many didn’t even know how much Fury Road would center on Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) until the lights dimmed in the movie theater.
Despite the memorable impression Theron left in that movie, it’s Anya Taylor-Joy who takes the reigns in this prequel. The newest trailer not only graces us with more footage but continues to showcase a brooding Taylor-Joy who clearly just wants to show us all just how BROODING she can be:
Badass. Colorful. Epic. Thrilling. A better impression than the first trailer.
It seems to be something of a legacy movie, one in which you get the background on Furiosa’s upbringing and family members, namely her mother. I hope there’s genuine meat on the bones of that story that helps inform the character and not just story padding for padding’s sake.
Anya Taylor-Joy continues to display a silent fury as the title character, while Chris Hemsworth looks like he will be hamming it up more than a little bit. It’s hard to get a read on it from displaced scenes, but hopefully Hemsworth’s performance doesn’t go off the rails at any point; yet it’s hard to pin down what constitutes as believable acting in such a ridiculous world as Max’s. Much of the movie’s conflict appears to revolve around a cat-and-mouse game between Furiosa and Hemsworth’s Dementus, including one spectacular shot as Furiosa looks down at her enemies from a dessert hill.
I’ve seen the sentiment online that this movie will likely not be as great as Mad Max: Fury Road. I think that’s overblown for two major reasons. First, there would be no shame in Furiosa being unable to match the quality of Fury Road. Few action movies have ever reached that level, and you shouldn’t make that a prerequisite of any film, regardless of pre-release hype. In addition, many people didn’t even think Fury Road would be FURY ROAD in the leadup to that movie. Yes, the late arriving Mad Max sequel was hotly anticipated, but it also had its doubters that such a delayed entry could recapture what made the original movies such visceral and moody expressions of carnage.
In fact, I’d argue that Fury Road didn’t succeed because it followed in the original trilogy’s footsteps – instead, it brandished a new flavor of high octane action, timely commentary, while expanding the number of heroes we could find relatability in. Watch the four previous films; from a filmmaking perspective, Fury Road has very little in common with its predecessors. It moves faster, is more reliant on modern effects, and the themes the movie chooses to tackle are seen in a brand new light. This is not to take away from the original trilogy’s quality – they were a perfect fit for their era. But George Miller has never really made a Mad Max movie that feels precisely like the previous entry – he’s always experimenting with the formula to create something new. Sometimes, this has wholly positive results (The Road Warrior), and sometimes it’s a well-meaning misfire (Beyond Thunderdome).
Ultimately, I’m excited for whatever this chapter brings. For a movie that didn’t necessarily need to happen, the early showings of it look like a kinetic epic that will challenge to be one of the best action movies of the year. As far as movie spinoffs go, it’s hard to get an audience invested in a character divorced from the original protagonist. But that’s where Furiosa will hopefully thread a difficult balance – giving us something new in addition to what’s familiar.
Furiosa’s fiery beginnings arrive in theaters everywhere on May 24, 2024
