FURIOSA Spoiler-Free Review | A Mad Max Saga (George Miller, Anya Taylor Joy, Chris Hemsworth)

In the television series Ted Lasso, our perpetually-optimistic football coach says something along the lines of "it's like in that movie Showgirls. There are so many nipples that eventually you stop noticing them." The comparison applies to Furiosa, a movie that is so chock-a-block with mayhem that one is likely to go numb from it all long before the final credits roll. George Miller, the man behind every Mad Max movie made to date, directs Furiosa as if he may never make another film again--as if he has to tell every adventure of this post-apocalyptic wasteland in one single movie, which he also directs as if someone is going to take it away from him. For all I know, maybe they were. 

I adore Mad Max: Fury Road. It remains my favorite entry in the series, a visceral, unrelenting experience that pummels the viewer with Miller's particular brand of ambitious Australian insanity. When I saw Fury Road in cinemas, the last shot of the film drew an audible (and entirely involuntary) moan from throat, so overcome was I by the experience. And yet, and no point did I think to myself "yes, but where did these characters come from? How did they get to where they are here? What's this Furiosa character all about?" On the contrary, FURY ROAD tells their story in full, complete with rich arcs. 

Therefore, I find Furiosa to be not only unnecessary, but ultimately a bit pointless. We've already seen this story, we know how it ends. By giving us more automobile chases, more crazy stunts, and more backstory for characters that have already met their demise, Miller seems to be trying to recapture the success of his previous film. Anya Taylor-Joy, an actor I enjoy in almost everything (both Last Night In Soho and The Northman are personal favorites), merely poses and frowns here. In the hands of Charlize Theron, the Furiosa character is filled with pathos, power, and physicality, but none of that translates to this movie. In fact, there's little reason to care about much of any of it. Miller seems determined to take his Mad Max universe, which was essentially one solitary wanderer making his way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and turn it into his own version of The Lord of the Rings. Why? More importantly, why now, some 45 years after Mad Max introduced us to this god-forsaken future?

I must also mention the dodgy visual FX, which often look like they're from 1999. Mad Max films have always relied on the real Australian Outback to convey a sense of isolation and danger, but FURIOSA slots in fabricated environments that were made in a computer. As such, the realism that's present in every previous Mad Max film, including Fury Road, is absent here. I feel like I'm watching a video game. 

One bright spot for me is Chris Hemsworth as Dementus. On my first viewing, I found his character to be so broad and ridiculous that it felt like a cartoon, with his fake nose and exaggerated personality. Now, after another viewing, I think he might be the only character who knows what movie he's in. 

Furiosa was not the hit that Warner Brothers hoped for, meaning that George Miller's other Fury Road side stories (yes, this was just the first of several proposed spin-offs) may never see the light of day. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Furiosa takes much of what was powerful, potent, fresh from Fury Road, and stretches it out until it feels like just another big summer sequel.