In 2015 George Miller returned to the Mad Max franchise with Mad Max: Fury Road, a sequel coming 30 years after the last entry in the franchise. To much surprise, the film not only won the hearts of critics and moviegoers far more than the original trilogy, but became an Academy darling picking up 10 nominations and a whopping 6 wins at the 2016 Oscars. Nearly ten years later, he has treated us to another entry in the franchise, this time a prequel to the Furiosa character who appeared as one of the highlights of Fury Road.
A young Furiosa is taken from her home, a place of abundance as said in the film, and given to Dementus, a ruthless leader of a large group of vicious motorcycle riding tyrants. Their journey leads them to the citadel, lead by the previous film's villain Immortan Joe, sparking a tense battle for dominance between warlords with Furiosa in the middle of it all.
I really liked this movie. Sadly I never got to see Fury Road in theatres and in turn I don't have the same love for it some do. I still think it's very well done, it just isn't a masterpiece in my eyes the way it is to so many. Getting to see this one on the big screen was quite a treat, as Miller's spectacle and action beg to be seen on the biggest screen possible. The film is bigger in scale than the previous entry, giving us more apocalyptic settings, more crazy vehicles, and somehow more action. There are action sequences that genuinely last more than ten minutes, and every moment of them is gripping. I'm a sucker for some good gadgets and creative set design, so I was constantly having a great time with the different unique vehicles and weapons. Whether it be the war rig, the cool motorcycles, or Chris Hemsworth's motorcycle chariot, I really loved the attention to detail in creating these dystopian designs. The same goes for the costumes and hair/make-up, it's all building off of what was previously done in the franchise but is taken to a new level of uniqueness here. Much like Fury Road this is also a gorgeously shot film. I don't tend to enjoy the visuals of desert set films but Miller brings out the best of it. There's a great balance of shots that are clearly made to look gorgeous, and some rapid goofy camerawork during the action scenes that just feels super cool, making it a film that looks great while also being constantly interesting from a visual standpoint.
Anya Taylor Joy takes up the mantle as Furiosa here, and I thought she did a pretty great job. She doesn't actually speak much in her time on screen but does some terrific physical acting and has the intensity needed to pull off this character. I do wish we got more of her, as it actually takes a while until we see her as an adult, but nonetheless I was pleased with what I saw. It's a small role but I also really like Charlee Fraser as Furiosa's mom. She was great in Anyone but You and I guess is just a go to for supporting Australian characters, but I really liked what she brought to the opening of the film. The real scene stealer is Chris Hemsworth though, giving one of his most fun performances. He has a goofy accent and over the top mannerisms that make him fun to watch despite his character being a pretty evil dude. Some of his line deliveries are stuck in my head hours after watching the film and I just had a blast watching him.
While I did enjoy the film a good deal, it's far from perfect. Narratively there isn't much to latch onto at all, and when the story deviates from the action it tends to drag quite a bit. The runtime is nearly two and a half hours and there are scenes that just feel like they keep going for way too long. The big climactic scene of the film is one in particular that just felt way too stretched out. While the action is bigger and better than Fury Road, the narrative is more dragged out rather than the non stop excitement of that film so the two basically even out for me. I also just don't connect much with these characters. I can appreciate the performances but none of the characters in these movies are fleshed out enough for me to care about them all that much which is a shame considering all the good things they have going for them.
All in all, if you liked Fury Road you're probably gonna like this. It's a really well done action movie that could have been trimmed down a bit but holds so much great action and creative set design that I had a great time watching it.
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