‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Review – A Contemplative But Brutal Complement To ‘Fury Road’

What is it like to be reared in Hell?

George Miller answers that question with Furiosa, the latest in the decades-long Mad Max saga and the follow-up to the critical touchstone of Fury Road. The film follows up by looking back on the young womanhood of the enigmatic Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road. Here, we meet her as a child of the “green place” (Alyla Brown, and later Anya Taylor-Joy), one of the few remaining places with abundant natural resources. While out scavenging, marauders kidnap her and bring her to their leader, Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). As much as possible in a desert hellscape, Dementus raises Furiosa. He is so absorbed in garish political machinations that he doesn’t see Furiosa steadily plotting her vengeance over the years. Vengeance and her desire to return home are the constants in her life as she changes allegiances, identities, and skills to survive.

It should come as no surprise that Furiosa’s upbringing is hell. Still, Miller manages to subvert the most basic assumptions of this world. Furiosa is split into five “chapters,” each with its own rhythms to convey the raw brutality surrounding the titular character. The first two chapters may resemble Fury Road the most. Those chapters ravage us with a relentless barrage of violence and grotesqueries that is often overwhelming and frequently astounding. There are significant directorial differences, though. While Miller still uses blunt-force editing and rip-roaring sound design, the film carries a balletic quality. His camera moves more fluidly within and between scenes, especially in the middle third. It adds a fascinating dimension to the Citadel and Gas Town’s chaos. Miller subtly insists that there is rhyme, if not reason, to this world. Perhaps there might even be beauty.

But to what aim? After all, Furiosa is an origin story, a recount of a young life forged in the beginning of humanity’s last gasps. Part of what made Furiosa fascinating in Fury Road was how the ferocity of her survival instinct contrasted with the firm but thoughtful humanity she showed her comrades. Here, Miller expends much effort in establishing and calcifying those traits. We see how Furiosa adapts to this barren world’s political, cultural, and economic nuances in great, meditative detail. She dissociates, disguises, and eventually opens up to at least one ally while weaponizing the narcissistic hubris of the leaders. Furiosa’s journey isn’t wholly singular. Her viewpoint is a startling, bleak window into countless lives scrounging on the edge of oblivion. The fact that Furiosa can thrive to become the woman she does in Fury Road is a minor miracle in an endless desert sea of dread. 

As such, Furiosa is more contemplative than its predecessor and sequel. Where Fury Road was primarily, exhilaratingly constructed of explosive set pieces and breathless desert racing, this film builds its stakes through deep character- and world-building. Sometimes, you miss Fury Road’s breakneck pacing, as Furiosa can occasionally meander and dampen the impact of its rollicking set pieces. The third chapter is the greatest culprit. (It also happens to, naturally, be the longest.) However, the grand storytelling scheme justifies Miller’s minor indulgences. They help build towards a tense, vicious, but ultimately thoughtful climax that explains why Furiosa stands out in the desolation.  

What also makes Furiosa, character and film, stand out are its performances. As the titular character, Alyla Brown and Anya Taylor-Joy do wonders with their limited dialogue. Taylor-Joy is especially affecting, building upon Brown’s work to craft a captivating character who can convey years of horror through one stony gaze. When Furiosa does speak, she sounds so much like Theron in Fury Road that it’s discombobulating. Her command over the screen is truly extraordinary. Chris Hemsworth is excellent as Dementus, the chief target of Furiosa’s rage. Dementus is an easy character to fall into caricature with. Hemsworth avoids that completely by imbuing the warlord’s wacky charisma with a bone-chilling, nihilistic menace that he deploys with sharp precision at the right moments. It is one of his best performances to date.

With Furiosa, George Miller’s answer to what it’s like to be reared in Hell seems straightforward. By design, it sucks. However, the film doesn’t suggest that all is lost at the end of the world. While perhaps not as ruthlessly engaging as Fury Road, its prequel is a powerful complement. It deepens the universe without sacrificing its cinematic excellence and demonstrates convincingly that the near end of the world doesn’t necessarily mean the end of humanity. Furiosa proves that, even in the most barren wastelands, life can still bloom.

Furiosa will debut exclusively in theaters on May 24, 2024, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.