By Eric Lindbom
Four Snakes out of Five
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (In Theaters) roars into theaters with the trademarked go for broke propulsion of director – and co-writer – George Miller’s MAD MAX: FURY ROAD which it approximates but inevitably can’t equal. Though nearly a decade old, FURY ROAD set a new action-pic standard with its breathless one long chase structure (with a compressed three-day timeline) and such franchise tweaks as the pole cats teetering like Circus Soleil acrobats (thanks to digital tech that enabled Miller to erase their harnesses).
I still rank THE ROAD WARRIOR as the franchise high only because in FURY ROAD the imprisoned Mad Max (Thomas Hardy in Mel Gibson’s stead) largely strapped to the front of a vehicle as a blood (bank) bag was reduced to a hood ornament status. Still, both those films had seismic impact and frankly so did the first MAD MAX (which George Miller noted in a screening Q&A took place in a now iconic dusty, derelict future not by design but because the low budget production couldn’t afford to block busy streets so they pivoted to back grounds and abandoned buildings).
Asking Miller to change the world a fourth time is a stiff order but unlike most prequels FURIOSA at least gives us some FURY ROAD origin intel we can use, like why Imperator Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy filling in for Charlize Theron ) lost her arm and how the War Rig truck was constructed.
The story follows young Furiosa’s kidnapping by a rogue motorcycle and after her mom is murdered she’ll eventually enact revenge after a series of skirmishes in iconic franchise fortress locations like Gas Town and The Citadel. Taylor-Joy has fewer lines than Eastwood’s Man With No Name but her hardboiled egg eyes speak loudly and, as in Robert Eggers’ THE NORTH MAN, she’s athletic, fiercely committed and can take a licking. Chris Hemsworth’s biker leader Dementus is a refreshing villain since he’s courageous but feckless and too good looking to really control his hard case horde – most Miller minor characters have sand paper skin — despite bluster delivered through an old style radio mike. Thomas Burke (the memorable junkie bad boy friend from THE SOUVENIR) has steelier cred as Furiosa’s mentor Praetorian Jack.
Yet the real star of FURIOSA is Miller and I can assure anyone curious that he and his designated action designer – what a credit! – Guy Norris will leave their jaws on the floor. As a friend noted: “George Miller is a master of cinematic geography. His action films still, even in this high-tech age, feel ORGANIC and the action gets to BREATHE.”
While some feel FURIOSA is over digitized it hardly seemed less grounded than the other films. The harrowing chases and shoot outs are heart pounders and there’s plenty of new vehicular eye candy gimmicks especially involving billowing parachutes.
During the Q&A, long time Miller pal Edgar Wright (who talked up Taylor-Joy for the part) asked Miller about pure cinema and Miller mentioned Buster Keaton’s dangerous and hilarious stunts. The reference stuck since FURIOSA contains moments of violent slapstick where we laugh with and at characters getting wasted in gloriously choreographed crack ups.
OF course, despite all it achieves, there is inevitably a “more of the same(ness)” vibe about FURIOSA compared to FURY ROAD’s shock of the new. With a projected Memorial Weekend take of $33 million (and whisker to whisker with the latest Garfield flick) it may signal a dystopian fatigue (since cable is offering buzzy alternatives like FALL OUT and THE LAST OF US with similar production values). Still, all fans of the franchise need to know is: it’s Miller time.
Eric Lindbom is a hardcore horror buff with a strong stomach, weaned on the Universal classics from the ’30s and ’40s. He’s written film and/or music reviews for City Pages, Twin Cities Reader, LA WEEKLY, Request magazine and Netflix. He co-edits triggerwarningshortfiction.com, a site specializing in horror, fantasy and crime short stories with illustrations by co-editor John Skewes. He lives in Los Angeles.
