Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) | Film Review by Ronit J

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) directed by George Miller is a prequel spin-off of Mad Max: Fury Road, focusing on the character of Imperator Furiosa.

When George Miller decided to reboot Mad Max, the world wasn’t ready for the spectacle he had planned. Not only was Fury Road a visual treat but also a pushing of boundaries for what cinema can achieve. Dynamic action set pieces, epic-scale visuals and conflicts, Fury Road was all that without compromising on character development and entertainment.

Nine years after that spectacle, we get Furiosa, a prequel spin-off following a much-loved character from Fury Road. So, does Furiosa live up to that standard? Does it push the boundaries as its predecessor did? Let’s find out.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Synopsis:

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Review:

Chapter 1:

Now, I’ve watched all of the Mad Max films and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. Having context of the previous films did build a bias for me when I started watching Furiosa. It was interesting to see this new take on the post-apocalyptic wasteland and re-exploring the Citadel through Furiosa’s origin story. The most striking thing for me was the opening, where we see Furiosa and her sister in a near-paradise setting. Seeing a safe haven hidden within the wastelands was both a jarring, and dreadful experience. Jarring, because this wasn’t the unsettling hodgepodge of modern-day motifs twisted to make the post-apocalyptic aesthetic. But, we don’t stay in this Eden for long; the inciting incident has Furiosa kidnapped and taken away to the setting we came to watch. But, even this one act of stealing comes with ample conflict, high-adrenaline action sequences, and deeply moving emotional stakes.

That’s chapter 1 of Furiosa. The film is divided into 5 chapters, each following a different episode in Furiosa’s life. Each chapter ends with life-changing incidents that push her closer to the Imperator we came to know in Fury Road. Of these, the first chapter, “The Pole of Inaccessibility” was by far my favourite. The escalation of conflicts goes from 0-100 almost instantly. The tension throughout the film is beautifully realized through the use of long dynamic takes set against the wasteland backdrop, further elevated by a menacing background score. Every step of this chapter just keeps escalating until the heartbreaking finale, serving as an end to Furiosa’s old life, and the beginning of her new one.

Episodic progression:

The second chapter seemingly focuses more on Dementus, our main antagonist. Chris Hemsworth’s performance as this crazed villain is—for me—a more iconic character exploration than his entire stint as Thor.

Back to the review. Chapter 1 establishes Dementus as a mad tyrant who is a force to be reckoned with. What does Miller do for chapter 2? He makes this madman clash with another iconic villain—Immortan Joe! Dementus’ army doesn’t hold a candle to Joe’s War Boys. Forced to run with his tail between his legs, Dementus isn’t one to be easily deterred. The deranged antics he undertakes to get back at Joe, and cement his position as a powerful warlord of the apocalypse is as mad as it is visually spectacular and characteristically badass. Throughout this chapter, Furiosa remains passive, observing the world around her, waiting to escape it.

But she can’t. She’s still a child. But she’s crafty. Even being in a weaker position, Furiosa manages to escape the clutches of a pedophilic maniac, hides her identity among Joe’s slaves, and manages to climb the ranks using her intelligence and skills until she herself becomes the legend from Fury Road. Now, this aspect of her growth was something that I personally didn’t enjoy.

Furiosa is an intriguing character, but the jumps between Chapters 1, 2 & 3 made it a little hard to care. Mostly because she isn’t the one with agency in these chapters. Although she displays craftiness, she doesn’t seem to be the focus—our attention locked on the world building, and Dementus. It’s in Chapters 4 & 5 where Furiosa really shines, which is a shame because Anya Taylor Joy is a great actress. If only we had more of her in the film than we got.

Dynamic Action:

Trust George Miller to create some of the most stellar action set pieces that are as kinetic as they are awe-inspiring. From Furiosa’s mother chasing the bandits, to Joe’s War Boys, or even the War Rig ambush and the escape from Bullet Farm, every single sequence is a piece of art. Where most action movies today rely on CGI spectacles, Miller blends CGI and practical effects to create a visceral experience. You can feel the sand in your face as the cars rush by. You can sense the dread of the approaching enemies and feel the rush of adrenaline as our characters fight aboard massive guzzoline-fueled automobiles.

But it’s not just the dynamic aspect of these action pieces that makes them memorable. The personal stakes associated with each action sequence are what add much-needed emotional depth. As badass as the scenes are, their impact on the story and Furiosa is what makes them all the more elevated. From Furiosa trying to protect Praetorian Jack in Bullet Farm, to Furiosa’s chase in the end that mirror’s her mother’s pursuit in the beginning, each action piece tells a self-contained story that adds to the whole experience of the film.

The action sequences aren’t a consequence of drama, they are the story, the drama, and the character development combined into one.

Complaints with Furiosa:

Everything I said so far stays. However, not all is great about this epic post-apocalyptic action film. And my main complaints are with Chapter 2 and Chapter 5. As much as Chapter 2 sets up the rest of the film, while complicating the politics of this world, the story itself felt like a diversion from Furiosa. I wasn’t particularly a fan of how the negotiations transpired between Immortan Joe and Dementus. The action was epic, but the drama felt forced.

Chapter 5, on the other hand, felt like a good conclusion to the overall story, except that the ending kind of subverted my expectations with making the final confrontation a little anticlimactic. That transitioning into a rapid montage of Fury Road took away from Furiosa more than concludes her story. The inclusion of snippets from Fury Road further felt like the makers wanted to remind viewers of what an epic character Furiosa was. This film is a great stand-alone film, and if treated as that, will hold its own. But the inclusion of this montage in the end felt like Marvel depending on post-credit scenes to keep viewers hooked.

If the film had ended with a Furiosa-focused resolution, that would have done more justice to this character, leaving viewers with a more cathartic feeling as the credits rolled.

Another minor complaint was that the film was a chapter or two too long. I wasn’t a fan of the Praetorian Jack-Furiosa relationship. Furiosa has more than enough reasons to fight and hate Dementus for that extra bit to be added. If you remove that, and 1-2 action sequences, the film would be tighter, faster paced, and maybe more Furiosa-centric.

Is There a Meta-Narrative to Furiosa?

Furiosa comes from an Eden-like Paradise, falling from grace just after she plucks a red fruit from a tree. That has to be intentional, no? What follows is a series of tragedies further pushing Furiosa into deeper depths of a metaphorical hell. Except, she doesn’t just lie fallen down, she climbs out of the pits and takes vengeance against those who did her wrong.

Now, the Green Place is full of humans living in harmony, whereas the wasteland is full of warlords who present themselves as practical gods. Their subjects worship and obey them like mindless cult followers or devotees, driven by greed and narcissistic delusions. Furiosa, an inhabitant of this paradise, is snatched away and forced to live in this world of godmen and delusions, fighting to live each day. Is this some sort of metaphor for the growing support of Right-Wing extremism across the globe? A warning to all who support hatemongers preaching discrimination that a world run by personality cults is doomed to degrade into a wasteland?

Maybe, maybe not. But I can’t help but identify these symbols. After all, with climate change causing devastating floods and famines across the world, with literal wars taking countless innocent lives with dissenting voices being curbed, and a slow resurgence of archaic beliefs in a world that is too afraid of growth and development, you can’t help but wonder if the world is going back a few steps by subscribing to extremist beliefs.

In Conclusion:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a uniquely spellbinding post-apocalyptic film that is as epic as it is humane and thought-provoking. But on the surface, and for the most part, it remains a bad-ass action movie that raises the bar for what action movies should be like.

Despite all the complaints, this is one movie you should definitely not miss. Especially if you loved Mad Max: Fury Road!

My Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5/5)

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I decided to write this review because I’ve been reviewing SFF titles for a while now. With my background in filmmaking, I thought why not explore this side as well? I did a brief stint as a film reviewer but wasn’t able to dedicate time to it properly. Maybe with this series of posts, I’ll be more consistent. Let me know what you think about this review in the comments below.

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